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The £175m Oaklands scheme will deliver the first 605 homes of a planned development of ultimately 25,500 new homes.
Deputy mayor of London James Murray joined Liz Peace, chairman of the Old Oak & Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) on site today to ceremoniously begin demolition of a derelict hostel, the first step in the Oaklands scheme.
The two joined representatives from Genesis Housing Association and Queens Park Rangers who also have a key role in delivering the vision for Old Oak and Park Royal, which is eventually set to includes a new football stadium for QPR and a Crossrail/HS2 rail interchange as well as thousands of new homes.
Liz Peace said: “Today’s ground-breaking marks the start of early-delivery of hundreds of affordable homes for Londoners and the community in west London. I am delighted to kick-start the wider regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal in line with mayor of London Sadiq Khan’s priorities. This first major scheme granted consent by OPDC and the mayor paves the way to creating a place where people will want to live, work, spend their leisure time and bring up their families.”
QPR chairman Tony Fernandes said: “We are delighted to be working with Genesis to develop the Oaklands site. The fact that we are creating 600 homes for Londoners, including many affordable homes, 10 years in advance of HS2 shows that there is plenty that can be achieved at Old Oak well before the new high speed line is finished.
“We own other sites in Old Oak and want to bring them forward as quickly as possible to create the homes and affordable homes that London desperately needs. I know the Mayor and the Government both share this aim, and have made funding available to pay for infrastructure that would lead to additional early housing development. A bridge from Willesden Junction to the north of Old Oak is exactly the kind of infrastructure that could do this, and we want to work closely with them to make it happen.
“All this development will help to alleviate London’s housing crisis, as well help us achieve our ultimate goal, which is to secure the future of QPR in West London through the construction of a new stadium with sporting, community and educational facilities that are used all year round.”
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