YouTube clip reveals Park Royal City vision

Skip Navigation

YouTube clip reveals Park Royal City vision: We built this city on rails and road!

Monday August 3, 2011

Watch the video on YouTube» (opens new window)

Futurist computer generated graphics showing how one of Britain’s poorest neighbourhoods could be transformed by the nation’s first high-speed rail super hub were released today.

To the sound track of ‘We Built This City’ by Starship, the YouTube clip shows how vast swathes of derelict or underused industrial land – around Old Oak Common in NW10 – could be transformed into London’s newest city.

The ambitious regeneration vision, which has been dubbed Park Royal City, shows 12,000 new homes and businesses and 115,000 extra jobs (40,000 in H&F) created around an unrivalled convergence of transport routes in north-west London.

The four minute video, which was put together by Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council and internationally renowned architects Farrells, was released as a growing coalition of west London businesses leaders and residents came forward to back the plans.

The Department for Transport (DfT) will make a decision on the proposed stations for the high speed rail line (HS2) from Birmingham to London in December this year and momentum is growing in favour of Park Royal City International.

Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader, says: “HS2 is the fastest way to deliver much need new homes, jobs and opportunities in one of London's poorest areas and the case for an interchange station at Old Oak is overwhelming.”

“The Old Oak super hub is vital to making the overall HS2 plans work properly as it will relieve pressure on central London terminals, like Euston, that will not be able to cope with the huge number of additional passengers on their own. The YouTube clip clearly shows how HS2 could be the catalyst to create Park Royal City. This is a once in lifetime opportunity to transform a sometimes forgotten part of London from a Bermuda Triangle of inactivity into a thriving new city.”

The video shows new homes, businesses and a new waterside park along the Grand Union Canal built around a 21st century transport super-hub. The vision is compared to others designed by Farrells in China - at Guangzhou, Kowloon and Beijing.

Sir Terry Farrell, who will talk about the plans at The Place West London event, on October 11 at Olympia, says, “The regeneration potential of the transport super hub at Park Royal City is a tremendous opportunity for London and the UK as a whole. This project is of huge significance to the economy of London and will deliver a new metropolitan quarter of the city, with new homes and employment opportunities in an area currently occupied by brown field land. The convergence of HS2 and Crossrail here will revolutionise transport opportunities for the UK and the rest of the world.”

Residents and business in the area have also welcomed the plans, which would strengthen the economic capacity of Park Royal. Brian Hinchley, Acting Chief Executive of Park Royal Partnership, said: “We look forward to working with the councils, the rail industry, and developers, to make sure that this once in a lifetime opportunity brings benefits of major inward investment, regeneration and employment to this part of West London.”

Around half of working age adults within 1.2miles of the new city, including residents in the neighbouring boroughs of Brent, Ealing and K&C, are unemployed and some parts of Old Oak are in the bottom 1% of most deprived areas nationally.

Steve Howe, Director of Capital Projects and Planning at Imperial College, added: “Imperial College London supports the concept of the Old Oak/HS2 high speed interchange. The college sees this as an important area for development in the fields of academia and translational enterprises and this transport link will bring vitality to this area acting as a catalyst for providing future employment opportunities as well as creating exciting vibrant new communities.”

Park Royal City is being promoted as the location for an HS2 station as:

  • It would take pressure off central London terminals like Euston which would have to cope with 13,000 extra passengers an hour without the high-speed hub at Old Oak
  • It would properly link four of the nation’s major airports to the high speed rail network for the first time. Heathrow would be just 11 minutes away. Three other airports (Luton, Stansted and City Airport) would be within 30 minutes
  • The site possesses unrivalled road and rail connections e.g. Great Western and West Coast mainlines, Crossrail, West and North London Lines, Bakerloo and Central Underground lines, Heathrow Express, A40 and North Circular Road

Paul Keegan, Chairman of the Old Oak Tenants and Residents’ Association, says local residents are ‘100% behind’ the Old Oak interchange. “We are all for it,” he said, “Anything that brings regeneration and jobs to this area will be welcomed. We are just crying out for new businesses and jobs.”

Watch the video on YouTube» (opens new window)

» Send us your comments now

It will not look dated if the buildings are deliberately designed by different architects in different styles, deliberately implying they were not built at the same time. Street furniture needs varying for same reason.

But flats must be ''Whole-of-Life'', not-single-aspect, and better than ''Boris-standard spacious'', please.

The light railway could link with the ''North and West London Light Railway'', which is an attempt to change the dreadful Brent Cross car-based development around the North Circular Road in Barnet. In fact, it would need to have longer routes, to be viable.

Light-rail went in first in Docklands: ''Build it and They will come''. Don''t end up with merely a special bus service instead, for goodness sake.
From Jon on 14/10/2011 at 17:12
I know it is only a little thing - the scheme overall is great, but Wormwood Scrubbs Park is home to a number of species of wildlife, rare where London is concerned and, in the case of the elusive sand lizards, rare where the whole country is concerned. Whatever development is planned, provision must be made to protect, or if necessary relocate, these precious creatures. I saw in the plan that there is plenty of retained park space - the joy of the Scrubbs is that so much of it is natural rather than a planned, laid out park. We pick blackberries there, there are also sloes and hazelnuts for those who get there at just the right time (!) and it is a place for city children to learn about the country without making the journey out of London. The canal is also a haven for wildlife, despite the rubbish that some people sling in it. Please make sure that what is good in the area stays the same - the video focussed on the bad enveloping Old Oak. Its not all bad!
From Jane Thurston-Hoskins on 04/10/2011 at 14:07
Agree with above comments. Great idea!!! Should def go forward asap but the design leaves MUCH to be desired in terms of aesthetics. Something a little less Jetsons and more ZEN or just glass rather than greys and concrete/cement would weather better. The aesthetics need VAST improvement.
From holly on 04/10/2011 at 13:43
It is a great idea to develop the area, and to create new jobs and more homes. However the video shows a grey, dark and sad picture. A sci-fi nightmare!! Who in their right mind would want to live there???
From Goodall on 04/10/2011 at 10:38
I am completely behind this (although that building IS ugly). The infrastructure is ready and waiting at Old Oak, and the whole area will get a much needed boost.
From Misery Lou on 04/10/2011 at 10:24
Absolutely horrid. It looks like something out of "Logan''s Run" or some other tacky sci-fi B movie. I presume that the architects from farrel do not live anywhere near the site and will therefore not have to look at it! It''s pretty obvious that within twenty years it will look sad and dated. It is reminiscent of the flyover on the A4. Please stop destroying the area with ugly modern buildings that do not harmonise with the surroundings. This council seems to have no purpose other than to sell of our borough to the highest bidding developer. REVOLTING!
From Joy Cox on 03/10/2011 at 19:33

Comments

Your comments

Name:*
Display name:*
E-mail:*
Comment:*
 
characters
 
Enter the code shown above:*

                      I accept the terms and conditions of posting to this site*
 

* denotes mandatory field