The OPDC Board meets on July 10th to make important decisions on its next steps. On June 18th Secretary of State Heidi Alexander made a statement in the Commons, commenting that the HS2 project was ‘an appalling mess’.
The full outcome of the current ‘reset’ of the HS2 project is unlikely to be known until early 2026. There is no known date for completion of the Birmingham to Old Oak Common stretch of high speed rail line, which is the only surviving part of the original project.
With no known date for the opening of Old Old Common station (including its Elizabeth Line platforms) levels of public transport connectivity for the ‘Old Oak project area’ will remain poor for many years to come. Decisions on plans for a West London Orbital Line and for a new Overground station at Old Oak Common Lane have yet to be made, with both projects unfunded at present.
OPDC’s response to this new scenario is due to be discussed at the July 10th Board meeting. OPDC’s delivery team and its planning team are urging that the Development Corporation should proceed ‘at pace’ with its latest masterplan proposals, including compulsory purchase of certain pieces of land.
A substantial set of development sites has been assembled by OPDC, and agreement reached with Government that OPDC should act as the lead delivery agency. Discussions with potential development partners are said to have shown ‘strong interest’. But is there a clear rationale for proceeding ‘at pace’ if the original rationale of OOC station as a ‘catalyst’ for high-density regeneration has receded yet further into the future (the late 2030s/early 2040’s). Will developer interest remain ‘strong’?
Will the planned high-density/high rise developments get built in the next few years? And it they do, how will incoming residents live their lives in car-free housing while waiting for public transport infrastructure to catch up?
OONF has recently submitted evidence to the GLA, as part of the consultation on the next London Plan. This suggests that an independent review of OPDC’s latest plans should be undertaken. London has 46 other Opportunity Areas, some of which may now be better placed to see early development of the new homes that the capital needs.
Our evidence argues that that the levels of expectation and hype around ‘Old Oak as a new part of London’ (as promoted by both HS2 and OPDC for a decade since 2015) has proved counter-productive in some respects. Land values have risen, along with developer aspirations for the extreme housing densities needed to repay land and construction costs.
A copy of our submission to the GLA’s London Plan consultation can be read or downloaded below. It is a 35 page document which includes a case study of the North Acton Cluster as an example of urban renewal which many Londoners see as conspicuously unsuccessful.
The first few pages include an executive summary of why we believe that proceeding ‘at pace’ could prove a mistake and why the reassurance of a focused independent review of OPDC’s next steps would be timely.