PARK ROYAL - OLD OAK COMMON - KENSAL: April 2017

2017-04-24

Tue 2 May: Mitre Yard - "Another valuable quantum in the palette of the urban fabric", or, "there goes the neighbourhood"

2017-05-02 Mitre Yard Presentation Event and InformationSL by scribdstorage on Scribd

2017-04-23

Evening Standard: "The Age of Spectacle by Tom Dyckhoff- review"

Link to web site

"When did it suddenly become a good idea to design towers shaped like cheesegraters or walkie-talkies? When did skyscrapers start getting called gherkins (even though they clearly look more like a bullet or a sex toy)? When did we suddenly need giant viewing wheels, High Lines and Olympic sculptures that double as helter-skelters?

"The answer, in short, was when Western cities became places of conspicuous consumption and extravagant spectacle rather than production and manufacturing.

"That, at least, is the thesis of TV presenter and architecture buff Tom Dyckhoff in his book The Age of Spectacle. And it's a sound one."

2017-04-19

HS2 Independent Design Panel - What's wrong with Old Oak Common

HS2-IDP-Chair s Report 2[1] by scribdstorage on Scribd

2017-04-06

High Speed 2: 'Design Vision'

2017-04 HS2 Design Vision Booklet by scribdstorage on Scribd

Wed 26 Apr: "OPDC draft Local Plan: What is Regulation 19?"

"The nature of the next stage of consultations is very different to last year's Regulation 18 draft Local Plan, so we're holding an event to go through the differences.

"This will enable you to have your say in the future of Old Oak and Park Royal once the consultation is launched."

Date and Time

Wed 26 April 2017

19:00 – 20:30 BST

Location

140 Wales Farm Road

London

W3 6UG

2017-04-05

The Speculation Game: "Brexit will prioritise robotics over human training"

Link to web site

"... Laing O’Rourke recently built their own pre-fabrication facility with the help of handouts dating back to the coalition government's Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative (AMSCI). Such an operation is capable of churning out building components to create 10,000 homes per year. The take-up of this process will, as ever, depend on subsidies and incentivisation through capital tax allowances which encourage R&D.

"Building at speed for politically-charged housebuilding targets may well fuse with a boom in investments in robot manufacturing. The widely influential Farmer report, stingingly titled Modernise or Die, supports calls for technological advancements to the construction industry. By moving construction away from its highly fluctuating manual labour market, Farmer argues that assembly line production with quicker outputs will stabilise the boom and bust nature of the industry.

"Just as fruit-picking will not be sufficiently replaced by human labour, UK-born construction workers are scarce and 20% of the existing workforce are heading into retirement within 5-10 years. Automation will continue to forge its way into political discourse as a way of relinquishing menial jobs from society. For construction however, technological improvements will come as a necessity to meet the swollen level of demand."

2017-04-01

[Reposted from June 2015] London Overground to Opportunity Areas: to Hounslow (Golden Mile) and to Mill Hill (Wembley-ish, Brent Cross and Colindale/RAF Museum)

Boris's earlier plan

Questions to the Mayor:
Old Oak Common (1)

Navin Shah (21-May-2015):

"You have published aspirations to run London Overground services from Old Oak Common towards Hounslow (via the Golden Mile development area) and towards Mill Hill Broadway (via both Brent Cross and Colindale development areas).

The Mayor (21-May-2015):

"I believe an Overground connection to the new High Speed Two interchange station at Old Oak Common is necessary for HS2 to work properly for London. Such a connection would improve connectivity to the HS2 network, reduce pressure at Euston and support the development of the Old Oak Common area. Having this connection in place will also introduce the possibility of other connections being added in the longer term.

"TfL's consultation on an Old Oak Overground station that was undertaken in 2014 did not include a possible future extension of Overground services to Hounslow or Mill Hill. However, TfL is working with Network Rail, HS2 Ltd, the Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and other organisations to ensure that passive provision is made for such an extension to operate in the future.

"I will continue to advocate for the best possible package of measures to enable the full economic potential of Old Oak Common to be realised."

- See more at: http://questions.london.gov.uk/QuestionSearch/searchclient/#sthash.dASecDNS.sIhr9EGT.dpuf

Old Oak Common - Quality of Infrastructure (8)

Fiona Twycross (25-Mar-2015):

"Will you include provision for access to platforms on the Dudding Hill Line tracks, in the new London Overground station on the North London line?

The Mayor (25-Mar-2015):

"The immediate priority for enhancing connectivity at Old Oak Common is to create new connections to the existing Overground network. Following a public consultation last year, and extensive technical analysis, TfL have decided to progress the option which would see two Overground stations delivered at Old Oak Common (Option C).

"In designing the proposals for new Overground stations at Old Oak Common, TfL is in discussion with HS2 Ltd about providing a new walkway between Victoria Road and the North London Line, shown on the 2014 consultation plans. Such a link would be safeguarded to allow access to any future station on the Dudding Hill Line."

Old Oak Common - Quality of Infrastructure (1)

Fiona Twycross (25-Mar-2015):

"Following your answer to Question 2014/4024, have you achieved any success in demanding proper segregated cycle lanes on all modified sections of Old Oak Common Lane and Victoria Road?"