Mayor of London approves Old Oak and Park Royal planning framework

Johnson published the documentation for consultation earlier this year and the framework has been amended following the consultation.  The framework sets out "the strategic planning direction for the area".

The [OPDC] is one of 38 areas of greater London identified by the Greater London Authority as being capable of accommodating large scale redevelopment. It covers 950 hectares of land, incorporating Old Oak Common, Park Royal and Wormwood Scrubs, and includes parts of the London boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith and Fulham.

The framework sets out to deliver a total of 25,500 new homes in the Old Oak and Park Royal area. Park Royal will remain primarily an industrial area but 1,500 new homes will be located in non-industrial locations. The remaining 24,000 new homes will be located in a newly created "urban neighbourhood" in Old Oak.

The document also includes plans for a new railway station to be built at Old Oak Common.  This will provide an interchange between High Speed 2, Crossrail and the National Rail creating a hub between London and the rest of the UK. It is hoped that 250,000 passengers will pass through this station on a daily basis.

The regeneration will also create 65,000 new jobs; 55,000 based at Old Oak and 10,000 at Park Royal.

Transport for London, Network Rail and other public bodies own approximately 70% of the core Old Oak site. OPDC director of planning Mick Mulhern said that "[they are] having conversations about how to release that land for development and the role [they will] have in that process… it is something that [they will] do over the next 18-24 months."

Sir Edward Lister, deputy mayor for planning and chairman of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, said: “London urgently needs new homes and commercial space to meet its ever growing population and there can be no doubt that the regeneration of Old Oak represents a real opportunity to meet those needs. This strategy will mean we can plan for the future of this vast site as we work to create a new, thriving and sustainable part of the capital, where people will love to live, work, play and visit.”

Planning expert Victoria Lindsay of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said "The mayor has now identified 38 opportunity areas across the capital. Opportunity areas are London's major source of brownfield land with significant capacity for new housing, commercial and other development linked to existing or potential improvements to public transport accessibility.

"The mayor believes that this area in West London presents the opportunity to create tens of thousands of new homes and could provide 14% of Greater London's employment needs up to 2031," she said.

"The finalised framework still needs to be published and with Car Giant the Old Oak's largest landowner, it remains to be seen how the public ownership of the site is packaged and brought forward," Lindsay said.