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."