OPDC and Imperial join forces to advance frontier innovation and inclusive growth for West London

During London Tech Week, a major boost to London’s global tech leadership – Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation (OPDC) and Imperial College London have announced a strategic partnership to accelerate frontier innovation, regeneration and inclusive growth across West London, strengthening the capital’s innovation power.

Bringing together two anchor institutions, this collaboration will support the regeneration of Old Oak and Park Royal Opportunity Area as a powerhouse for entrepreneurship, inward investment, and high-growth businesses. With Imperial’s 17+ acre landholding and long-term commitment to the area, Old Oak Innovation Cluster continues to play a central role in WestTechLondon’s mission to unlock economic opportunity and drive job creation.

As London Tech Week shines a spotlight on the capital’s world‑leading innovation ecosystem, OPDC and Imperial are joining forces to:

• Grow a world-class, innovation-led cluster delivering inclusive growth
• Create vibrant new neighbourhoods with jobs, homes, and exceptional place-making
• Strengthen local talent pipelines for frontier industries
• Enhance collaboration across West London’s universities, building an exemplar Higher Education Institution (HEI) cluster

This partnership aligns with OPDC’s flagship £10bn, 70-acre Old Oak regeneration, set to deliver 8,000 homes, extensive green space, and up to 200,000 sqm of commercial and community space — all anchored by the UK’s best-connected new station at Old Oak Common.

Imperial is already scaling activity in the area with the opening earlier this year of Grapht Works – a 9.6-acre advanced manufacturing hub supporting high-growth innovators – and 1 Portal Way, offering 55,000 sq ft of affordable lab and office space for science and tech firms, due to launch this summer.

Dame Karen Buck, Chair of OPDC, said:

“Global success is made in local places, and our shared ambition is to create a world–class hub for tech, research and business, generating thousands of jobs in a thriving, super connected West London community. With major anchor uses taking shape, Old Oak is emerging as a key destination for London – a place where innovation, opportunity and investment can come together.”

Professor Hugh Brady, President of Imperial, said:

“This strategic collaboration agreement reflects our shared ambition for the transformation of Old Oak and belief in its potential to become a nationally significant location for innovation, entrepreneurship and inclusive growth. Old Oak is ideally positioned to be the hub which brings together established and emerging innovation zones across London and nationwide, creating corridors of unrivalled connectivity and economic opportunity.”

Read the full announcement here.