QPR’s £6bn Old Oak Common development plan collides with Cargiant’s roadblock
London football club Queens Park Rangers faces a battle to keep its £6bn development in west London on track, after local landowner Cargiant revealed it was determined to pursue a rival development.
QPR kicked off a public consultation earlier this month on a planned redevelopment in the Old Oak Common area, including a new 40,000-seat stadium, 24,000 new houses and 55,000 new jobs,
However, QPR has been unable to reach agreement on its plans with Cargiant, a large local car dealer that also has specialised workshops and owns around 350 commercial tenancies in west London.
QPR had previously been in talks with Cargiant, which owns 45 acres of land in the area, but talks broke down earlier this year.
Yesterday Cargiant said: “The company are not in negotiations with QPR and will not enter into any future talks with the club.”
Cargiant also dismissed the risk that QPR might seek a compulsory purchase order, as it stated there was “no legal basis” as it was a “willing developer”.
Tony Mendes, Cargiant managing director, told CityAM yesterday: “We’re refusing further talks with QPR as we’re too far down the road with our exciting development plans, which are a long term investment for Cargiant.”
Mendes added: “We have the land, the funding, a strong team and proposals, and we’ll be announcing further details in the weeks ahead.”
A QPR spokesman said: “Our current consultation has so far attracted the views of more than 1,000 local 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 uncoordinated and piecemeal development of individual land holdings.”
UPDATE: This story has been modified to clarify that the estimated cost of the development plan is £6bn