02 Jun Let’s come together to deliver the West London Orbital

Back in 2019, WSP worked with the West London Alliance and London First to deliver a report, West London: Delivering the Opportunities. The report set out how we thought West London could reach its full regeneration potential. It set out success factors and development catalysts and an ambitious pipeline of developments for our then £74bn economy.

Back then none of us could have expected the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on West London. Rightly, efforts and resources have been focused on mitigating impact to business and communities. But as a region, West London has been quick to refocus effort on economic recovery. We now have a blueprint in place with the West London Alliance’s Build and Recover strategy.

Crucially, the main pillars of our economy remain in place. Some of the brightest minds and organisations in science and technology are based in West London. High Speed Two and the Elizabeth Line will both still arrive on our doorstep at Old Oak Common. Heathrow will once again become a bustling gateway for international talent and business. West London will still be able to lay claim to be the world’s most connected place. Not all regional economies are so lucky.

WSP is a founding private sector funder and partner for Capital West London, but we are also an international engineering, planning and professional services company. On the one hand we help to plan, design and manage transformative infrastructure, on the other we work with investors and developers to deliver thriving places and communities. We will often see unique opportunities to tie those two objectives together. I would like to think our experience gives us a good eye for them.

For a long time WSP has seen the West London Orbital as one such unique opportunity and five years ago we supported the boroughs in developing the business case.

It is of course not just a railway, it’s…

…a regeneration project that unlocks land to deliver 25K of the 150K homes that West London needs,

…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,

…a sustainability opportunity for carbon reduction and congestion relief.

This was the driver behind why we partnered with the West London Alliance and Capital West London to deliver the recent Virtual Investor Tour to shine a light on the project’s potential.

The Build and Recover strategy states a desire to accelerate progress on the Orbital. On the tour we had all of the ingredients present to refocus efforts and make it a reality. We had the financiers and investors, the technical and commercial experts, we had the infrastructure owners and operators, we have the developers and employers and we have local leaders backed by political will.

In London we enjoy a reputation for successfully delivering transport infrastructure. For me we do it best when our private and public sectors players get together. When we collaborate on a collective vision that then delivers for people and communities. I hope that as a West London community we can all come together to make this opportunity a reality, and benefit from it in years to come.

Ian Liddell is Managing Director, Planning & Advisory, WSP

Ian was one of the speakers on our West London Orbital virtual tour, which is available on-demand by clicking on the image at the top of the page.