11 hours ago
'New town' planned for west London brownfield land
Plans are under way for a "new town" in west London which would see 25,000 homes built. The town, named Old Oak, which it is hoped will be built within 30 years, would span land in three London boroughs - Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham. The Grand Union Canal would run through the town, and stations including Old Oak Common and North Acton would be closely is understood that no residences would be demolished to make way for the 25,000 new homes. Instead, empty pockets of land owned by public sector organisations and bodies would be used to provide the space for homes to be built.
The new town project is central to meeting the mayor's ambition to make London the "global capital of life sciences", supported by WestTech of the 70 acres of land is currently industrial land and the project is considered "London's largest brownfield opportunity".Of the 25,000 homes, a new Ealing Council framework suggests that at least half should be "affordable", and 1,000 should be council homes available for social rent. Ealing Council says this would help "prevent and address the affordable housing crisis in the borough".
'Accessible and sustainable'
As of September 2024, the council had more than 8,000 households on the waiting list for a socially rented home. In 2023, more than 4,500 households approached the council as homeless or at immediate risk of homelessness – which the council said at the time was "the highest rate in the region and our highest rate on record".The council framework also sets out an ambition of delivering at least four hectares of new open is also expected that land currently used to support the construction of the HS2 Old Oak Common station will be used to provide new housing and open Lunts, chief executive of Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation overseeing the project, said: "Ealing residents will be on the doorstep of all the fantastic amenities and opportunities Old Oak brings in the future. "We share Ealing Council's ambitions to create an inclusive, accessible and sustainable place for current and future generations and will work closely with Ealing and other host boroughs throughout Old Oak's development."
