Plans for 25,000 new homes and 56,000 jobs for London gets green light

A scheme that aims to deliver 25,500 new and affordable homes and 56,000 new jobs in London has been given the go-ahead.

The Mayor of London’s Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) has adopted its Local Plan, a planning policy framework that paves the way for development in the Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area. 

OPDC submitted the modified Local Plan earlier this year and, following extensive public consultation, has been given the green light by the Planning Inspector. 

The Local Plan focuses development around HS2’s Old Oak Common Station to create an urban district with thousands of new and affordable homes, a wide range of job opportunities for local people, new public green space and community facilities. 

The plan sets out how the mayor and OPDC will maximise the benefits of Old Oak Common Station, the only place where HS2, Great Western mainline services and the newly opened Elizabeth Line will connect.

It supports the mayor’s commitments to net zero, healthy living and inclusivity for Londoners, with a wide range of policies to guide new development, including exemplary standards of environmental and social sustainability. 

Policies include a target for 50% of all new homes to be affordable, 30% of the area to be public green space and new jobs to be created across a range of sectors. 

Earlier this year, OPDC was awarded a £50m loan from the Mayor’s Land Fund to kickstart the delivery of 1,100 new and affordable homes. 

With the construction of HS2’s Old Oak Common Station well underway and 6,000 homes already built, the corporation is now working closely with government to coordinate the public-sector landholdings in the area to deliver London’s largest brownfield development opportunity, Old Oak West. 

OPDC will begin public engagement on its plans for Old Oak West in the autumn. 

Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, said: “Old Oak and Park Royal is London’s single biggest opportunity for new and affordable housing and jobs. This Local Plan will allow my development corporation to unlock that potential and continue our work to build a better London for everyone.

“As a major new gateway between London and the regions, connected by the new HS2 station, it offers huge economic and regeneration opportunities for the capital and the rest of the UK for generations to come.”

Liz Peace, chair of OPDC, added: “In just a few years’ time, Old Oak Common station, the largest ever constructed in the UK, will open. This will create an unprecedented opportunity for regeneration and investment as Old Oak becomes one of the best-connected places in the UK.

“Our Local Plan will organise and optimise that potential for growth, whilst placing genuine environmental, social and economic sustainability at its heart. 

“We have plans for 25,500 new homes and tens of thousands of new jobs in what is currently one of west London’s most deprived areas, creating a lively and flourishing district where the benefits of regeneration are available to everyone.”