Member Article

£5 billion Grand Union Canal plans spark conflict with Queens Park Rangers

The world’s biggest motor dealership and former QPR sponsor, Cargiant, has submitted plans for a £5 billion residential development on the banks of the Grand Union Canal.

The club has previously submitted plans to build a new stadium on the Old Oak site and has since encountered difficulties with its ex-sponsor which owns the plot.

According to the London Evening Standard, Cargiant has submitted plans to build around 9,500 homes and a new high street on the sprawling 45-acre site in west London it has occupied for 34 years.

Other elements of the vision include a “cultural hub” in the Art Deco former Rolls-Royce car maintenance works building that now serves as Cargiant’s HQ, a primary and secondary school and a new dock on the canal for leisure craft.

Cargiant has 700 employees and plans to relocate if permission is granted for the project. The new location is not yet known.

Prelimary talks between Cargiant and QPR over the land, have been called off. Tony Mendes, managing director of Cargiant said: “QPR are heading down a blind alley and it’s time the fans and everyone at the club realise that.”

Mr Mendes said the company was committed to spending as much as £15 million preparing the planning application.

A spokesman for QPR said: “The regeneration of Old Oak requires everyone to work together for the common good — the boroughs, the Mayor, landowners and the local community.

“Our consultation has so far attracted the views of more than 1,000 residents with over 80 per cent in support of our stadium-led regeneration. The future of Old Oak lies in the regeneration of the entire area and not the piecemeal development of individual land holdings.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ellen Forster .