Stratford and the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
The 2012 Games rebuilt polluted industrial land in east London into a park, homes and jobs, though not everyone gained.
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Evidence
8 figures, each threaded to its source
Public Sector Funding Package for the 2012 Games
9.3billion pounds
2 sources
“the Government’s preparations and management of the £9.3 billion Public Sector Funding Package have been led throughout by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport.”
Cost of building the venues and infrastructure
6.7billion pounds
“The final cost of the Olympic Delivery Authority’s programme to build the venues and associated infrastructure is expected to be around £6.7 billion”
Homes in East Village
2,800homes
2 sources
queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk
“With over 2,800 new homes - and 2000 more planned - East Village is now home to around 6,000 people”
Athletes housed in the village during the Games
17,000athletes
queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk
“The London 2012 Athletes’ Village - Home to 17,000 athletes in Games-time - has been transformed into East Village.”
Permanent jobs at Westfield Stratford City
10,000jobs
2 sources
“Up to 10,000 permanent jobs including 2,001 going to local people.”
Westfield jobs that went to local people
2,001jobs
2 sources
“Up to 10,000 permanent jobs including 2,001 going to local people.”
Clays Lane residents displaced from the site
425people
“A total of 425 Clays Lane residents were moved out of the 2.5km area that is now the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park”
Size of the Olympic Park site
2.5square kilometres
assets.publishing.service.gov.uk
“2.5sq km is the size of the Olympic Park”
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Background
Before 2005, the land beside the River Lea in Stratford was one of the most rundown parts of London. It held scrapyards, derelict factories, polluted waterways and pylons, and the surrounding boroughs, including Newham and Hackney, had some of the highest unemployment and poorest health in the country. When London won the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, the government promised the Games would regenerate east London, backed by a public funding package of £9.3 billion. The Olympic Delivery Authority cleaned the soil, buried power lines and built the stadium, the aquatics centre, the velodrome and the athletes village on the site. After the Games the area reopened as the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The village became East Village, a new neighbourhood with over 2,800 homes, and the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, opened in 2011, brought up to 10,000 permanent jobs. Stratford's transport links, already strong, were upgraded further. The regeneration is widely praised, but it came at a cost. Housing estates, traveller sites and small businesses were cleared from the land, and many locals feel the new district was not built for them.
Causes
Decades of industrial decline
The Lower Lea Valley lost its factories, docks related trade and railway works during the late twentieth century. What remained was low value land: scrapyards, fridge dumps and contaminated soil beside neglected waterways. Few employers wanted the site, so without a major intervention the land was likely to stay derelict.
Deprivation in the host boroughs
Newham and its neighbours ranked among the most deprived local authorities in England, with high unemployment, overcrowded housing and poor health outcomes. The gap between east London and the wealthy west of the city was the main argument for steering the Games, and its £9.3 billion public funding package, to Stratford.
The 2012 Games as a catalyst
Winning the bid in 2005 set an immovable deadline and unlocked money no ordinary regeneration scheme could match. The Olympic Delivery Authority spent around £6.7 billion building venues and infrastructure, decontaminating soil and burying power lines. The Games compressed perhaps thirty years of gradual redevelopment into seven.
Effects
Primary
- A 2.5 square kilometre site of derelict industrial land became a landscaped park with world class sports venues.
- The athletes village, which housed 17,000 athletes during the Games, was converted into the East Village neighbourhood.
- Contaminated soil was washed and reused, and canals and rivers on the site were cleaned.
Secondary
- Westfield Stratford City opened beside the park in 2011 with up to 10,000 permanent jobs.
- Stratford became a major transport hub, and improved connections attracted offices, universities and the East Bank cultural quarter.
- Land values and rents across Stratford rose sharply, changing who can afford to live there.
Social
- New schools, health centres and sports facilities serve residents of the park's new neighbourhoods.
- About 425 residents of the Clays Lane estate, plus traveller communities, were displaced to clear the site.
- Many established locals feel the new cafes, flats and venues are aimed at wealthier newcomers.
Economic
- Up to 10,000 permanent jobs were created at Westfield, including 2,001 that went to local people.
- The venues, park and East Bank continue to draw visitors and their spending into Newham.
- Small industrial businesses that were moved off the site lost premises and some closed.
Environmental
- Polluted soil and waterways were cleaned across the site for the first time in a century.
- New parkland, wetlands and thousands of trees created habitats in inner London.
- Venues were built with recycled materials, and temporary structures were removed after the Games to cut waste.
Responses
Immediate
- The Olympic Delivery Authority decontaminated the site, buried pylons and built venues and the village to a fixed 2012 deadline.
- Compulsory purchase orders cleared homes and businesses from the site, with compensation and rehousing offers that many affected residents said fell short.
- During the Games, thousands of temporary jobs and volunteer roles went to Londoners.
Long term
- The London Legacy Development Corporation was set up to run the park and steer development on and around it for decades.
- The athletes village was converted into East Village, with over 2,800 homes and around 2,000 more planned.
- Venues were repurposed: the stadium is leased to West Ham United and the aquatics centre and velodrome opened for public use.
- The East Bank project has brought the BBC, Sadler's Wells, the V&A and two universities to the park to anchor jobs and culture.
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