This morning on the Politics show our proposed stadium plans were discussed. From the 39.00 minute mark, interview with Phil Beard and discussion. http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b04tc5kd/sunday-politics-london-14122014 Next week there's an important vote that could decide whether we do get to build the stadium at Old Oak, it decides whether Boris gets to be in charge of the overall say of the development. It will put him in charge of everything including planning and compulsory purchases, if he fails then I'm pretty sure our plans will come to nothing unless we make a larger amount of home affordable than Cargiant propose. We know all the relevant councils involved our on our side so far, but with our plans including a stadium and entertainment complex, a large amount of land will be used up meaning the housing will be at a premium. Now as the development of the land must generate the money require to build the transport hub (1.5 billion), the main concern for the councils is that there wont be enough affordable housing. So it seems this is the only stumbling block as far as the council are concerned and I"m sure if we ensure our plans have the proposed 35% affordable homes I'm sure we can become the favoured bid. If that happens Cargiant haven't got a leg to stand on, as I"m sure the councils would prefer to have all the things we promise, if it can be achieved, rather than just the housing as proposed by Cargiant as we would bring some prestige to the area as a Premiership football team. It is worrying as the Mayors aid does allude to the fact there is a parcel of land available in Park Royal that we might be able to use, which I'm guessing is the same land we tried to persuade Cargiant to use but they said it's not big enough. I saw on the thread Re FFP that people were talking about TF quitting if we have a large fine imposed!? Well I very much doubt that is the case, but even if he did so what, he's a lovely guy but we have Mittal and Amit, who I'm sure would love the chance to take over. But the true purpose of all of them being involved is to build this project, it will make them Billions, we are just the key to the lock of getting the land. So it is very much key that we do win the battle for Old Oak, because of the transport hub and the money it will generate. Building the same kind of project in Park Royal just wouldn't make sense. If we were to lose, then I truly would become worried as to whether the owners would stay on. So keep your ears peeled for the outcome of this vote next week, cause I"m pretty sure if Boris does win, then so do we.
Interestingly the Development Company that will be established if the vote is yes has already recruited its staff.
Hopefully our owners will have employed standard business practice and greased the right palms and made the right promises so they can make loads of money. Seems a bit of a circuitous route to find 20 acres to build a football stadium. Who thinks they will walk away if the Mayor says we'll go with you if you drop the satdium and replace it with more houses and another ****ing shopping mall?
I couldn't give a **** about who makes the most money out of the Old Oak development - **** Tony Fernandes , **** Cargiant, **** the ****ing mayor. I would just like the opportunity to watch my team in a comfortable environment, wherever it may be. Loftus Road is a horrible place.
That was just a 'what if' Sooper, but given the throughput of people that the rail hub will generate I can. Much more use and providing much more employment than a football stadium. How far is Westfield from High Street Kensington? Plus shopping is much more popular in this country than football. Having looked at the programme it's clear that the stadium is an incidental issue. If the total area for development available is 200 acres (I thought it was much more for some reason) a stadium would take up up to 10% of it - thats a lot of houses or offices. I don't really understand why it has to be built on Car Giants 47 acres though. If the Mayor really wants it surely he can allocate another area of the site for it? Totally agree Stroller, and hopefully within my lifetime.
What is proposed is clearly a multi-purpose venue and not just a football stadium. The original vision document said that the existence of a stadium would give a kick start to the infrastructure projects that are needed to deliver the plan, in particular the station upgrades other than HS2 itself. I assume that the QPR consortium are expected to stump up at least some of those costs. Finally, let's not forget that moving QPR will free up a small but hugely valuable plot of land for additional housing in Shepherds Bush. Here's hoping.
Excellent point AAAGH. I have to say that after watching the program I'm now slightly more confident that the stars are aligning for us on this. Really important week for the club.
I think what the council are scared of is that if the mayor takes overall control, including giving planning permission, is that he will give it to the bidder who'll make the most money blah blah, forget about affordable housing blah blah. The councils haven't got an issue with the stadium in the slightest, if you watch the interview with Beard it was the council that pointed us at the Old Oak project. Hammersmith and Fulham want to keep us and I'm sure Brent and North Kensington would love to claim us as well. As long as they get reassurances that they will get what they want, affordable housing, then they have no objections at all. The question is, are we as the developer, willing to incorporate enough affordable housing into the project? The aim of the Mayor is to get the bidder to pay for the 1.5bn needed to build the new "super station" that is needed. So any bidder then has to recoup 1.5 big ones out of the project and obviously affordable housing is the worst way to try and recoup that money. But a new multi-purpose stadium/arena/conference centre/entertainment centre/offices etc etc will make a lot more than 1.5bn in the long term, and here lies why our owners are with us, or at least the Mittals. The cost of running QPR, even at a loss is peanuts to the figures they're interested in and that is why people shouldn't worry too much about the press making a big deal about our losses, cause it doesn't to the owners. It seems to me, even if the mayor does lose, we could still end up the winners simply by ensuring we include a lot of affordable housing. If the mayor is willing to make this the new Canary Wharf we could include a skyscraper of affordable housing and come out of it smelling of roses. Oh what about Cargiant? Crying in their milk realising they get less in a CPO than the amount we offer them.
of course car giant could offer the same or a greater amount of cheap housing what exactly does affordable mean in London these days
Mind you, in certain areas the car is king... http://www.independent.co.uk/property/chelsea-garage-sells-for-half-a-million-9831440.html
A long way to go with this. Housing next to a 'multi purpose sports arena' is often a contentious issue with noise, increased traffic and general disruption to nearby residents. As mentioned a few times above, the additional revenue generated by more housing instead of a stadium must also be factored in. All will be irrelevant should HS2 not actually proceed which given the political fallout of building it through the Tory heartlands coupled with a runaway budget is quite likely.
This is getting way too complicated and will take years and years even for decisions to be made. I notice nobody is saying a new stadium by 2018 any more. Of course if it falls through we are back to square one as Fernandes has said there is no back up plan, all eggs in one basket. The irony is a stadium at Old Oak would be perfect for me, if the train links work properly. Could be an hour door to door.
Yep Jacko. And in truth this is a critical development for London, a new home for QPR isn't and shouldn't be an important factor in it. If it fits, great, if not move on.It's the fact that this will drag on for a very long time before we know where we stand that irks. But such is planning in the UK.
