Boris Johnson has announced he will set up a regeneration agency to transform Old Oak Common around a HS2 and Crossrail hub.

The Mayoral Development Corporation will lead proposals to build 19,000 homes in a ‘mini-Manhattan’ of skyscrapers and create 90,000 jobs in semi-derelict land north of Wormwood Scrubs.

The MDC is similar to the body leading the legacy programme around the Olympic Stadium in Stratford.

It comes as the government published the HS2 hybrid bill on Tuesday (Nov 25), effectively the planning application for the £42billion high speed rail linking London to Birmingham and the North.

Earlier suggestions to create an HS2 terminus at Old Oak Common rather than Euston were not included in the final plans.

Hammersmith and Fulham Council is backing proposals to make Old Oak Common Britain’s best connected railway station. The transport hub would take pressure off busy central London terminals which would not be able to cope with the 13,000 extra passengers an hour that HS2 will bring.

Council leader Nicholas Botterill says the regeneration potential will boost this deprived part of the borough where around half of working age adults are unemployed.

He added: “HS2 has the potential to act as a catalyst to create much-needed new homes, jobs and opportunities in one of London’s poorest areas. We have heard a lot about how HS2 will bridge the north-south divide and regenerate parts of northern England and the Midlands but it has also the potential to transform rundown inner London neighbourhoods right on our doorstep.

“We will continue engaging with HS2 and the Government over the coming months to ensure that the HS2 proposals deliver the optimal benefits for the borough’s residents.”

Transport for London and the Mayor of London along with Hammersmith and Fulham, Ealing and Brent councils published outlines plans for a Vision for Old Oak Common this autumn.

It includes shops, leisure facilities and a public square around the Grand Union Canal.

Friends of Wormwood Scrubs launched a campaign this summer, Save Our Scrubs, to ensure any redevelopment does not impact on the 190-acre parkland. ITV Countrywise presenter Ben Fogle and naturalist Bill Oddie support the campaign.

Supporter Miriam Shea said: “The Scrubs is deeply loved in all of its wild and anarchic beauty and the wildlife that comes with that.

“We will absolutely be responding to all and any consultations about HS2 or the broader redevelopment plans. We have already opened up good lines of communications with the council, Greater London Authority and TfL.”

She added: “Our concerns have always been that the redevelopment of Old Oak Common must be done in a way that does not adversely affect or destroy the Scrubs, which is a unique local park and nature reserve.”

The Friends are particularly concerned about a raised railway viaduct running along the north-west corner of the park and that by allowing the HS2 station to open directly onto the Scrubs would devastate its character and wildlife.

Auditors KPMG say the HS2 line would boost the UK economy by £15million a year. The transformation of Old Oak Common would contribute to this.

Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said: “HS2 is the most ambitious and important infrastructure project in the UK since we built the M25 30 years ago, and in 30 more it will be just as integral a part of the nation’s prosperity.”

The council has created a video of how the redevelopment could look. View the short film here.