HS2 and your community

Top image credit: HS2

Background

A company called High Speed Two (HS2) is building a new high-speed rail station in H&F. The new station being built alongside Wormwood Scrubs on its northern edge will be one of the largest and best-connected stations in the country.

We're working closely with local residents, businesses and stakeholders to minimise the disruption from the major construction project.

The most impactful development is the planned closure of Old Oak Common Lane in the northwest of the borough for up to four years. Old Oak Common Lane sits on the boundary between two other boroughs – Ealing and Brent. This work is being carried out by HS2 under the powers they get from the HS2 Act. It is nothing to do with Hammersmith & Fulham Council.

We know that any work is likely to affect both local residents, including those who use Old Oak Common Lane to travel to and from H&F, and the surrounding area of Wormwood Scrubs. It will also have knock on affects to the wider surrounding residential area like White City and College Park as commuters find new ways to navigate around our borough.

This is why we are engaging with residents and local groups in affected areas to ensure your needs are being communicated with HS2.

We are in constant communication with the HS2 project to help plan the best, and least disruptive way forward. We want to make sure you and your community continue to have a voice throughout construction.

Protecting Wormwood Scrubs

In a major milestone, we've worked with the Wormwood Scrubs Charitable Trust to secure nearly £4million funding to protect this vital green space and ensure its unique biodiversity is not harmed.

The funding will help enhance and restore the Scrubs following the completion of HS2. It covers a wide variety of work including tree planting, wetland and woodland management, access, drainage and signage over a number of years.

HS2 planned works

As part of the multi-year project, a section of road on Old Oak Common Lane, in the north of the borough near Wormwood Scrubs, will need to be lowered.

Currently, double decker buses are unable to use Old Oak Common Lane as the existing rail bridge is too low. With thousands more people entering and leaving the new station daily, both HS2 and Transport for London will need to ensure these taller buses can access the new station from south of the borough.

The road underneath the rail bridge runs directly over a number of essential utilities which will also need to be shifted before the road can be lowered. When this happens Old Oak Common Lane will need to close in both directions for an extended period of time.

HS2, who are managing the ongoing works, are yet to finalise the dates of any closure, although we understand this will likely become a multi-year closure starting in 2026 at the earliest. There are also likely to be regular lane closures throughout 2025.

These closures will greatly affect many of our residents and businesses in Old Oak, College Park and other neighbouring communities. It will also affect many H&F residents who use this route to access either the north or south of the borough.

At H&F Council, we want to make sure your voice is being heard, and your needs are being met throughout the project.

What's next?

H&F are busy talking to both the project team and our neighbouring boroughs to make sure there is a unified vision that protects both the long-term prospects for our borough and supports the needs of our communities while construction takes place.

Your voice matters, and we will continue to share news and the latest updates with you as they happen.

Any feedback we receive from residents in the lead up to any closure will be taken to HS2 to help inform them of the best way of moving forward, with your needs being our number one priority.

How can I stay up to date?

We will continue to provide regular updates throughout the construction of HS2 on our website and social media channels. Any updates will also be shared in our weekly newsletter for H&F residents, where you can hear about what's going on throughout the borough.

You can sign up to our e-newsletter here.

If you would like to hear directly from the project, we recommend signing up to HS2's mailing list, where they regularly share news and updates. Make sure to select 'Old Oak Common Station' if you only want to hear about works in our area.

You can sign up to HS2's own mailing list here.

Further project background

HS2 is building a new Old Oak Common station adjacent to Wormwood Scrubs on its northern edge. This new station will be one of the largest and best-connected stations in the country.

It is expected to be one of the busiest railway stations in the UK, with high-speed rail services to the Midlands and access to both central London and Heathrow Airport via the Elizabeth Line.

At the time of its opening, Old Oak Common Station will become the main connection point between London and Birmingham with thousands of extra visitors stopping by our borough every day. It is currently planned for Euston Station to take over this role at a later date, although there is no current time frame for this.

Construction of both the new Old Oak Common station and the wider HS2 project is expected to continue into the early 2030's although there is no confirmed finishing date.

White City Innovation District and Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation

The new station will provide a world-class interchange for an estimated 250,000 passengers each day.

It will provide a new gateway for domestic and international visitors connecting with the globally-renowned White City Innovation District (WCID), the ecosystem developed by Hammersmith & Fulham Council's industrial strategy, Upstream London and Imperial College London. Since its launch in 2017, WCID has attracted £6billion in investment and created more than 13,200 jobs in the high-growth industries of the future. It also lies at the centre of the West Tech Corridor.

The new station also serves as a doorstep gateway to what will become one of the largest regeneration sites in the UK at Old Oak and Park Royal.

Plans to transform the wider area around the station are led by the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC). More than 100 acres has been marked for development and there are plans to create 25,000 new homes and 56,000 new jobs in the area.

More information

What we've done to date: