The land, known as Old Oak Park, lies within the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area, now covered by the new Mayoral Development Corporation. The site is surrounded and divided by railway lines, with the Grand Union Canal to the south.
The emerging Opportunity Area Planning Framework (OAPF) for the Old Oak Common area sets out a 30-year vision to transform the area into a thriving new district with the arrival of Crossrail and HS2 and proposals including a major public transport interchange at Old Oak Common Station, two new underground stations, 24,000 new homes, the creation of two new centres and the opening up and activation of the canal.
The Old Oak Park site, which is the largest privately owned site in the Old Oak Common area, is seen as key to kick-starting regeneration of the wider area. The initial masterplan envisages 9,000 new homes, 8,000 permanent new jobs, health and educational provision, community uses and open spaces, new hotels, a cultural quarter and a transformed environment around the canal.
The proposals also include a new high street which would eventually connect Willesden Junction to the North, the proposed Hythe Road underground station within the site and cross the canal to the proposed new HS2/Crossrail Old Oak Common Station and Wormwood Scrubs to the South. The high street is to provide a range of facilities including shops, restaurants, services, community facilities and educational uses to serve the local community. Further transport links are proposed including the creation of new vehicle access, pedestrian and cycle routes and bridges across the Grand Union Canal to connect the site to the rest of the regeneration area. The proposals for the site do not include a new stadium for Queen's Park Rangers.
The public consultation will end on 4 July 2015 and a second round of consultation is planned for later this year. It is intended that a planning application would be submitted to the Development Corporation by the end of 2015. Cargiant has been located at the site since 1985 but will move once redevelopment commences.
Deputy Mayor of London and Chairman of the Old Oak and Park Royal Mayoral Development Corporation, Edward Lister, said: “Old Oak Common is truly one of the most exciting parts of London. It is going to be home to a huge railway station that brings together HS2 and Crossrail, which a quarter of a million people will use every day. On top of all this movement, all this connectivity, we are working hard to build the homes, offices, work spaces and community facilities to create a brand new part of the capital.”
Chief Executive of the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation, Victoria Hills, said: "It's important to get momentum going at this vast regeneration programme, to send a strong signal to the wider community that the regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal is actually happening. Old Oak Park can make a valuable contribution to delivering the Mayor’s vision of 24,000 homes and 55,000 jobs."
The Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation was established on 1 April 2015 and has key planning and regeneration functions for the area. The Greater London Authority is currently considering the response to consultation on the draft OAPF which closed in April and which is likely to be adopted this year.
Planning expert Anna Forge of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said: "The proposals illustrate the vast potential offered by the extensive statutory powers of the Mayor and the new Development Corporation."
"The convergence of those powers with planned major investment in transport infrastructure and the early availability of this key site offer a genuinely unique opportunity to transform West London and meet a range of policy objectives," said Forge. "Ensuring landowners, developers and public sector stakeholders work together to deliver the plan for the area will be key."