VIPs have been given an exclusive look at the West London Orbital at a virtual investor tour facilitated by White Label for Capital West London.
The hour-long tour saw major stakeholders in projects along the line speak about their schemes and showcase the opportunities and benefits the creation of the line will bring to residents, businesses and investors.
The line will connect the Great West Corridor, Old Oak/Park Royal, Wembley and Brent Cross/Cricklewood Opportunity Areas, enabling the development of up to 15,800 new homes, as well as supporting opportunities for commercial and mixed-use sites. The West London Orbital will also improve journey times and offer much-needed transport alternatives, along with enhancing the attractiveness of the areas it connects to business occupiers and improving access for potential employees.
The tour was hosted in association with WSP, Willmott Dixon, Brentford Football Club, Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation and Capital West London partners.
Opening the tour, Ian Liddell, Managing Director, Planning and Advisory, WSP said: “For a long time WSP has seen the West London Orbital as one such unique opportunity.
“Not a railway – a regeneration project to deliver 150,000 homes that West London needs to grow. An economic lever to rebalance and level up employment across the West London geography. A mobility opportunity to bring business, innovators and entrepreneurs together. A chance to re-establish our town centres as the living rooms of our communities.”
While the virtual tour was an hour, the completed route will take just 37 minutes from Hendon to Hounslow – the route delegates virtually travelled down.
Along the way stops were made at Brent Cross West, Neasden, Harlesden, Old Oak, Acton Central, South Acton, Lionel Road, Brentford, Syon Lane and Isleworth. Delegates heard from speakers including Andrew Barry-Purrsell, the West London Alliance’s planning and infrastructure lead, Matthew Rheinberg, major projects manager at Transport for London, Jon Varney, CEO at Brentford Football Club and Anthony Peter, Development Director on Brent Cross Town.
Matthew Kemp, Senior Operations Manager at Willmott Dixon, joined the tour virtually at its final stop in Hounslow to showcase Frank Towell Court, a 102-home affordable housing scheme in Feltham, which is due to complete in late 2022. He said: “The project provides the opportunity for Willmott Dixon to build on the social value that we’ve already delivered at Bristol Court where we achieved a value of £5million through activities such as local spend, apprenticeships, donations and volunteering.
“In addition, we will be focusing on upskilling people in the Feltham area by creating our one of our award-winning building lives academies, which will be based on site live in just a few weeks’ time. This will offer local people the chance to access employment, provide life skills, and achieve construction training and certification.”
Niall Bolger, Chief Executive of Hounslow Council, closed the tour just before delegates ‘all changed’, and said: “The West London Orbital, in my opinion, represents the most significant new major infrastructure investment for London, which will generate enormous benefits and opportunities for the city as a whole, and represents extraordinary value for money, given the number of regeneration, economic development and housing developments that will be released as a result of this infrastructure investment.”
