In July the Mayor of London launched a consultation on a full draft version of the London Plan. The StQW Neighbourhood Forum worked with the Old Oak Neighbourhood Forum in preparing a response.

The two forums share common concerns. Both neighbourhoods are made up of mainly 19th century terraced housing. Both are close to Opportunity Areas, of which there a 47 across London. In the case of the Old Oak and Park Royal area and the Kensal Canalsde area, both of these include large tracts of undeveloped land on which parts of London’s railway system was built.

The railway lines and the Grand Union Canal have for 260 years created natural barriers to travel and movement, in terms of the main roads and street networks tnat were formed on either side of Wormwood Scrubs. Borough boundaries of Ealing, Hammersmith and of Kensington have also limited any joined-up spatial planning for this part of West London.

The creation of the Old Oak abd Park Royal Development Corporation in 2015 was meant to bring about a new approach. The HS2 rail interchange at Old Oak Common was to make ‘Old Oak’ the best connected location in the UK. The interchange was due to open in 2026. The current official date is now 2036/2039.

While this £4.7bn station will include the HS2 line to Birmingham, the GWR lines to the west country, and Elizabeth Line platforms, the extent to which it will prove to be a major ‘catalyst’ for regeneration and new development has increasingly been questioned by local residents. Links with London’s Overground and Underground network (at North Acton and at Willesden Junction) will still involve a longish walk.

The StQW response to the Draft London Plan (see below) flags up the fact that the Kensal Canalside Opportunity Area is inherently unsuited for high density and ‘car-free’ residential towers. Although ideas have been floated in the past for a north/south bridge across to Barlbly Road, and a second bridge giving access through Kensal Cemetery to Kensal Rise Underground, the two current development proposals for the Opportunity Area do not include these links in their planning applications.

The proposals from housing developers Ballymore and Sainsbury’s Ltd were approved by RBKC’s Planning Committee in Novemver 2025. But this decision remains subject to the Mayor of London and RBKC has yet to refer to application onwards. Negotiations continue on the ‘planning obligations’ which Ballymore proposed as part of a S106 agreeement, including the amount of ‘affordable’ housing units to be provided,

The second set of housing proposals for the western end of the Opportunity Aea, from Berkeley Homes St William, has yet to be decided on by RBKC.

Both of these national housebuilding firms have made recent public statements that major developments of this kind have become financially unviable in London’s housing market. A combination of high land values, escalating construction costs, new regulations on tall buildiings (post Grenfell) and reduced interest from buyers in acquiring/renting small flats in tower blocks, have combined together to alter the financial equation.

Our response to the Draft London Plan suggests that a fresh look is needed at the cuirrent masterplans prepared by both the OPDC and by RBKC (in the latter case over the past 14 years). We see a need for intervention by the Mayor of London to build mid-rise housing using modular construction methods for speed and econonomy, on both sides of the Scrubs. The existing HS2 construction compounds at Old Oak Lane and Victoria Road offer good locations for factory manufacture of modular units.

The closure of the Cargiant business may give an opportunity to re-visit elements of the Cargiant/London and Regional Properties masterplan for ‘Old Oak Park’. This was a well develeoped plan for 6,500 new homes, with a bridge across to Old Oak Common station and a new ‘major town centre’ which would be a shorter walk than the location at Acton Wells/North Acton, now being promoted by OPDC. The two neighbourhood forums hope that the OPDC and the Mayor of London will at least give some consideration to these ideas.