Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has approved the £3.5 billion Stratford City development.The development is due to create up to 5,000 new homes, of which at least 1,350 are promised to be affordable. It will also create a huge new office and retail centre, hotel, conference, health, educational and community facilities, creating an entire new urban community in east London.
In addition, the development is expected to create up to 34,000 new jobs, with the majority anticipated to be in the financial and business sector. Construction work is expected to provide an additional 4,000 jobs over the planned 15 to 20 years building phase.
In addition to the affordable homes, the Stratford City Development Partnership (SCDP comprising Cheslfield, Stanhope and LCR) will invest over £300m for essential infrastructure, £115 in community benefits, secured through a Section 106 agreement with Newham, and hand over land for a new school and community facilities.
An independent financial appraisal was carried out for Newham and the Greater London Authority by ATIS REAL Wetheralls, which concluded that the development could support 30 per cent of affordable homes whilst remaining economically viable. A legal agreement means that if more funding becomes available to support affordable housing, a further 5 per cent could be achieved.
Stratford City will be built on derelict rail lands around Stratford station. It is situated next to the main London Olympic Games site and would play a significant role in a London Games in 2012, providing much of the athletes’ accommodation.
Announcing the go-ahead Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, said:
‘Stratford City will transform this area of east London into a thriving new urban community. It will provide a massive boost to the regeneration of the Thames Gateway and create many thousands of new homes, capitalising on the Channel Tunnel Rail Link to make Stratford London’s gateway to Europe. This proposal is a real step forward in delivering the London Plan, which I published earlier this year, setting out the need for high quality new homes, jobs and community facilities to support London’s growing population.
‘The new homes, jobs and retail facilities and improved transport infrastructure planned for the site would substantially improve the facilities on offer to visitors to a London Olympic Games in 2012.’
