Park Royal

infobox UK place
country = England
map_type = Greater London
region= London
population=
official_name= Park Royal
london_borough= Brent
constituency_westminster= Brent South
post_town= LONDON
postcode_area= NW
postcode_district= NW10
postcode_area1= W
postcode_district1= W3,W5
dial_code= 020
os_grid_reference= TQ195828
latitude= 51.5319
longitude= -0.2778:"For the mall in West Vancouver, Canada, see Park Royal Shopping Centre":"For the bus manufacturer, see Park Royal Vehicles"Park Royal is the largest industrial area in West London, England. It is the largest industrial and business park in London, occupying convert|1606|acre|ha|0. Approximately 50% of the estate is in Ealing, 40% is in Brent, and 10% is in Hammersmith and Fulham. It contains over 1,200 businesses, employing an estimated 35,000 workers.cite web | title= Chapter 13 - PARK ROYAL | work= Brent Council Unitary Development Plan | publisher= London Borough of Brent | url= http://www.brent.gov.uk/udponline/chapter13.html | format= HTTP | accessyear=2007|accessdate=19 August]

The name Park Royal derives from the short-lived showgrounds opened in 1903 by the Royal Agricultural Society as a permanent exhibition site for the society's annual show. After only three years the society sold the site, and returned to a touring format for its shows. With good road, rail and canal links, Park Royal was subsequently developed for industrial use, mainly during the 1930s.

For many years it was a centre of engineering, with firms including Park Royal Vehicles, GKN and Landis and Gyr. A summary of industrial development up to 1980 is given in [cite web | url=http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=22549 | title='Acton: Economic history'| publisher=Victoria County History| work=A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7: Acton, Chiswick, Ealing and Brentford, West Twyford, Willesden (1982), pp. 23-30 | accessyear=2007|accessdate=8 October] .

On the northern side is the Network Rail depot at Stonebridge Park, which also has London Underground Bakerloo Line tracks running through it (and Harlesden station nearby). On the eastern side, Park Royal is bound by Acton Lane and Park Royal Road (B4492). The Central Middlesex Hospital is located here. On the southern side is the arterial Western Avenue (A40), which leads to the Hanger Lane Gyratory System. Park Royal Underground station, on the Piccadilly Line is located just off Western Avenue. To the west of Park Royal is the North Circular Road (A406).

The Grand Union Canal runs through the middle of the Park Royal industrial estate, with pedestrian access via the towpath.

As well as many small industrial firms, Park Royal is home to some large company buildings, including McVities [http://www.unitedbiscuits.com/80256C1A0047922E/vWeb/pcTSTT5DWHZ7] and Heinz. The old Guinness brewery and sports ground site at the south-western extremity of the district has now been totally demolished. The first building erected adjacent to the new roundabout and bridge link to Western Avenue is occupied by international drinks company Diageo, owners of the Guinness brand and the redevelopment site [http://www.firstcentral.co.uk/start.htm] . The Female Health Company which manufactures Femidoms has its worldwide manufacturing plant here too [http://www.femalehealth.com/theproduct.html#made] .

It is public policy to maintain Park Royal as an industrial area. It is designated as an Opportunity Area, and in 2008 the Mayor of London's office published a draft Planning Framework which aspires to maintain, "growing economic clusters of food/drink, transport/logistics and television/film." [http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning/park-royal.jsp] The framework does not preclude use of parts of the site for housing.

In recent years, Park Royal has become a site for illegal squat parties due to the presence of disused industrial buildings and remoteness from domestic housing.

Queens Park Rangers F.C. played on two grounds within Park Royal. The first was the Horse Ring, later the site of the Guinness brewery, which had a capacity of 40,000. When the Royal Agricultural Society sold the grounds in 1907, QPR moved to the Park Royal Ground, 400 yards south, an almost exact replica of Ayresome Park, with a capacity of 60,000. The club were forced to move out in February 1915 as the ground was taken over by the Army. [Inglis, Simon: Football Grounds of Britain, page 304. ISBN 0-00-218426-5]

References

External links

* [http://www.parkroyal.org/ Park Royal Partnership]
* [http://www.london.gov.uk/mayor/planning/park-royal.jsp February 2008 draft planning framework]