The Old Oak Park Royal Development Corporation is working up a proposal for government grant funding of up to £200m that could finally bring forward significant development at the £26bn regeneration.
A bid to the National Home Building Fund aims to plug an estimated gap of between £135m to £200m, supporting early enabling works as the OPDC readies development opportunities for the private sector.
The OPDC launched in 2015 with a mandate to deliver 25,000 homes on 1,600 acres around Old Oak and Park Royal, but has struggled with a series of setbacks. A furious row with major landowner Cargiant and changing values and costs ultimately saw the OPDC abandon its development plans for Old Oak North and a £250m Housing Infrastructure Fund grant.
However, last week, the OPDC’s board approved the new Local Plan to be resubmitted to the planning inspector with a timeline for adoption this year.
The new Western Lands masterplan will see the OPDC work with landowners High Speed 2, the Department for Transport and Network Rail to parcel up potential development opportunities around the station.
The revised plan lays out some £2.14bn to support social, transport and green infrastructure, including funding new access roads, bridges and utilities. The OPDC’s Infrastructure Delivery Plan sets out £347m in unfunded infrastructure bills, of which £145m-£211m will be covered by developer contributions.
Grant funding from the government £7.1bn National Home Builders Fund would plug the deficit, alongside expected bids for affordable housing and retention of future business rates uplift.
David Lunts, chief executive at the OPDC, told EG: “Our work last year was very much about sorting our new strategic approach, how we get that locked into the planning policy framework and getting that into a position where we can submit that back to the planning inspector with a view to adoption this year. We’ve done that.
“The second thing we have to do is to get a credible position established with central government around the use of government land and the infrastructure funding that we need.
“If we can do those two things then the other thing we will turn our mind to very quickly, is how do we then get into the marketplace and think about a procurement plan that will bring those big investment and development player into centre stage with us.”
Read more about the OPDC’s development and partnership aspirations in EG’s exclusive interview with David Lunts, chief executive of the OPDC, later this week.
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