Activity in Park Royal (and ADSA redevelopment)

(to be completed)

1 - Maps!

2 - ASDA redevelopment (with link)
3 - London Borough of Ealing 'Highways Improvement' (with two PDFs)

4 - New Controlled Parking Zone proposals (to follow)

HOME | Asda Park Royal

"We are proposing to redesign Park Royal Road and Acton Lane to reduce issues with heavy traffic. Cycling on these roads is difficult due to the high volume of lorries and buses. Parked cars on both sides of Park Royal Road make the congestion worse, causing delays as large vehicles cannot pass each other. Uncontrolled parking also leads to long-term car dumping, while future developments are expected to further increase traffic.

"To address these challenges, the council proposes improving the road layout to reduce congestion and improve travel for all road users. On Park Royal Road, key proposals include a new two-way cycle track shared with pedestrians, removing parking on the east side to widen the road, and redesigning crossings for safer access. On Acton Lane, protected cycle lanes would be added to improve safety for cyclists, and the junction will be redesigned to help slow-turning vehicles."

This consultation is open between 25 September and 18 October 2024.

Park Royal Road and Acton Lane Proposals[1] by scribdstorage on Scribd

Park Royal Road and Acton Lane Location Plan[1] by scribdstorage on Scribd

Imperial College buys further into North Acton

Imperial College London has confirmed the purchase of Victoria Industrial Estate from SEGRO plc.

"The site has been identified for major mixed-use development by Imperial’s strategic partners Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Ealing Council as part of the area’s significant regeneration plans. In the future it could provide an opportunity for the expansion of new science and innovation spaces alongside accommodation for innovators. 

"Imperial’s investment has been supported by the Government’s emerging Industrial Strategy and the significant demand from deep-tech entrepreneurs wanting to scale up in Imperial’s existing innovation spaces. The acquisition and plans have been supported by the Government’s proposed reforms to the National Planning Policy Framework, with a renewed drive on delivering major infrastructure and commercial development for the Science and Innovation industry."

The full flummery:

Imperial announces a major investment in Old Oak to drive the WestTech Corridor | Imperial News | Imperial College London

Reposted from 2015: Willesden Junction Station: Things Can Only Get Better (plus: The Harlesden Bypass, and Railways of Old Oak & Park Royal)

Willesden Junction Station Development

Harlesden Town Team: Harlesden Bypass, and Railways at Old Oak Common and Park Royal

(Download and flick between the three images.)

[Republished from Sept 2019] Architects' Journal: "Old Oak Common regeneration is a train crash and City Hall is to blame"

"You cannot make great pieces of city simply by setting housing targets," writes Paul Finch

Link to web site

"The biggest housing and jobs initiative in the country, being overseen by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC), will have to be massively scaled back following devastating findings by the planning inspector in respect of its draft local plan.

"In a nutshell, the inspector has upheld the views of the biggest landowner affected, Cargiant, that the proposed plan is a dead duck. He found that, instead of delivering 25,000 homes and 65,000 jobs, the development corporation should scale this back to 14,200 and 37,590 respectively – because plans to develop Cargiant's land are 'unviable and ought to be deleted from the plan'.

"This all took me back to the summer of 2015, when I started chairing a small design panel for Cargiant and London & Regional Properties. The joint venture planned to redevelop Cargiant's site (at Old Oak Park, where it employs some 800 people, mostly engineers working to bring used cars up to scratch prior to resale)."

Oct 2024: HS2 (a) publishes schedules of Old Oak Common work and (b) hates traffic congestion on Victoria Road!

 

How OPDC tried to remove the planned North Acton station footbridge

2024-02-28 North Acton Station Issues and Unlawful OPDC Actions by scribdstorage on Scribd

FT: "If you build it, will they come? The £8bn regeneration of Brent Cross"

FROM the platform of the recently opened Brent Cross West station, London’s first new mainline station in a decade, Brent Cross Town looks like a porcupine formed of cranes and half-finished buildings. 

In 15 years’ time, according to plans, the same platform will overlook a gleaming new neighbourhood comprising homes for 45,000 people; new streets, cafés and shops; three rebuilt schools and several new office buildings as well as 50 acres of parkland and playing fields.

(Image: The recently opened Brent Cross West train station © John Sturrock)

TfL analysis of surface transport at Old Oak Common HS2 station (it's not looking good)

TfL analysis of surface transport at Old Oak Common station (it's not looking good) by scribdstorage on Scribd

HS2 application 20/0011/HS2OPDC: Old Oak Common Lane

2020-11 HS2 Application - Old Oak Common Lane and Central Line by scribdstorage on Scribd

HS2 at Old Oak Common Lane: Squeezing in decent cycle lanes?

2010-11 HS2 Old Oak Common Lane Cycle Study Report by scribdstorage on Scribd

The Sleeper Awakes! OPDC finally documents its proposed Local Plan modifications: Shift to The Western Lands

2020-10 Local Plan Board Presentationfinal (1) by scribdstorage on Scribd

Bucks Free Press: "New images revealed of largest HS2 construction site"

Link to web site

"HS2 today revealed a series of striking new images showing preparation for the arrival of the project’s first giant tunnelling machines, which will be launched from a site next to the M25 early next year.

"The two 2,000 tonne machines, currently being manufactured in Germany, will dig the 10-mile-long Chiltern tunnels from the site next to the M25, to near South Heath."

HS2 Ltd: "We invite your feedback on the design of HS2’s Common Design Elements planned for the Phase One route between the West Midlands and London"

"Common Design Elements are parts of the railway with a standardised appearance which will give it a recognisable look and make it more efficient to build. They include frequently used structures, such as bridge piers and parapets, as well as lineside noise barriers.

"Since Parliament approved plans for the Phase One route in 2017, we've been developing the design of the new railway and now we need your views to help inform how we progress with the Common Design Elements.

"You can view the plans on the HS2 website and download an information booklet, before completing our quick online survey. The survey closes at 11pm on Thursday 30 January 2020."

Transport for London: The West London Orbital

2019-09 TfL WLO TEG 190925 Kumapley Slides 1-37 (1) by scribdstorage on Scribd

Brent & Kilburn Times: "OPDC hit back after Cargiant slam 'flawed plan' for regeneration"

Link to web site

"On one side, the world's biggest used car dealership. On the other, plans for the biggest development in London since the 2012 Olympics.

"Emboldened by a planning inspector's ruling this month that the Old Oak Park Development Corporation (OPDC) 'should delete' tracts of land used by Cargiant for its used car operation south of Willesden Junction, the business has gone further and argued the OPDC's entire business plan is 'seriously flawed'.

"But the OPDC has hit back, claiming more than 7,000 homes 'have been or are soon to be delivered' and saying its plans are on track."

Brent & Kilburn Times: "[Most] Cargiant-owned land should be removed from project, planning inspector says"

Link to web site

"The flagship Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation should not include a controversial tract of land owned by Cargiant, a planning inspector has recommended.

"Reviewing the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation's (OPDC) draft local plan, Paul Clark decided that inclusion of [most of the] land owned by Cargiant south of WIllesden Junction station was 'unviable' and that, if developed, it couldn't yield enough profit to pay for moving the business elsewhere, even if no affordable homes or subsidised infrastructure were built there."

Department for Transport: "Terms of reference for the independent review of HS2"

The Prime Minister has stated his wish to review “whether and how we proceed” with HS2 ahead of the ‘Notice to Proceed’ decision for Phase 1 (London-West Midlands) due by the end of 2019. The review will assemble and test all the existing evidence in order to allow the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Transport and the government to make properly-informed decisions on the future of Phases 1 and 2 of the project, including the estimated cost and schedule position.

For the whole HS2 project, the review should rigorously examine and state its view on:

• whether HS2 Ltd is in a position to deliver the project effectively, taking account of its performance to date and any other relevant information
• the full range of benefits from the project, including but not limited to:
  • capacity changes both for services to cities and towns on HS2 and which will not be on HS2
  • connectivity
  • economic transformation including whether the scheme will promote inclusive growth and regional rebalancing
  • environmental benefits, in particular for carbon reduction in line with net zero commitments
  • the risk of delivery of these and other benefits, and whether there are alternative strategic transport schemes which could achieve comparable benefits in similar timescales
• the full range of costs of the project, including but not limited to:
  • whether HS2 Ltd’s latest estimates of costs and schedule are realistic and are comparable to other UK infrastructure
  • why any cost estimates or schedules have changed since the most recent previous baselines
  • whether there are opportunities for efficiencies
  • the cost of disruption to rail users during construction
  • whether there are trade-offs between cost and schedule; and whether there are opportunities for additional commercial returns for the taxpayer through, for example, developments around stations, to offset costs
  • what proceeding with Phase 1 means in terms of overall affordability, and what this means in terms of what would be required to deliver the project within the current funding envelope for the project as a whole
• whether the assumptions behind the business case, for instance on passenger numbers and train frequencies, are realistic, including the location and interconnectivity of the stations with other transport systems, and the implications of potential changes in services to cities and towns which are on the existing main lines but will not be on HS2
• for the project as a whole, how much realistic potential there is for cost reductions in the scheme as currently planned through changes to its scope, planned phasing or specification, including but not limited to:
  • reductions in speed
  • making Old Oak Common the London terminus, at least for a period
  • building only Phase 1
  • combining Phases 1 and 2a
  • different choices or phasing of Phase 2b, taking account of the interfaces with Northern Powerhouse Rail
• the direct cost of reprioritising, cancelling or de-scoping the project, including but not limited to: contractual penalties; the risk of legal action; sunk costs; remediation costs; supply chain impact; and an estimate of how much of the money already spent, for instance on the purchase of land and property, could be recouped
• whether and how the project could be reprioritised; in particular, whether and, if so how, Northern Powerhouse Rail (NPR) (including the common sections with HS2 Phase 2b) could be prioritised over delivering the southern sections of HS2
• whether any improvements would benefit the integration of HS2, NPR and other rail projects in the north of England or Midlands
• any lessons from the project for other major projects

Review team and support

The review will be chaired by Doug Oakervee. The deputy chair will be Lord Berkeley. There will also be a panel consisting of Michele Dix, Stephen Glaister, Patrick Harley, Sir Peter Hendy, Andrew Sentance, Andy Street, John Cridland and Tony Travers. Each will focus on a specific area of interest; they will feed in to and be consulted on the report’s conclusions, without having a right of veto in the event that consensus cannot be reached.

Support will be provided by the Department for Transport. Sufficient support will be needed to allow a searching and rigorous review in a relatively short time. The review team will be provided with any papers and persons they request. Undertakings of confidentiality will be entered into with the Chair, Deputy Chair, panel, and others as necessary.

Reporting and publication

The review will report to the Secretary of State for Transport with oversight from the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It should produce a written report suitable for publication.

Timing

The review should submit its final report in autumn 2019.

Improving the West London Orbital railway corridor through Old Oak Common Lane station

2019 06 West London Orbital Strategic Outline Business Case by scribdstorage on Scribd

The Observer: "Left in a siding: the rail link that could make Heathrow greener"

"Airport and Department for Transport fight shy of backing new line from Staines that would slash car usage"

"Life is easy for the toads and bats of Staines-upon-Thames: the disused railway line has formed a woodland corridor that runs north towards Heathrow. Terminal 5 is just a mile or so further on as the bat flies. But to reach it from Staines station would take a hapless rail passenger almost two hours via three trains.

"That could drop to just six minutes under plans to link Staines and other parts of Surrey to the airport. Yet as Heathrow prepares for a major consultation on its third runway on Tuesday, new rail links are just an option, despite the argument that they would help tackle the airport's pollution problem. They would also be a clear answer to transport secretary Chris Grayling's call for 'market-led' proposals for new railway lines.

"As a precondition of Heathrow expansion, parliament has stipulated that the proportion of passengers travelling to and from the airport on public transport must rise from 39% to 50%."

My London: "The 'living hell' of life next to Ealing HS2 construction site - where walls shake and air pollution is soaring"

Link to web site

"Constant shaking from HS2 construction work has East Acton residents describing a 'living hell', with some fearing for the structural safety of their homes.

"One mother living on Wells House Road said the air pollution coming from the Old Oak Common site had seen her 12-year-old son hospitalised with breathing difficulties and put on oxygen, despite not having asthma.

"Meanwhile, a 155-metre-long, three-metre-high concrete retaining wall supporting many of the gardens on the road is becoming a serious safety concern, with an engineering report saying it is in poor condition, and needs shoring up."