The Independent: "BBC Television Centre: A nostalgic wander through the sets, studios and ghosts of programmes past"

Link to web site

"Mike is giving me a tour of BBC Television Centre in White City, west London, prior to its handover to developers on October 1. After being sold to Stanhope Plc for £200m last year, the building – with its eight massive television studios, 121 dressing rooms, set-making factory, two bars, three restaurants, Blue Peter garden and hundreds and hundreds of offices – stopped making programmes and was mothballed.

"Another £400m will be spent turning the site into 950 homes and a 47-room Soho House hotel over the next couple of years. BBC Worldwide will be head-quartered here and Studios 1, 2 and 3 will be saved, but the others lie empty, awaiting demolition.

"They are scary in their enormity, haunted by the ghosts of shows past, of moments and performers inextricably hard-wired into the collective consciousness of the nation. Who isn't happily endowed with memories of Morecambe and Wise, Les Dawson or Tony Hancock? Of Gary Lineker, Graham Norton or Victoria Wood? Of Larry and Johnny, Dickie and Alec, Judi and Glenda?

"... The site was bought by the BBC in 1949 and was officially opened by the Queen in 1960. Its architect, Graham Dawbarn, is said to have doodled a question mark while considering its design. He looked at it and thought to himself, 'Hang on, that looks rather good.' And that is why, from the air, the building looks like a question mark without a dot."

Until 24 Nov: TfL: "Have your say on a proposed London Overground station at Old Oak"

Link to web site

"We are looking for your views on the principle of creating a new London Overground station at Old Oak and on three options to connect it with the HS2, National Rail and Crossrail station. All three options are feasible, but offer different levels of passenger benefits and local impacts."

"The connections made possible as a result of adding a
London Overground station to the Old Oak interchange."
(Where's the Dudding Hill Line?)

Evening Standard: "Plans to link HS2 and Overground to create London's largest transport hub at Old Oak Common revealed"

Link to web site

"Plans to create one of the capital’s largest transport hubs by linking HS2 to London Overground were unveiled today by the mayor amid a bitter row with town halls about the development.

"City Hall set out the options to build a new London Overground station on the sprawling west London industrial area at Old Oak Common to fully exploit the economic potential of additional links it is due to gain to Crossrail and HS2.

"Although Old Oak Common is already on the route of the London Overground, the mayor believes it needs a dedicated station to be paid for by government, which his transport planners calculate would link locals to a quarter of a million jobs.

"Transport for London have produced three options for a station, the most eye-catching of which is building a viaduct diverting the Clapham Junction branch of London Overground to link with the Richmond branch at Old Oak Common."

Brent & Kilburn Times: "Brent Council slams Mayor of London’s regeneration plans for Harlesden and Park Royal"

Link to web site

"Brent Council have slammed proposals to grant the Mayor of London with sweeping new planning powers to deliver the regeneration of Old Oak Common and Park Royal.

"Under the proposals, a new Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) will be set up to oversee the major transformation of the areas as part of a 30-year regeneration programme.

"... If successful, the MDC will operate from the beginning of April next year.

"Brent Council cabinet members will discuss the plans in their next meeting on Monday."

Thurs 18 Sept: GUA

Grand Union Alliance Meeting

6.30pm Thursday 18^th September

@ All Souls Church

Station Road, Harlesden NW10 4UJ

AGENDA

1. The boroughs’ alternatives to a Mayoral Development Corporation to oversee large scale development in Park Royal and Old Oak Common – presentation, Q&A and discussion with representatives of Ealing, Brent and Hammersmith & Fulham (1hr 10 minutes)


2. The Park Royal Business Group (30 minutes)


3. Responses to the MDC consultation – discussion, Q&A and support. (30 minutes)


4. Preparation for the full day event on some of the key issues relating to large scale development Park Royal, Old Oak Common and surrounding opportunity areas. (20 minutes)

Grand Union Alliance is currently supported by London Tenants Federation, working with Just Space, through funding provided by Trust for London

BBC web site: "QPR begins consultation on new 40,000 stadium in Old Oak Common"

"Queens Park Rangers football club has begun a consultation on its plans for a new 40,000-seat stadium.

"The west London Premier League club said the development at Old Oak Common in north-west London, would create 55,000 jobs and 24,000 homes.

"The stadium will be part of a regeneration of the area, which is provisionally called 'New Queens Park'. [That's why you pay PR people so much.]

"The venue would replace the club's current Loftus Road ground in Shepherd's Bush.

"The redevelopment also include plans for a station to connect to the Crossrail link and the London to Birmingham HS2 rail link.

"QPR Chairman Tony Fernandes said:

"We are looking to deliver much more than just a stadium.

"We want to create a new destination that we propose to call New Queens Park.

"It will serve as a catalyst for regeneration, creating thousands of new jobs and homes for local people."

"A website [below] for the project has been created for people to read about the plans and to have their say.

"The consultation will run until 17 October."

---

CityAM: "Queens Park Rangers' £6bn west London revamp to create homes, jobs and a new stadium"

"A vast area of west London looks set to undergo a massive regeneration programme that could see 24,000 homes being built and 55,000 new jobs created.

"Hundreds of acres of brownfield around Old Oak Common, near the site of Wormwood Scrubs prison, could be transformed as a result.

"The £6.2bn plan is being spear­headed by Premier League football club QPR, which will deliver more than 50,000 newsletters to homes and busin­esses in west London as part of a consultation this month.

"QPR’s own development plans in­clude a new 40,000-seat stadium, to­gether with a wider package of homes, jobs and community facilities. The club is aiming to create a “new destination” in London dubbed by its chairman Tony Fernandes as the “New Queens Park”. The club’s plans are just one part of what could be an enormous transformation of the area.

"Fernandes said:

"Our new stadium will become a focal point hosting not just football, but other entertainment and community activities for residents and visitors to enjoy."

"QPR operations chief Mark Donnelly told City A.M. on Wednesday:

"We’ve been working very hard with the GLA and local boroughs over the last 18 months, and they’re very positive."

"In an emailed statement to City A.M. yesterday, Sir Edward Lister, London’s deputy mayor for planning, said:

"The mayor has been in pre-application discussion with Queens Park Rangers for several months and believes that, if agreement can be reached with all parties, a new sports stadium could potentially be a real catalyst for the long-term regeneration of the area."

"The massive regeneration proposals for Old Oak Common and Park Royal have been pushed by the Mayor’s office, with consultations ongoing for the establishment of a new Mayoral Development Corporation.

"The entire regeneration scheme for the area could be worth up to £6.2bn to London’s economy, according to research from the Mayor’s office.

"QPR has a number of partners for their plans, including Stadium Capital Development, headed by Antony Spencer, who led the development of Arsenal’s Emirates stadium and the building of over 3,000 homes nearby.

"Donnelly said that QPR’s proposals would be funded by club shareholders, including Fernandes and steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal.

"However, QPR faces a rival proposal from local car dealer Cargiant, which owns 45 acres in the area.

"Cargiant managing director Tony Mendes told City A.M. on Wednesday:

"We’re pursuing our options on two fronts, looking at possibilities for relocation, and keen to pursue our own significant redevelopment plans.

We’re not anti-QPR ­– many of our employees support the club and I’m a season ticket holder, but we’re committing to getting the best outcome for our business."

"Donnelly said:

"We were in discussions with Cargiant for a long time, and we’re very open to talking again."

---

Link to 'New Queens Park'
(most of which, of course, is not theirs to name)

"Old Oak is set to change dramatically over the coming years.

"Last year the Mayor and the local councils started consultation on plans for new transport connections, economic development, jobs and homes as well as a new stadium.

"Now Queens Park Rangers Football Club has assembled a world class design team to prepare plans to regenerate the area and re-locate to Old Oak.

"We are creating a new destination which we intend to call New Queens Park. It will serve as a catalyst for regeneration, creating new jobs and homes."

PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS

"We would like to invite you to come and view our initial plans and meet our design team."

Exhibitions will be held:

Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road Stadium

South Africa Road, W12 7PJ

2-8pm, Monday 15th September 2014

2-8pm, Tuesday 16th September 2014

Skyline Suite, Holiday Inn London West

4 Portal Way, North Acton, W3 6RT

4-8pm, Wednesday 17th September 2014

4-8pm, Thursday 18th September 2014

St Mark’s Church Hall

Bathurst Gardens, Kensal Rise, NW10 5HX

12 noon-4pm, Friday 19th September 2014

9am-1pm, Saturday 20th September 2014

"West London Sub-Regional Transport Plan: addressing the challenges" (The GLA has promised NO single planning application for all of OOC, unlike Barnet's corrupt Brent Cross one)

"The purpose of this west Sub-regional Transport plan (SRTP) 2014 update is to provide information on:

• Developments over the last 12 months


• Commitments made in the TfL Business Plan and through Local Implementation Plan (LIP) funding


• Future opportunities to improve transport and address the remaining challenges.

"This plan aims to help boroughs with the development of Local Implementation Plans (LIPs) and TfL in developing the priorities for business planning in order to address the medium to longer-term challenges for London and the sub-regions.

"This SRTP document is accompanied by a poster for your bedroom wall, which provides a snapshot of the challenges, priority areas and opportunities that can be collectively addressed, and shows the initatives that have been completed or are planned within the sub-region." [We made up part of that.]

SRTP poster
SRTP document