Planning Resource: "Old Oak Common development corporation plans move forward"

"Proposed QPR stadium: plans are at heart of
Old Oak Common regeneration area"
[Don't count on that.]
Link to web site

"Plans to set up a mayoral development corporation (MDC) to deliver nearly 25,000 homes around the site of a vast High Speed 2 and Crossrail 'super hub' station in west London have taken a step forward after London Assembly members opted against using their powers to block the proposals.

"London mayor Boris Johnson has powers to designate any area of land in Greater London as a mayoral development area for the purposes of setting up an MDC.

"At the final stage of the process, the London Assembly is given the opportunity to reject the proposed designation, with a two-thirds majority required.

"At an extraordinary plenary meeting of the assembly, assembly members opted not to block the proposals, although Labour members passed a motion setting out concerns over the plans."

CityAm: "The critics are wrong: Our bold plans for new homes for London will benefit all"

Sir Edward Lister is the mayor of London’s chief of staff and deputy mayor for planning

Link to web site

"As London's population soars towards the 9m mark, it’s vital that we take every step we can to deliver the jobs and homes our growing city needs. And Old Oak Common, a once-forgotten part of west London, represents a once-in-a-lifetime chance to create a brand new piece of the capital with up to 24,000 new homes and more than 55,000 jobs. Unfortunately, our plans have been unfairly criticised, including in these pages last week.

"It may be sprawling industrial land today but, by 2026, Old Oak Common will be home to a vast HS2 and Crossrail station. The new station will be the size of Waterloo, handling 250,000 passengers a day and acting as a super-hub between London and the rest of the UK, Europe and the world.

"The big opportunity from HS2 is regeneration, and the mayor is determined to ensure that this opportunity is not missed. We believe that Old Oak Common and neighbouring Park Royal could supply up to 3 per cent of the Greater London housing requirement and almost 14 per cent of Greater London’s employment need up to 2031."

BBC: "The InterCity 125 and its high-speed replacement"

"Four decades ago, something came along that many people feel helped save the railways.

A sleek, pacy, high-speed train, the InterCity 125. With its familiar sloping nose, the 125 symbolised a new era of clean lines and high technology on a network that had been underfunded and getting tatty for decades.

"Now, we are getting the first glimpses of the train the government has picked to replace it.

"The Hitachi 800 series won't be carrying passengers for at least another four years but it will finally come over from Japan for its first tests next year.

"It's not without controversy. At around the £6bn mark, the Public Accounts Committee has recently questioned whether the taxpayer will ever get value for money, especially if passenger numbers drop off in future. In fact they've questioned whether the government should be buying trains at all, normally the industry does it.

"But ministers say the new Hitachis will cut journey times for passengers and create hundreds of UK jobs.

"They will appear on the Great Western line in December 2017 and the East Coast mainline in 2018."

BBC video: "Crossrail: Tunnelling beneath London"

Link to web site

"In exactly four years' time, Europe's biggest infrastructure project will open to the public.

"Crossrail is a new railway line running from east to west across London. It sounds simple enough but this is a project on a scale that echoes the great Brunel himself.

"It includes 26 miles of tunnels and we were lucky enough to go down a few, just to see how they are getting on.

"I say lucky. You should try climbing down 50 metres of claustrophobic metal staircase in full safety gear and carrying all the camera kit."

Crossrail video: "Surface Works: Upgrading the existing railway"

"Work on Crossrail’s surface section in outer London, Berkshire and Essex is now one third complete.

"The £2.3bn upgrade of the existing rail network for Crossrail is being undertaken by Network Rail.

"Matthew White, Surface Director at Crossrail said:

"Crossrail will provide a step change in public transport right along the surface section of the route – for passengers that will mean new trains, better stations and quicker journeys. A huge amount of work has already been carried out to prepare the existing railway for the arrival of new services. Network Rail is now gearing up for a busy time over Christmas and New Year and in 2015 major station improvements will step up."

"Matthew Steele, Crossrail Programme Director at Network Rail said:

"£2.3bn is being invested in the existing rail network to deliver Crossrail. Network Rail is upgrading stations, track, signalling and installing new overhead power supplies across the route to enable the new trains to run. We are also building a brand new station at Abbey Wood as well as delivering new flyovers to ease congestion between London and Heathrow airport. As we pass through this milestone the work is on schedule and within budget, so well done to everyone working within the combined Crossrail, Network Rail and supply chain team."

"The Christmas and New Year period will be the busiest yet for Crossrail’s surface section.

"Amongst a wide programme of works, bridges at Slough and Iver will be demolished, the new flyover at Stockley will be commissioned and a turnback facility will be installed at Chadwell Heath."

Wed 17 Dec: London Assembly: "Mayoral Development Area - Extraordinary Assembly meeting on Old Oak & Park Royal"

16 December 2014

"Tomorrow the London Assembly will hold an Extraordinary Plenary session to discuss the Mayor’s proposal for a Mayoral Development Corporation (MDC) to lead the regeneration of the Old Oak Common and Park Royal areas of west London. The proposals would lead to 24,000 new homes and 55,000 new jobs centred on the new High Speed 2 station at Old Oak.

"Under the proposals, the MDC would take over the majority of planning powers from the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham and would lead on preparing the local plans and determining large planning applications in that area.

"The following guests will be questioned:

• Sir Edward Lister - Chief of Staff and Deputy Mayor for Planning
• Victoria Hills - Director of the proposed Development Corporation for Old Oak and Park Royal.

"The Assembly will then formally consider the proposals for the designation of the Mayoral Development Area.[1]

"The role of the London Assembly is to act as a check and balance on the activities of the Mayor and the various organisations his office supports.

"The meeting will take place on Wednesday, 17 December from 1.30pm in The Chamber, at City Hall (The Queen's Walk, London SE1).

"Media and members of the public are invited to attend.

"The meeting can also be viewed via webcast."

Notes for Editors:

1. Section 197 of the Localism Act 2011 gives the Mayor powers to designate any area of land in Greater London as a Mayoral Development Area (MDA) for the purposes of setting up a Mayoral Development Corporation. In relation to the proposal to designate a MDA covering Old Oak and Park Royal, that process has now reached its final stage. At this final stage, the Act requires the Mayor to lay his proposals for designation of the Area before the Assembly in order to afford it the opportunity to reject the proposed designation within the following 21 days. The Mayor may only proceed to designate the MDA if, after the 21 day 'consideration period' has expired, the Assembly has not rejected his proposals. In accordance with Section 197, the Assembly may reject the proposed designation by a two thirds majority of Members present and voting. A formal motion to reject may be moved by any single Assembly Member during the meeting, and if seconded, will be considered and must be voted upon by the Assembly.


2. Full agenda papers


3. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

03 MDA Designation[1]

03a Appendix 1 - Letter From the Mayor to the Chairman[1]

03b Enc 1 - Proposed OPDC boundary plan[1]

03c Enc 2 - OPDC statement of reasons by Mayor of London Dec 14[1]

Evening Standard: "Peter Bill on property: Teamwork the key for QPR to win in Old Oak Common clash"

Link to web site

"The chairman of Queens Park Rangers, Tony Fernandes, and the owner of Car Giant, Geoff Warren, need to be locked in a room at City Hall by London's Deputy Mayor, Sir Edward Lister, who should then depart the room, uttering the words: 'Nobody gets out until you (stabs finger at Warren) agree to give him (stabs finger at Fernandes) enough of your land to build his new stadium at Old Oak Common. Is that bloody clear?'

If only. Fernandes is spending millions, working up a planning application for the 25,000 homes across the entire 345 acres of land, due to be declared to the Mayoral Development Corporation next week. The centrepiece is a 40,000-seater football stadium which QPR’s advisers insist can go in only one spot: on five of the 47 acres of land owned by Warren.

"The 59-year-old car salesman, who earned himself a £220 million fortune dealing from his Old Oak acres, said here three weeks ago: 'The stadium is just not going to happen. We have a compelling vision of our own.' Warren wants to build 10,000 homes on his land. He has hired two of the property industry's most formidable negotiators in the shape of Ian and Richard Livingstone of London & Regional."

5 -15 Dec: Exhibitions - Well, Car Giant's 'Old Oak Park' name is as bad as QPR's 'New Queens Park', but apart from that,...

Link to 'Old Oak Park' [sic] web site

Old Oak Park Exhibition Newsletter One

New Queen's Park: "QPR’s plans for a stadium-led regeneration of Old Oak receive overwhelming community support"

"Thank you for responding to our consultation earlier this year.

"As you will remember, QPR’s plans involve regenerating Old Oak. We plan on building a new 40,000 seat stadium for QPR FC, creating 50,000 new jobs and building 24,000 homes.

"The stadium will be the beating heart of the huge regeneration scheme planned by the Boroughs and the GLA. It will generate activity, excitement, publicity, jobs and spin-off businesses; ensuring that the new development is a real place and not just another dormitory town of buy-to-let flats leaving little for the local community.

"In order to sustain a top-flight football club, QPR need to move on from Loftus Road and Old Oak is the only realistic place for us to move.

"As you know we have held an extensive consultation which involved a six-day public exhibition and 50,000 newsletters. We have had fantastic feedback from our consultation, almost 3,000 of you have got in touch. The key findings are:

• 2,524 (89%) people agree with QPR’s vision for Old Oak while just 302 (11%) say they disagree.
• 2,484 (88%) people support Old Oak as the location for a new QPR Stadium while just 332 (12%) say they disagree.

"We have received many useful comments e.g. about the need for improved healthcare facilities and school places in the area. We are now in the process of reviewing all the comments and feedback received during the consultation period and we will continue to work with the community as we draw up our plans in more detail. We will keep you informed of our progress."

New Queens Park Consultation Report Presentation 19 November (Low Res)[1]

HS2 Ltd.: Crossrail to the West Coast Main Line (Sept 2014)

2014-09 CS201_OOC Event Factsheet With Images V5-1

[Reposted] Crossrail to the West Coast Main Line: Some Cunning Plans

Transport for London's outline of an Old Oak Common station at Acton Wells, and TfL objections to the HS2 bill

24dash.com: "Doubts raised over new QPR stadium as former sponsor seeks to fast-track rival scheme"

"Queens Park Rangers' plans to build a new stadium at Old Oak Common have suffered a major setback after a rival landowner announced it was seeking to fast-track rival proposals for the site.

Cargiant, a west London-based vehicle warehouse which owns 47 acres of land in the area, had previously ruled out working with the Premier League club and said it would fight any plans by QPR to gain a compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the land.

But now its managing director Tony Mendes has upped the ante even further by unveiling a partnership with developer London & Regional Properties to build 20,000 'affordable' new homes.

In November, QPR were confident their stadium-led regeneration plans were on track after a local consultation revealed 90% of residents backed the proposals.

If it goes ahead, the project would be the UK's biggest regeneration project since the Olympic Games with a new 40,000-seat stadium included alongside 24,000 homes and major leisure, retail and community facilities.

It remains to be seen whether the announcement by Cargiant will put the brakes on QPR's plans but Mendes is confident that his own scheme will get the nod against the club his company used to sponsor.

Tony Mendes said:

"I am delighted to have London & Regional and DP9 on board and look forward to working with their team. Cargiant has been part of the local community for over 30 years, and brings with it land, property expertise and local knowledge, and with London & Regional bringing along their development skills and extensive experience, Old Oak Park is destined to become a model community.

London is in desperate need of more houses and the Mayor and the GLA are working hard to resolve the shortage. By appointing London & Regional at this early stage we will be accelerating the process of delivering our scheme and thousands of affordable houses for Londoners by at least 12 months."

Old Oak Park is destined to become one of the largest car-free and safest developments in London, with the needs of the local community at its heart.

This development will encompass a large proportion of affordable homes for the local community with waterside living and access to the 170 acre Wormwood Scrubs Park, which is four times the size of Green Park.

I am very grateful for the excellent initial stage work carried out by First Base and Lipton Rogers which has allowed us to get to this transitional stage quickly."

A spokesman for QPR said:

"The future regeneration of Old Oak requires everyone one to work together for the common good - the boroughs, the Mayor, landowners and the local community.

Our consultation attracted the views of almost 3,000 local residents with almost 90% in support of our stadium-led regeneration.

The future of Old Oak lies in the regeneration of the entire area and not the uncoordinated and piecemeal development of individual land holdings."

House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee: "Economic Case for HS2"

Meeting started on Tuesday 11 November at 3.39pm. Ended at 5.30pm

Witnesses

• Paul Plummer, Rail Delivery Group and Network Rail; Rupert Walker, Network Rail; and Professor Chris Nash, Institute for Transport Studies, University of Leeds
• Lord Adonis

CityAM: "Cargiant’s Old Oak Common plans threaten QPR stadium expansion"

Link to web site

"Cargiant, the west London-based vehicle warehouse, is teaming up with the Livingstone brothers’ London & Regional Properties group on one of London’s largest redevelopment projects.

"The plan to regenerate the west London Old Oak Common site with 20,000 new homes is set to clash with rival plans from Queens Park Rangers (QPR) football club chairman Tony Fernandes, who had hoped to redevelop the site with a new stadium for his Premier League team."