Hammersmith & Fulham: "Shot in the arm for High Speed rail at Old Oak" (Rest of patient also injured)

"Plans to create thousands of new homes and jobs in a rundown corner of north-west London have received a huge boost.

"Legislation paving the way for the development of the High Speed 2 railway was announced in Wednesday's Queen's Speech.

"A bill would grant parliamentary permission to build phase one of the £16.3bn line from London to Birmingham.

"A huge new rail hub at Old Oak Common, in the north of Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F), will be the main interchange station for passengers wanting to transfer from the new high speed railway to Heathrow.

"Around 20,000 jobs will be created in the immediate area – which is one of the capital’s most deprived neighbourhoods. Around half of working age adults within 1.2miles of Old Oak Common, including residents in the neighbouring boroughs of Brent, Ealing and K&C, are unemployed and some parts of the area are among the bottom 1% most deprived nationally.

"Around a third of all HS2 passengers are expected to transfer at Old Oak Common and the hub will also take pressure off Euston, which as it stands could not cope with 13,000 extra passengers an hour.

"H&F Council Leader, Cllr Nicholas Botterill said:

“This is a real shot in the arm for our plans to regenerate Old Oak Common. Old Oak will be transformed from one of the most deprived parts of the country into the epicentre of nation’s high speed network, linking the regions of the UK with Heathrow, the capital and beyond." [That's enough gushing, Nic.]

"Running at speeds of up to 250mph, HS2 trains will virtually halve journey times between London and Manchester from two hours and eight minutes to one hour and eight minutes, according to the Department for Transport. Passengers will be able to travel from London to Birmingham in just 49 minutes – down from one hour and 24 minutes currently."

---

Link to BBC:

"HS2 rail benefits to economy 'unclear', says National Audit Office"

Evening Standard: "Bury the A4: Hammersmith flyunder backed by Lord Rogers"

Link to web site

"Lord Rogers has thrown his weight behind ambitious plans to bury part of the A4, in what would be London’s first major road tunnel for 20 years.

"His backing is the latest boost to plans for a 2.3 -mile long 'flyunder' for the road, used by 90,000 vehicles a day.

"The proposal, already supported by Boris Johnson, local MP Andy Slaughter and Hammersmith & Fulham council, follows the discovery of severe concrete decay in the flyover section of the route in December 2011."

'Crossrail Two' Consultation starts

Not to mention:

Transport for London
Consultation opens on proposed routes for Crossrail 2

"The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said:

'Crossrail is set to revolutionise travel in the Capital, and with a predicted 10 million people expected to be living in London by 2031, pressing ahead with the next stage of the plan, Crossrail 2, is quite simply essential.

In order to support this great Capital's bright future, we need to think ahead and not wait until our transport arteries are clogged up and restricting jobs and growth.

That's why I am sending out a rallying cry for the public's support for this consultation - come and share your views so we can progress with Crossrail 2 as soon as possible."

"The consultation will seek the views of people in London and the southeast of England, and will run from 14 May to 2 August 2013."

Link to consultation web site

The Poirot Moustache Solution to Old Oak Common and the London Overground

(source: Modern Railways)

Old Oak Common: Opportunity Area Planning Framework, and possible Development Corporation (that is, OOCOAPF and OOCDC)

Statement from the Greater London Authority:

"The GLA has recently consulted on a draft 'Opportunity Area Planning Framework' for Old Oak Common. However, that was for limited stakeholders only. [Not Joe Public.]

"A full public consultation is scheduled for June.

"An 'Old Oak Common Development Corporation' is currently being explored by the Mayor with the four boroughs concerned (Brent, Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Kensington & Chelsea.)

"Discussions are at a very early stage, and the Mayor is investigating legislative procedures for its establishment and the degree of co-operation required." [Docklands: none. Olympic Legacy: some.]

BBC: "Hammersmith A4 tunnel 'could replace flyover'"

Link to web site and video

"A group of London architects who call Hammersmith Flyover a 'terrible act of vandalism' have proposed replacing it with an underpass.

"Hammersmith and Fulham Council supports the plan following concerns about the flyover's long-term cost and viability.

"The council said it was drafting plans to show Transport for London (TfL) the benefits of the idea."

---

LB of Hammersmith & Fulham:

"Tunnel vision to replace outdated flyover"

"The ‘terrible act of vandalism’ that is the Hammersmith Flyover
should never be repeated, according to Hammersmith & Fulham
Council and a group of respected local architects."

Evening Standard: "Create new super airport or double size of Heathrow"

Link to web site

"A 'superhub' airport with four runways could be built in the home counties or west London under plans drawn up for Heathrow bosses.

"The blueprint includes options for a huge new airport close to Maidenhead or Oxford, or doubling the number of runways at Heathrow, to handle 140  million passengers a year.

"... A document called Heathrow 2025, Masterplan Options & Indicative Layouts, obtained by Aviation Week industry information service, outlines 10 options. They include plans for a four-runway airport at White Waltham in Berkshire, near Maidenhead and Bracknell, or at Haddenham in Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire, about 15 miles from Oxford."

"Residents' champion vows to fight on despite latest setback"

Link to Fulham Chronicle

"ESTATE residents lost their latest High Court battle arguing against the lawfulness of knocking down their homes – but a judge insisted they were right to protest.

Threatened tenant, pensioner Harold Greatwood, launched another bid for a judicial review into Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s decision to sell land on the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates to developers Capco.

Despite being unsuccessful, judge Clive Lewis QC praised the ‘careful, considered and moderate way’ in which Mr Greatwood put his case forward, and refused the council’s application for costs, saying the residents’ fight was understandable.

Mr Lewis told the hearing:

“It is not surprising that he has brought the matter before this court. He is supported by a number of other tenants who are also concerned, as you would expect, about the impact on their homes and the places where they live."