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Former MP set to chair Old Oak development corporation
Former MP Dame Karen Buck is set to chair the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC).
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has confirmed his intention to appoint Dame Karen to oversee delivery of tens of thousands of affordable homes in the capital’s largest brownfield site.
She will take up her post on 1 January 2025, subject to confirmation by the London Assembly. Her proposed appointment follows the news that Liz Peace is stepping down after two terms as chair of OPDC.
Ms Peace, a former chief executive of the British Property Federation, adopted a 20-year planning framework for the west London site.
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Dame Karen was the Labour MP for Westminster North, formerly Regent’s Park and Kensington North, for 27 years from 1997 until 2024. She also served on Westminster City Council from 1990 to 1997.
Mr Khan described Dame Karen as a “champion of housing and the rights of renters”. She was behind a private members’ bill that led to the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 and has dedicated her career to “advocating for communities and campaigning for decent homes”.
Dame Karen has extensive experience in regeneration and placemaking and is currently chair of the South Kilburn Trust, a charity working with residents’ groups, organisations and businesses to support long-term change in South Kilburn. She is also co-chair of the North Paddington Delivery Board.
OPDC is currently bringing forward plans for 9,000 new affordable homes, as well as retail and public space, in a new canalside district around the new HS2 and Elizabeth Line at Old Oak Common station.
Mr Khan said that Dame Karen “brings a wealth of experience, expertise and knowledge that will strengthen its ambitious regeneration plans for the capital”.
He continued: “Under Dame Karen’s leadership, OPDC will continue to progress plans to deliver transformational change for west London, with thousands of new homes and jobs in the pipeline.”
Dame Karen said: “This is such an exciting development with so much potential. I am hugely looking forward to working with the board and team at OPDC as it moves into the next phase of delivering the homes and jobs London needs.”
It was revealed in September that the development corporation had acquired a site in Park Royal to power its new district heat network.
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