please empty your brain below
This is the Guardian's take on the Olympic legacy
http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/jul/05/olympic-legacy-failure-london-2012-message-millstone

Shiny-shiny but not much real substance outside E20.

timbo | 06.07.15 - 9:50 a.m. | #

But how many of the proposed Residential Quarter would have been 'affordable' housing?

And what safeguards are in place, if any, to ensure that those who try to buy what little 'affordable' housing is built these days actually aren't just buying it up as an 'investment' and will either rent it out or sell it on at a higher price?

Bronchitikat | Homepage | 06.07.15 - 11:31 a.m. | #

The affordable housing quota was intended to be 30%, much the same as it is today.

diamond geezer | 06.07.15 - 12:37 p.m. | #

I always wondered whether 7/7 would have happened had we not got 2012 - it seemed deliberately timed to coincide.

will | 06.07.15 - 2:44 p.m. | #

Hi, I hope you don't mind but I've shared your page on the follwing thread: https://yonder.e20.org/t/historical-photos-of-e15-e20-area-please-contribute-if-you-can/2143?u=nick_lane
I do wonder if the original Stratford City project would have been kicked in to the long grass following the impact of the financial downturn? I realise the project was delayed ironically while waiting for the Olympics but how much of it would have happened and how much longer would it have taken to come to fruition? I wonder. Who knows. What we have now is already pretty amazing I feel.

Nick | 06.07.15 - 4:10 p.m. | #

DG, I recommend some viewing for your spare time: check out the DVD "What Have You Done Today Mervyn Day?" from 2005, directed by Paul Kelly.

Martin L | 06.07.15 - 4:35 p.m. | #

Mark, are you still secretly here - or have you really gone?

Geofftech | Homepage | 06.07.15 - 4:52 p.m. | #

Legacy?...how about cleaner air in London, that be a start. It be something "everyone" would benefit from...rich and poor, young and old, north and south of the Thames.

Working Class Hero | 06.07.15 - 6:08 p.m. | #

ok geofftech had a cheeky peek

mark | 06.07.15 - 8:21 p.m. | #

I knew it! :-D

Geofftech | Homepage | 06.07.15 - 10:54 p.m. | #

"the occupants of social housing at Clays Lane, and all the E15 traders put out of business by the arrival of Westfield, they were always doomed anyway, even if the IOC had said no."

This is not true.

The Clays Lane estate had avoided being included in the Stratford City project so was not scheduled for demolition, see http://www.gamesmonitor.org.uk/node/640. It was only because of the Olympics that it faced demolition. Likewise with the Park Village student estate.

It is uncertain what would have happened to the Travellers' site as although it is included in the indicative map as being demolished it would have been a very controversial part of the application and would not have been justified as necessary to create new housing. The plan shows it becoming an open space. It would be unlikely such a plan would have succeeded, an alternative site for the Travellers would have had to be found.

In fact London2012 claimed Clays Lane would be demolished even if the Olympics didn't come at a meeting with residents at the end of 2003. They claimed there was a plan to do this and even produced a map showing the area without Clays Lane.

However, when residents did a Freedom of Information request of the London Development Agency and asked Newham Council about this alleged plan both said it did not exist. Note that the LDA were the body responsible for the Olympics compulsory purchase order and for masterplanning area. It later turned out no plan had been commissioned in 2003 (evidence of Jason Prior, the Olympics Masterplanner at the CPO inquiry) and was only thought of in mid 2004 and was abandoned when the bid was won. Demolishing the Clays Lane site would have been an expensive business as housing would have had to be found for residents as well the estate bought out.

There were rumours of such plans going back to 1991 when I first moved to the estate. The fact that Stratford City failed to include Clays Lane in its very grand plans, even though the Clays Lane neighbourhood was included in the Major Opportunity Zone 1 out of which Stratford City was created is an indication of the difficulty of getting rid of the estate. The article above shows that Stratford City had wanted to take over the estate but had failed to do so.

Julian Cheyne | 15.09.20 - 8:28 p.m. | #

'all the E15 traders put out of business by Westfield' - actually it is unclear that many E15 traders were put out of business by Westfield. The old shopping mall over the road from Westfield was thought to be in danger. In reality it has kept going pretty much as before. In some respects it seems to have benefitted from Westfield's presence. They cater for different markets. Westfield is entirely branded shops whereas the old mall includes independent shops. Some branded shops have moved over to Westfield and new independent shops have moved in to the old mall. The old mall serves local customers whereas Westfield draws in customers from all over the region. Some of them may even wander over to the old mall for a look around.

Julian Cheyne | 17.09.20 - 1:48 p.m. | #

Regarding the industrial area demolished by the Olympics, this would have survived if the Olympics hadn't come. The destruction of the industrial area in the Olympic Park area also triggered the closure of industry elsewhere in Hackney Wick, Fish Island North and Sugar House Lane. If this had not happened there would have been a more gradual process of change. The case of Rooff reveals this. Rooff challenged its compensation award and won the case on the basis that it would have built some housing on part of its site and retained part of it for its industrial work. It won a rise in its compensation on this basis. The idea that this area was a wasteland was complete nonsense and a lie. The LLDC now says the land was a 'hive of activity and industrial innovation'. This was a valuable industrial area providing jobs for local people. It is unknown exactly how many people were working there but it was in excess of 5,000 as we know compensation was paid to companies employing that number of workers. However, not all companies received compensation as those nearing the end of a lease were not compensated and there was a degree of informal work going on there. The Compulsory Purchase meant businesses only received industrial land prices not the full value of the land which they would have got if they had been able to hang on. The location was important to many of the businesses as they served the City and they needed to be close to those they served. A number of evicted businesses closed after moving as their new sites were more expensive or too far away. The creation of the so-called Legacy Zone which gave the LLDC planning powers over a much larger area meant the pressure to build housing was greatly increased. If local councils had stayed in charge they could have and would have made the change from industry to housing more sustainable for local people by controlling the rate of change and the permissions they gave. Policy prior to the Olympics was to keep the industrial areas while allowing for some development and more green spaces. The massive Stratford City project provided far more jobs and even housing than the Olympic Park will produce and the green spaces within the Park have not added much to what was already there. And what has been added is inferior to the beautiful Eastway Cycle Circuit Park. The Stratford City indicative plan in this post shows there were already plans for a green space on the west side of the River Lea, where the new green space is now located so there may now be less green space than there would have been if the Olympics hadn't come. The claim that London 2012 would create the 'largest new urban park for 150 years' is simply untrue. There is a larger park in West London at Greenford and Northolt which is about twenty years old. This more measured approach would have held down the massive rises in land and house prices which have made Newham's house price rises the highest in the UK. Jobs for local people have been lost and housing costs have risen, making it harder for local people to stay.

Julian Cheyne | Homepage | 25.09.20 - 1:03 p.m. | #











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