Old Oak is set to emerge as a newly thriving London area within a few years, if government and Transport for London (TfL) proposals come to fruition.

The government has already announced proposals to connect High Speed 2 (HS2), Crossrail and National Rail via a new station in the Old Oak Common area, which it wants to be built in the next 12 years.

This Old Oak station would become one of the UK’s best-connected railway stations.

Now Boris and TfL want the station to be connected to the London Overground too.

They argue that the government’s current proposals, which exclude the Overground connection, are “a missed opportunity to integrate HS2 and Crossrail with the local transport network, improving connectivity and supporting further economic growth of the area”.

So the mayor and TfL have put forward plans to connect all the lines, and they’ve just opened consultation on their proposals, which offer a few different ways of connecting Old Oak to the rest of the network.

You can find out all about those plans here, and here’s a map of the connections they’re proposing:

Boris wants to create 55,000 jobs and 24,000 new homes in this area, and TfL says that the proposed Old Oak station would support that.

But where on earth is Old Oak, anyway, and why all the fuss about it?

Old Oak is in north-west London, between Acton and Willesden Junction.

There’s not much going on there at the moment that you’d know about if you’re not from that neck of the woods (other than maybe Wormwood Scrubs Prison).

But the area looks like it could hot up in the coming years, given more transport infrastructure.

Firstly, Queen’s Park Rangers want to build a new 40,000-seat stadium in the Old Oak Common area, which is where the 55,000 jobs and 24,000 new homes come in - as part of QPR’s £6bn development plan.

(QPR is currently in consultation but battling Cargiant, a local car dealer that owns about 45 acres of land in the area.)

Neighbouring Acton is proving popular among first-time buyers and savvy investors, which means gentrification is looking more likely in that area – particularly as Crossrail will be stopping there from 2018.

Acton is also attracting richer family buyers who have been priced out of Chiswick and Ealing, and it is tipped to become a London hotspot in its own right.

Willesden Junction is already a busy transport hub, connecting the Tube and the Overground for north-west Londoners.

Nearby Kensal and Queen’s Park are Notting Hill overspills, teeming with creative types and young families.

And Old Oak is pretty close to Wembley Stadium, so regenerating the Old Oak area could economically lift the surrounding area to capitalise on a wider Wembley halo too.

All in all, a new Old Oak station looks like it could nicely capitalise on the economic uplift in its neighbouring areas and regenerate this spot of London by bringing good transport links for residents and visitors.

Old Oak Common residential property isn’t cheap though, if you’re already thinking it sounds like a good place to buy.

Zoopla’s current stats on the area put the avergae price for a two-bed in Old Oak Common at £413,313 and a three-bed at £766,070.

Do you think Old Oak Common could become a new London hotspot? Let me know @sophiehobson

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