East #4

London’s hotspot: East London issue four_2014

east on film Hackney’s elba: luther to Mandela PLUS

Street wise – urban art Wish you’d built here? Round table – clear thinking at the Crystal

eastmagazine.net

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news 05

map 16

connectivity 41

Updates on developments and investment opportunities, House of Lords Select Committee considers the Olympic legacy

What’s happening, where – a guide to major schemes

East London hosts the capital’s only airport. How big a draw is this for investors? What will be the impact of Crossrail on the boroughs?

issue four_2014

Film

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From Hackney to Hollywood, we look at east London’s rising stars, what facilities are on offer and how on-screen perceptions of the area have changed

insider Interview We talk to Jo Negrini, Newham Council’s director of strategic regeneration, planning and Olympic legacy, as she moves down south

editorial director Siobhán Crozier contributing editor Sarah Herbert head of design Rachael Schofield designer Smallfury Design Reporter James Wood production assistant Joe Davies Business development director Paul Gussar Business development manager Shelley Cook sales support manager Sophie Gosling Office manager Sue Mapara Subscriptions manager Simon Maxwell Managing director Toby Fox

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projects

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A summary of some of the main development projects

Round table

wish list 27

Leading figures involved in the regeneration of east London analyse the factors currently driving growth, in a discussion chaired by Lord Harris of Haringey, exclusively for East

Street Art

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We ask developers and consultants which regeneration project they most admire – and what the reasons are for their choices

sitematch 46 A round-up of the views of two development advisers on prime opportunity sites in east London

Spearheaded by graphic artist Banksy, street art has moved mainstream. With photography by Claude Crommelin

Cover Image Idris Elba as Luther, Copyright © BBC IMAGES Hackney Fashion Hub, Local Dialogue, Network Rail, PTEa, Grzywinski+Pons Ltd, EllisMiller Architects, Manhattan Loft Corporation, Glenn Howells Architects, © Crossrail Ltd., John Zammit, David Tothill, Siemens, © PRS, © Oliver Dixon / Imagewise, LDA Design, Alan Camp Architects, Mike Benwell, 3 Mills Studios, Copyright © BBC (Pages 10 - 11), Claude Crommelin, ROA, Phlegm, Stik, Ben Eine, James Cochran, Bitching and Junk Food Printed by Wyndeham Grange

© 3Fox International Limited 2014. All material is s­ trictly copyright and all rights are reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written ­permission of 3Fox International Limited is strictly ­forbidden. The greatest care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of information in this magazine at time of going to press, but we accept no ­responsibility for omissions or errors. The views expressed in this ­magazine are not ­necessarily those of 3Fox International Limited.

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FLUENT IN INDUSTRIAL, LOGISTICS AND DATA CENTRES ACROSS LONDON

507

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58

CUSTOMERS

SQ M OF LETTABLE SPACE

PORTFOLIO

OF DEVELOPMENT LAND

ESTATES

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SEGRO.com/propertysearch Heathrow | Park Royal | Greater London Data as at June 30th 2013.

News

hackney’s new fashion hub

Crossrail rolling into abbey wood Bexley and Greenwich councils have approved proposals for a new Crossrail station at Abbey Wood.

The two-level station, which will also serve existing north Kent trains, is scheduled to open in 2017, one year ahead of the first Crossrail services, and will include a bright, spacious concourse. Crossrail surface director Matt White said the planning approval would deliver a “landmark station” that would help to transform the area.

“Crossrail represents a major step-change for the area, encouraging investment and unlocking development opportunities, as well as supporting local jobs and businesses,” he said.

From 2018, Crossrail will provide up to 12 extra trains an hour linking Abbey Wood with central London and beyond.

A £100 million fashion hub is to be built in Hackney, in a venture between Chatham Works and Manhattan Loft Corporation. Two seven-storey towers on Morning Lane will house design studios, retail outlets and a cafe.

The project, along with conversion of nearby railway arches, is supported by £2 million from the Greater London Authority’s regeneration fund and £3.3 million from Network Rail.

Work is due to start in early 2014.

The developers will support Hackney’s design and manufacturing community by offering new training schemes, apprenticeships and a ‘stitching academy’.

Jack Basrawy of Chatham Works said: “These plans will provide support for local designers and manufacturers with training and access to top range equipment for local people.”

out of one’s boxpark Shoreditch pop-up mall Boxpark has appointed CWM Retail Property Advisors to find sites both in and out of London.

The company is seeking a permanent site in east London and is considering options including outside or industrial spaces, according to property news website CoStar.

It also reported on Boxpark’s collaboration with London outdoor food market specialist Street Feast for a street food development, with Boxpark running the retail side, and Street Feast leading on tenant mix and events.

The pop-up mall, which has operated from refitted shipping containers since 2011, will be based at the Shoreditch site until 2017. It is home to vintageinspired lingerie house Playful Promises, Tusch und Egon’s quirky artworks and designer of textiles and funky womenswear, Tinned Bananas, Rita Ora favourite – Bitching and Junk Food (pictured right), and global streetwear brands, Nike, Puma and Vans.

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News updates at eastmagazine.net

Chinese firms for Royal Albert Dock

Developer acquires Greenwich plot Developer Essential Living has purchased the Creekside East development (below) in Greenwich for £11 million.

The firm will submit a planning application this year to build a 17-storey tower on the 0.72-ha town centre plot, comprising one, two and three-bedroom apartments.

Planning permission has already been granted for 204 residential apartments and commercial space at the site.

Scott Hammond, managing director at Essential Living, said: “We’re extremely pleased to be working with the London Borough of Greenwich to be providing this new tenure of housing.”

royal opening for Stratford Square Make Architects’ £33 million Stratford Square campus for the University of East London and Birkbeck College was opened by Princess Anne last November.

The five-storey facility aims to widen access to higher education for “non-traditional” students, and offers flexible full and part-time courses. It has also been designated BREEAM “excellent”, in recognition of its environmental features, which include 700sq m of solar panels.

John Joughin, vice-chancellor of the University of East London, said the campus was “truly transformational” for the area. “It is already encouraging access and progression into higher education and better meeting the growing aspirations of the people of east London, who are now able to enhance their employment prospects by gaining university qualifications and learning new skills,” he said.

London mayor Boris Johnson has announced pledges from 10 Chinese businesses to take office space at the £1 billion Royal Albert Dock development (above).

Companies include electrical manufacturers, commercial real estate, water conservation, educational training and fashion and textile manufacturing.

The 57 companies now confirmed make up some 5,400sq m, which comprises the first phase of the scheme. The development is expected to create 20,000 jobs.

The first phase of the scheme is set for completion in 2017.

urban villa for whitechapel A joint venture between Union Hanover Securities and Southern Grove will transform a 6,750sq m office building into a 217-bed, four-star hotel for Urban Villa, after planning permission was granted in December.

The hotel, in Whitechapel Road, was designed by Grzywinski+Pons from New York, with Camden-based Dexter Moren Associates, and will feature a rooftop restaurant. Union Hanover director Andrew Fowler said: “We own five sites where we are rolling out the Urban Villa concept. This specific site on the edge of the City and close to Brick Lane personifies our design-led brand.”

The company plans to target similar London locations, such as Bethnal Green, Southwark, Hackney, Brixton and Camden. Work will begin in summer 2014.

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News

Revised plans for Wood Wharf Canary Wharf Group has submitted an outline planning application for 3,100 new homes, along with more than 240,000sq m of offices, and 31,000sq m of retail space on land to the east of Canary Wharf.

This revised masterplan for the development of the 9.23-ha Wood Wharf proposes a mixed-use urban neighbourhood, with townhouses, mid-rise and high-rise apartment buildings, and a range of commercial spaces.

As well as around 100 shops, the scheme also includes two hotels, serviced apartments, a sports hall, a two-form-entry primary school, and 3.6 hectares of new public space.

Canary Wharf Group said it expected the new development’s commercial floorspace to be of particular interest to the technology, media and telecommunications sector.

Chairman and chief executive of Canary Wharf Group, Sir George Iacobescu, said the proposals were an “exciting new project” that represented the continued redevelopment of east London.

“The revised masterplan will create a strong and complementary mix of uses, and provide new homes, offices and retail spaces set within a network of streets and public spaces, designed to support the social life of new residents, employees and the surrounding community,” he said.

“It is a reflection of the demand we are seeing in the market, and is an opportunity for us to expand the appeal of Canary Wharf by creating a new and exciting mixeduse neighbourhood which will offer greater diversity and amenity – and a richer urban fabric for the fast emerging city centre of Canary Wharf.”

Herzog & de Meuron and Stanton Williams have been appointed to work alongside Allies and Morrison in designing the first phase buildings.

If planning permission is granted by Tower Hamlets Council, construction is expected to start in the last quarter of 2014, with the first buildings due to be completed in 2017.

Cycle superhighway reaches Stratford The capital’s first fully segregated stretch of ‘cycle superhighway’ now links Stratford with Bow. The route, which extends the blue-painted CS2 route, crucially separates cycle lanes from powered traffic with new kerbstones.

The segregated cycle lanes, which are installed on both eastbound and westbound eastmagazine.net

carriageways of the A12 between Bow flyover and Stratford, also include “bus stop bypasses”, which allow cyclists to pass stationary buses on their nearside.

London mayor Boris Johnson has announced a package of upgrade work to the “inner” section of the CS2 route between Aldgate and Bow. It will see the introduction

of part or full segregation for cyclists, with new cycle-separated junctions, and the remodelling of the gyratory system around Aldgate station.

Elected mayor Sir Robin Wales said the new route would help encourage more people to cycle in Newham. “We’re committed to making Newham a cycling borough.”

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News updates at eastmagazine.net Cultural Olympicopolis The Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A) and University College London (UCL) are set to build new premises on the Olympic Park to form part of a project named ‘Olympicopolis’.

The scheme, which was announced in chancellor George Osborne’s national infrastructure plan in December, aims to create a cultural hub, with the potential to create 10,000 jobs and boost the UK economy by £5.2 billion, according to the London mayor’s office.

It is hoped that new premises for the V&A and UCL will attract other established institutions to become part of the project.

London mayor Boris Johnson, who heads the London Legacy Development Corporation responsible for overseeing the regeneration of the park, said: “I want to raise our ambitions for this magnificent site to squeeze out every drop of potential.”

The project is influenced by Albertopolis in South Kensington, created by Prince Albert in 1851, which is home to several of the capital’s museums and galleries.

New for old The Geffrye Museum of the Home is restarting its capital development project. Hackney Council refused planning permission in May last year and the museum has announced its new approach to the project.

Director David Dewing said: “We have enjoyed a very productive relationship with David Chipperfield Architects. But sadly, the scheme we worked up together failed to secure planning permission. So in discussion with David Chipperfield, we feel a fresh start is needed. We will be selecting new architects with a modified brief in the coming months and submitting a new application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. We are feeling confident and reinvigorated about taking the project forward for the benefit of our visitors in Hackney and beyond.”

The new development will build on the principles of the 2010 masterplan designed by David Chipperfield.

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Lords committee calls for legacy minister The House of Lords select committee investigating the Olympic and Paralympic legacy has recommended that overall responsibility should be placed in the hands of one minister.

The report, Keeping the flame alive: the Olympic and Paralympic Legacy, was published in November and highlights the need for a senior figure to sustain the momentum of legacy following London 2012.

Chair of the committee, Lord Harris of Haringey, said: “It is clear to everyone that the Olympic and Paralympic Games were an outstanding success, both for the country and for British sporting achievement. It couldn’t have been done without the numerous organisations involved, the government and the host borough councils.

“However, since the Games, the same political impetus and agreed deadlines no longer exist and many aspects of the legacy are in danger of faltering, while some have fallen by the wayside. There is confusion on the timeframes and targets

involved in delivery and a lack of clear ownership on the legacy as a whole.

“To this end, we are recommending that one government minister should be given overall responsibility for all strands of the legacy across the UK.” Harris also said the mayor of London should be given more power to oversee the development of the Olympic Park.

The report details the London Legacy Development Corporation’s (LLDC) targets for affordability at five residential developments across the park.

It said: “It is important that a fair proportion, at least LLDC’s target of 35%, of this housing is affordable for, and accessible to, local residents. We recommend that the LLDC should take steps to manage and monitor this.

“Outside the park, there is massive potential and need for further housing development in the surrounding boroughs. We believe it is essential that the mayor, the Great London Authority and local authorities work together to accelerate development on these sites.”

News

At East Thames we’re firmly focused on housing and regeneration in east London and Essex.

This was the case when we started as a small housing association in 1979, and that commitment hasn’t changed. We firmly believe that good quality housing is a key ingredient in building balanced and sustainable communities.

Our development and regeneration programme is focused on building high quality affordable homes, from small developments of a handful of homes, to large developments of hundreds of homes.

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£220m regeneration of Ocean Estate Stepney Green, Tower Hamlets

82 new homes just completed Watermark, Waltham Forest

400 new homes Coming soon New Union Wharf, Isle of Dogs

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www.east-thames.co.uk 09 1171b

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film

Once upon a time in the east East London’s social and economic transformation appeals to the film industry, from a culture of support for emerging filmmakers to facilities that attract acclaimed directors. images of this celebrated part of the capital are long established on screen. but like the area itself, perceptions are changing. James Wood reports 10

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ast London conjures a familiar vision, evoked by the film and television legacy of this supposedly notorious manor – and crime is a consistent feature. Bob Hoskins struggled to break out of the underworld for a life of legitimacy in the 1980 gangster picture, The Long Good Friday, while Gary and Martin Kemp later depicted the old East End mobster twins in The Krays. Whether realism or stereotype, such associations of shady streets and dodgy dealings are firmly established on screens large and small.

Representations of the area through gritty crime dramas prevail – the success of contemporary BBC series, Luther, set in and around Hackney, Tower Hamlets and Newham, being one such example – a programme which critics credit for reinventing the typical cop-show formula.

After three successful series and with a feature film in the pipeline, the compelling actor playing the lead as a complex detective has ensured the popularity of the show – and he’s a Hackney local. Idris Elba is east London’s biggest contemporary star.

A turning point for Elba was his part in American HBO drama, The Wire, which ran from 2002 to 2008 and is often cited as one of the best television programmes of all time.

Fans of the cult show were taken

by Elba’s Stringer Bell at an early stage, and part of the reason why the calculating kingpin of the Baltimore drug world was so compelling was the actor’s believable execution – all the more impressive when you consider Elba’s east London accent. His Baltimore drawl convinces throughout.

The progression to international superstardom for this Barking & Dagenham College alumnus has taken time, but the long-running Twitter campaign calling for Elba to become the next James Bond, and playing the late Nelson Mandela in the biopic, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which was nominated for several awards, is quite a step from early roles in Crimewatch reconstructions, TV adverts and a stint in The Bill.

Many surprises can also be found in the film chronicles of east London.

How could the stirring tale of a troop of US marines during the Vietnam War in Stanley Kubrick’s Full Metal Jacket be relevant to this part of the capital? On the north bank of the Thames at Gallions Reach, Kubrick had the Beckton Gas Works partly torn down for the 1987 film to create the illusion of the war-torn Vietnamese city of Hue, portraying soldiers in an industrial wasteland.

And this was not the first time the site was used. In 1981, when the gas works was still fully functional, Roger Moore’s James Bond wrestled control of a helicopter from his latest nemesis for the opening scene of For Your Eyes Only.

Fast forward almost 30 years to a post-Olympic area transformed by regeneration and ask whether a gas works on the Royal Docks Road could

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Opposite page and below: Filming BBC detective drama, Luther, which is shot and set in east London. It features Hackney native, Idris Elba, who has found fame through critically acclaimed roles in film and television on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 2012, Elba won a Golden Globe for Luther.

Above and left: The East End Film Festival attracts young and aspiring film-makers from the Tower Hamlets community and beyond.

still double as war-torn Vietnam?

Around half a mile away, a £1 billion international business district is being built by ABP London at the Royal Albert Dock. It is set over more than 14 hectares and expected to create 20,000 jobs – with construction work set to last the best part of a decade.

As this area of the capital goes through the biggest period of development since the Second World War, on-screen perceptions of old east London remain but increasingly, the contemporary side is being explored.

Serving today as a hot spot for curry lovers, hipsters and tourists, Brick Lane is also the setting for – and name of – Sarah Gavron’s 2007 adaptation of Monica Ali’s novel – its characters portraying aspects of just one of the area’s diverse communities and ever-changing neighbourhoods.

Someone with first hand experience of these east London communities is Ben Drew of Forest Gate in Newham – the musician Plan B – who has now carved out an acting career starring in London gangster film Harry Brown

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film

This page and opposite: The 3 Mills Studios on an island in Bromley-by-Bow has top-of-the-range facilities, which include stages, rehearsal and screening rooms and even a prison set (below). This is attracting top Hollywood directors, who also come for the excellent shooting locations that surround the site, as well as easy connectivity to the City and beyond.

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alongside Michael Caine, as well as with West Ham boy Ray Winstone in a television remake of the 1970s TV police drama, The Sweeney. Drew’s own directorial debut, Ill Manors, focuses on the nearby council estates of his youth and is dubbed as a gritty portrayal of east London life.

Other young filmmakers are emerging in east London too, thanks in part to a culture of support through annual events like the East London Film Festival.

The Cutting East weekend featured a range of music, art and film events at the Genesis Cinema in Mile End, by young people in Tower Hamlets.

Stephanie Pamment, films officer at Tower Hamlets Council, says: “In its first year, Cutting East attracted more than 550 people from all parts of the Tower Hamlets community and beyond.

“I think the festival has opened the eyes of some young people that there are a lot of ways to make a career out of film, other than being a director.”

But where are the attractions for more established filmmakers?

Away from the heavy industry and construction work that dominates the east London skyline, a set of old mills on an island have survived since the days they were used to distil alcohol in the 17th century.

The Grade II-listed buildings of 3 Mills Studios are tucked discreetly away by the best-avoided, busy northern approach to the Blackwall Tunnel – and the contrast is striking.

This impressive site features more than 170 production offices, 11 stages, 10 rehearsal rooms, screening rooms and 3 Mills’ very own prison set, built for the ITV drama, Bad Girls. 3 Mills is used regularly by directors such as Stephen Daldry, Wes Anderson, David Cronenberg and Danny Boyle.

Boyle shot Sunshine, 28 Days Later and his latest work, Trance, at the site, and also used the rehearsal rooms for choreographing the Olympic opening ceremony.

“Having worked almost exclusively at 3 Mills for the last decade I can recommend the experience to anyone,” he says.

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“ The site is so well contained. It has a low-key atmosphere and is also a place where people with big profiles can come and be assured they won’t be hassled” According to Kate Watt, the studio’s marketing manager, the community atmosphere around the site and the studio’s eastern location are a very big appeal.

“3 Mills offers the versatility of London on its doorstep,” she says.

“There’s the urban grit of the area, but also real beauty to be found here and that’s a big draw for any director.

“The site is so well contained. It has a low-key atmosphere and is also a place where people with big profiles can come and be assured they won’t be hassled.”

Further benefits include shooting locations such as canals, parks, period buildings and cobbled walkways and easy connectivity to the City, Docklands and central London.

For international movie production, City Airport is right on the doorstep.

3 Mills studio executive, Derek Watts, says: “The Games had a positive effect on the studios, not just because

the Olympic and Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies were rehearsed at the studios for a year and a half, but because London people now know where Stratford and Bromleyby-Bow are.

“It broke down a psychological barrier that the East End is too far away, too hard to get to and there is nothing there but industrial estates.

It is actually a vibrant, interesting and dynamic community with a lot going on and an exciting future ahead of it.”

Whether giving the world homegrown superstars, serving as a real-life location for directors or providing excellent facilities, east London continues to draw aspiring and established filmmakers. A long way beyond the chirpy cockney and gangster stereotypes that produced an erroneous picture of life in this part of the capital, east London plays a serious role in contemporary productions on both the large and small screen.

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insider interview

Moving on up

As Jo Negrini takes on a leading role in Croydon, Newham Council’s former director of strategic regeneration, planning and Olympic legacy looks back at achievements, from the catalyst of London 2012 to transformation at the royal docks – and the potential for the whole of east London.

By Sarah Herbert and Siobhán Crozier

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he Olympics, and its transformation of the former Stratford wasteland, fastforwarded the regeneration of Newham by 20 years. But Stratford, and the rest of east London, is very far from ‘done’. Challenges, and huge investment potential, are still there, as are the cranes.

“We’ve still got what we’ve always had: the challenge of bringing forward big sites,” says Jo Negrini. “And how to stitch them together to create some sense of a place. Those catalytic developments are really important, as is the finer grain, place-making work.”

“The transport links and railway lines cut areas off from each other, so the fabulous connectivity brings its own set of challenges.

When people think of Stratford now they

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think of Westfield and the Olympic Park, yet on the other side of the railway is the grittier Stratford old town, with its finer grain, cultural quarter – Theatre Royal, Stratford Circus and the Picturehouse, next to University Square, the new Birkbeck and University of East London campus.

“With other universities interested in locating into the park, both sides of the railway line could be drawn together into a new educational quarter.”

And with its emphasis on postgraduate education, such a quarter spawns a whole economy of spin-off businesses – and also creates aspiration among local people, a key issue in Newham.

Additionally, many vacancies arising, whether during construction or afterwards, can be secured for local people through

agreements with contractors or end users.

“Westfield continues to generate employment,” says Negrini. “On day one of opening, they had to deliver 1,600 jobs, but it’s constantly getting new people working there. The jobs weren’t just stacking shelves, but also management positions in John Lewis. In a community like Newham, all it takes is one or two people to get into work to start changing what people think they can do.”

“And, of course, while improving Stratford through to the docks is essential, we’re not taking our eye off East Ham – a lot going for it with a new sixth form college – or Forest Gate, Maryland and Manor Park, where there are real opportunities from Crossrail.”

And on a larger scale, there’s City Airport, which is pivotal for inward investment.

“The aviation review could have a huge impact,” says Negrini, “whether the result is a new island in the estuary, or an expanded Stansted.”

“We’ve spent time building relationships – people like Muse took a punt – we work with developers who want to have a stake in what they’re doing. The first thing LandProp did in Strand East was Dane’s Yard, very similar to Cathedral’s approach in Canning Town – let’s create a place where people will want to move in and live.”

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East London Hotspots Projects 1. Silvertown Quays 2. Royal Albert Dock 3. Minoco Wharf, Silvertown 4. London City Airport 5. Floating village, Royal Victoria Dock 6. Shoreditch Estate 7. Shoreditch Village 8. Kidbrooke Village 9. Manhattan Loft Gardens 10. Royal Arsenal Site, Woolwich 11. Leather Gardens

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projects

projects The Royal Docks This vast area of Docklands is one of the biggest development areas in the world. At 440 hectares, with 10 hectares of water alone, it is equivalent to the whole of central London from Hyde Park to Tower Bridge. The area was designated a special enterprise zone in 2012, and lies in an ‘arc of opportunity’ stretching from Stratford down the River Lee to the Thames, with £22 billion of development potential.

It is already home to London City Airport, the Crystal – Siemens’ sustainable cities initiative, ExCeL convention centre, Emirates Airline (the UK’s first urban cable car), and new homes at Great Eastern Quay.

Joint plans between the Greater London Authority (GLA) and Newham Council will see further significant regeneration over the next few years, building on the momentum of the development of the Olympic Park and Stratford City.

The two biggest projects are at the Royal Albert Dock and Silvertown Quays.

Silvertown Quays Under an agreement signed in June 2013 between Chelsfield Properties and First Base, Silvertown Quays will be transformed into The Silvertown, a 20-ha housing, business and leisure district, set around a £1.5 billion innovation hub. Proposals include an avenue of brand pavilions, marketed to some of the world’s biggest firms as showcases for their latest products and research.

The scheme will create more than 9,000

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jobs, and bring more than 1,500 homes to the site, along with incubator space for fledgling firms, premises for technology businesses, new shops, restaurants and leisure attractions.

The proposals also include the construction of a new bridge linking the quay with the ExCeL exhibition centre.

The Silvertown Partnership will lodge an outline planning application by June 2014, with the first businesses opening in 2017.

royal Albert Dock Chinese development giant ABP, with Stanhope and Farrells, will create a £1 billion stateof-the-art business port, aimed initially at Chinese and Asian business. The deal – one of the first direct investments by a Chinese developer in London’s property market – will eventually create over 288,000sq m of high-quality work, retail and leisure space, including 225,000sq m of prime office space.

When completed, the developer intends that the 14-ha site in Newham will join the City and Canary Wharf as London’s third business district and, according to initial projections, be worth £6 billion to the UK economy, generating £23 million a year in business rates and acting as a catalyst for further development in the area. Creating an estimated 20,000 jobs, it will increase local employment in Newham by 30%.

The largest development of its kind in the UK, the district will act as a platform for financial, hi-tech and knowledge-driven industries wanting to establish or expand their business in UK and European markets.

The first phase will comprise at least 54,000sq m, and strong interest for office space is already being shown by Chinese companies, including some of the country’s top banks. The first occupiers are due to move in during 2017.

This is ABP’s first development in Europe, but it is an experienced developer in China, specialising in transforming large areas in need of regeneration. It has recently completed a vast 1,350,000sq m development in Beijing, and the even larger 6,750,000sq m Shenyang project is due on-site in early 2014.

Also at Royal Albert Dock, the University of East London has signed a deal with finance, housing and infrastructure giant, Sahara India Pariwar, to build a huge campus extension, celebrating South Asia’s contribution to British society and business, with courses including Islamic finance, Indian fashion and media.

Planned to open in 2015, the International India Centre will be around 70% offices for the conglomerate, with the remaining 30% split between university teaching space and cultural uses celebrating South Asia’s contribution to the UK. An architecture competition is under way for the scheme.

And at Gallions Reach, on the same dock, Notting Hill Housing Group has consent for Great Eastern Quays, the redevelopment of the Ivax site – opposite Gallions Point Marina – into 850 homes of varying tenure and size, set around garden squares, with riverside bars and retail and business space. Work is due to start on-site in early in 2014.

Elsewhere in the Royal Docks In Silvertown, Ballymore has been granted planning consent for one of London’s largest new urban districts. The 16-ha site at Minoco Wharf, the first phase of a Ballymore scheme, will comprise 3,500 homes arranged along streets and around landscaped squares, complete with a new high street with shops, schools and healthcare buildings, and bring 20,000 new people to live and work in the area.

London City Airport, which is so vital to the regeneration of the area, is now pressing on with a masterplan to increase its capacity. By 2021, it needs to be able to accommodate its forecast six million

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passengers (double the current number), while maintaining its promised ‘30-minute turnaround time’. The proposals – to extend the terminal building, add another seven aircraft stands and build a new passenger pier – are expected to create 1,500 new jobs in the airport and its partner businesses, and an extra 500 jobs in the construction phase.

Plans are afoot to create the UK’s largest floating village at Royal Victoria Dock, transforming six hectares of water, directly under the Emirates Airline, into a thriving community with floating homes, hotels, restaurants and bars.

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The Shoreditch Estate Three sites, totalling 0.8 hecatres, between Shoreditch and the City are set to be developed by British Land into potentially 30,000sq m of office, retail and residential accommodation in a mix of new, retained and refurbished buildings, aimed at the technology, media and telecommunications (TMT) sector.

The ‘highly specified, character offices’, at the heart of London’s TMT hub, will take advantage of the Liverpool Street Crossrail station set to open in 2018.

British Land was selected to develop the site by the City of London in May 2013, and will acquire a long leasehold interest in the sites once completed. Allford Hall Monaghan Morris is architect for the scheme, which would redevelop 22 buildings in the heart of the Elder Street Conservation Area.

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Shoreditch Village Just off Shoreditch High Street, Lirastar’s Shoreditch Village will comprise 5,100sq m of retail, office and restaurant space, a market, and a 185-bedroom citizenM hotel.

The 1,858sq m of loft-style offices will be aimed at the creative and technology sectors.

The scheme, on a “challenging” 0.4-ha site traversed by an elevated stretch of London Overground, will comprise five new buildings up to nine storeys tall, an open market area with 10 kiosks, and the restoration of part of a Grade II-listed terrace.

The design, by Ellis Miller, will restore lost neighbourhood connections and transform the market area around the viaduct into a positive public space. The development was approved by Hackney Council in August 2013.

Construction is expected to begin this year for completion in mid 2015.

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projects

Kidbrooke Village This £1 billion regeneration project by Berkeley Homes, in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, is one of the largest residential developments in London, described by Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgeley as: “An incredible transformation of an estate where people feared to go, into somewhere that you’d love to live.”

When complete, in 15 years’ time, the 190-ha, 1970s-built, former Ferrier Estate will comprise four distinct neighbourhoods, with 4,800 new homes and 27,000sq m of commercial and retail space, 55 hectares of open space, and a new primary school, rebuilt secondary school, shops, bars, restaurants and a hotel.

The idea has been to create a sustainable community, with housing for families and single people of all ages and incomes.

The four neighbourhoods are City Point, Blackheath Quarter, Meridian Gate, and Kidbrooke Village Centre, the hub of the area with shops, cafes, and a new railway station, taking residents to London Bridge in only 15 minutes. The neighbourhoods – which will have homes arranged in clusters – will

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Spring 2014

be connected by a central spine of quality landscaping, Cator Park, which itself connects to the existing green areas of Sutcliffe Park and Blackheath.

Only 35% of the former airfield will be developed, with wildlife and biodiversity encouraged, and pedestrian links built into the landscaping, along with sports facilities.

All homes will meet Level 3 of the Code for Sustainable Homes, which equates to a 25% reduction in carbon emissions and 30% reduction in water use, compared to the outdated housing previously on the site.

Renewable energy sources will be introduced, including solar hot water panels and a biomass boiler, along with energy efficient building materials.

Building work started in 2009 on the first phase, City Point, with the first residents moving in during September 2010. The blocks, overlooking Sutcliffe Park, offer 449 new homes – in a mix of three and four-bedroom mews houses and one, two and three-bedroom apartments, with 229 affordable, now mainly occupied by former residents of the area, and 220 for private sale.

The next two phases – Blackheath Quarter and Meridian Gate – are both on site.

Blackheath Quarter, mainly comprising family houses and overlooking the first section of the newly created Cator Park, has extensive landscaping, broad tree-lined avenues and feature lakes. Facilities at the development include a 24-hour concierge service, private cinema, business suite, residents-only gym, swimming pool and clubhouse. One apartment block, Halton Court, will also include homes for the over-55s, to be owned and managed by Viridian Housing.

The first block of Meridian Gate will also overlook Cator and Sutcliffe parks, and contain apartments, but subsequent blocks will be three-storey, three and four-bedroom family homes with gardens. All apartment buildings are set around landscaped central courtyards, and the majority of the homes have access to a private balcony or terrace.

The third phase will be the village centre, and will include approximately 960 new homes, a new station, hotel and community and commercial facilities. Preparatory demolition for this phase is now complete.

Manhattan Loft Gardens The dramatic 42-storey Manhattan Loft Gardens at Stratford City in Newham is on course for completion in 2016.

The 39,300sq m, 143m tower will comprise 248 lofts and apartments above a 150-room, world-class hotel with spa and triple-height lobby, designed to be a community hub.

The uniquely engineered steel frame, designed by SOM (Skidmore, Owings and Merrill), is cantilevered at two points to incorporate three sky gardens, at the seventh, 25th and 36th floors, all with unobstructed views across London.

The serrated glass facade is designed to shimmer in the sun, and opens on to balconies of the apartments.

The homes are designed for energy efficiency, with daylight-controlling facade, opening windows, rainwater collection, and are connected to the district heating network.

And, of course, the sky gardens will include a wide variety of plants and provide habitats for wildlife. The three – very different – gardens are also designed to generate a community feel in a modern context.

Buyers have the choice of 13 types of lofts and apartments, ranging from studio flats to double-height, three-bedroom lofts, all with superfast broadband and access to the hotel’s amenities.

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projects

Royal Arsenal site, Woolwich This former munitions factory on the bank of the Thames, with a history dating back to 1671, is being transformed into a 30-ha mixed-use development by Berkeley Homes.

The blend of converted and new-build residential properties, along with commercial floorspace, shops, bars and restaurants, and a heritage trail of the area’s history, has opened up a kilometre of riverside for the public for the first time in nearly 300 years.

The completed western part of the Royal Arsenal Riverside has around 2,000 homes and 4,000 residents. Early phases of the scheme, which started in 2001, include the Armouries, comprising 455 new-build apartments in a six-storey building, and the Warehouse, with 290 homes, a residents’ gym, a Thames Clipper stop on-site, a Zipcar vehicle-sharing

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Spring 2014

club and a 24-hour concierge for residents.

To keep the urban development green, there’s Wellington Park, one of the largest green roofs in Europe, courtyards, water features, and brown roofs to create wildlife habitats.

The 21 Grade I and Grade II-listed buildings on the site have been either converted for residential use or into such attractions as the Firepower Museum or Dial Arch pub.

The next phase on-site will be Cannon Square, six apartment blocks of various heights, tenures and use that will provide at least 165 affordable homes near the town centre of Woolwich. The first block to be completed is the 81-apartment Naval House, above the recently agreed Crossrail station, and is already sold out. When Crossrail opens

in 2018, 12 trains an hour will reduce journey times to Canary Wharf to eight minutes, from the current 28, and the 45-minute West End journey will be cut to only 21 minutes.

Yet to come under the masterplan will be an additional 3,700 new homes, along with 25,000sq m of commercial, retail, leisure space, a new linear park linking the already completed heart of the development to the river, and a 120-bedroom hotel.

Berkeley Homes is also working on a site downriver in Surrey Quays, called Marine Wharf, a development of 454 apartments arranged around landscaped courtyards.

The first phase, Sirius Court, is already launched, and work has started on the next three: Royal Victoria Gardens, Cadmus Court and Navigation House.

Leather Gardens To help alleviate its affordable housing crisis, Newham Council has given permission for a 500-home development of one and two-bedroom homes. They will be let for 80% of market rates.

It is the first council-initiated building scheme of this scale in over a decade, apart from Newham’s recent expansion of primary schools, and could be the pilot project for the local authority to set up a private rental vehicle to acquire 2,800 homes over the next 10 years, via both new developments and buying them from failing landlords.

Councillor Andrew Baikie, executive member for housing and customer service at Newham Council, said: “This ambitious scheme will provide quality affordable homes for hardworking people on low incomes, as well as creating dozens of jobs for the borough in its construction.

“If it is a success, we hope to expand the scheme across Newham, building new homes and buying properties from failing landlords who want to sell.

“Becoming a player in the private rented sector will enable us to increase the quality housing options available to our residents and raise standards across the industry.”

The first phase of 40 homes will be designed by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners – architect of the Pompidou Centre in Paris, the World Trade Centre in New York and the O2 in London – using its system of prefabricated components, which allows for a quick build time, as well as 90% energy savings on conventional housing.

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Crystal clear

At the Crystal, Siemens’ sustainable cities initiative next to the Emirates AirLine in Royal Victoria Dock, East brought together leading influencers, developers and experts in regeneration to take part in a round table discussion on the next stages in the transformation of east London. What can be learnt in the post-Olympics period – what works in terms of sustainable change – and what can we do better?

Edited by Sarah Herbert eastmagazine.net

From left to right: Richard Fagg – Bouygues Development, Cathy Low – Stratford Renaissance Partnership, Will Freeman – Atkins Global, Andrew Campling – BT Group, Robert Maguire – Canary Wharf Group, Matthew Black – CBRE, Lord Toby Harris – chair of the House of Lords Select Committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Legacy, and Simon Child – Child Graddon Lewis.

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round table

TH, chair: Lord Harris of Haringey (Toby Harris), House of Lords, chair of the select committee on the Olympic and Paralympic Legacy, was for 12 years the leader of Haringey Council, chaired the Association of London Government (now London Councils) and was a member of the London Assembly.

RM: Robert Maguire, project director, Canary Wharf Group, currently masterplanning Wood Wharf, an eight-hectare site immediately east of Canary Wharf.

CL: Cathy Low, project director, Stratford Renaissance Partnership, the public-private partnership that brings together stakeholders.

RF: Richard Fagg, development director, Bouygues Development, which is establishing Hallsville Quarter as Canning Town’s new town centre.

WF: Will Freeman, director, Atkins Global, one of the major engineering businesses involved with the Olympics. Before Atkins, Freeman worked at LOCOG, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

AC: Andrew Campling, general manager – London, BT Group, was one of the team jointly responsible for preparing the International Broadcast Centre in only 18 weeks to start BT Sport operations.

MB: Senior director Matthew Black leads CBRE’s east London team, which acted for the LDA and the Land Assembly for the 2012 Park, works with the Legacy Company, and was involved in the iCITY consortium deal, which enabled BT to go into the International Broadcast Centre.

SC: Simon Child, director at Child Graddon Lewis, architects of Genesis Housing’s Silver Wharf development.

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TH: In making London work as a city you have to recognise its sheer diversity, scale and complexity, and its extraordinary inequalities, something you see very starkly in east London. It needs the right communications, transport and physical infrastructure, homes, jobs and investment for people in the future. The select committee I chaired recently on the legacy of the Olympic Games agreed that there would always have been major regeneration in east

London, but it would have perhaps taken 50 years. While we’ve accelerated that process by five, 10 or 15 years, a great deal of effort is needed to make sure that what has happened is sustained for the future.

RM: One of the big catalysts for growth was the setting up of the LDDC [London Docklands Development Corporation] and the growth generated by and from Canary Wharf. That took time to mature,

Above: The Crystal is rated as BREEAM outstanding and is one of the most sustainabile buildings in the world.

Left: Participants in the East round table discuss the next stages in the regeneration of east London.

and while it created diversity between the high-value jobs created at Canary Wharf and surrounding deprivation, it also brought amenity and opportunity to east London that wouldn’t otherwise have been here.

MB: One of the key elements of successful regeneration is creating employment.

Before the Olympics, officially, there were approximately 7,000 people employed within the Lower Lee Valley area. On day

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one of Westfield opening, there were 10,000 people working there – of whom 3,500 had never worked before.

Canary Wharf has delivered 14 million square feet in 20 years – with another seven million to do. Some say Barcelona was the most successful Olympic Games legacy. Yes, it’s beautiful, it’s connected to the city – but there’s no one there. In London you’ve got iCity, with 4,000 to 5,000 people working there by 2016, the Athlete’s Village will have

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round table

Right: Will Freeman, Andrew Campling and Matthew Black.

Opposite: Cathy Low, Stratford Renaissance Partnership.

6,000 or 7,000 people living there. Suddenly you’ve got a vibrant community. And that’s what’s going to help with the growth and expansion of London.

RF: Is there going to be demand for all the office space being built in east London?

RM: Now that the financial sector, which was behind the growth of Canary Wharf, does not have the same demand for space that it did 15 years ago, growth is going to come from TMT [technology, media and telecoms], in a series of centres to attract different elements of the TMT world. London’s creative media talent attracts people and investment from all over the world.

AC: At iCity, we have half a dozen other companies co-located with us, starting a media cluster. This will expand as the media centre comes on-stream, Loughborough University moves in, with its post-grad tech training, along with Hackney Community College, and TechHub’s start-ups. Suddenly you’ve got part of what we wanted, to pull the centre of gravity for Tech City across from Shoreditch much further eastwards, properly into Hackney Wick. Our decision to go to iCity was because we wanted a London headquarters for our new brand. It gave us a completely blank canvas.

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Spring 2014

MB: If you take Westfield, phase one, on top of the shopping centre, 120,000sq ft of Grade A offices, couldn’t be delivered to the market until after the Games. By last September, they had 90% let. If the space is there, the occupiers are coming – because of the transport, because of the infrastructure, because of the facilities, because of the cost.

SC: Stratford is key but a very small part of east London. This area of Docklands is a massive wasteland. It’s encouraging that new deals have been signed up for Silvertown and for Royal Albert, which are not TMT. It’s encouraging that there is foreign investment coming in, which could transform these particular areas. But the local population needs to be really engaged with what’s going on here – at the moment they’re very cut off. The homes here are generally one and two-bedroom flat developments. Where are the families coming in? Where are the roots coming? Where is the low-rise housing?

AC: You have to also think carefully about place-making. One of the big advantages the Olympics brought to that area was a co-ordinated approach to masterplanning, infrastructure and investment.

TH: You can create places that look wonderful on the architects’ drawings and for the

first six months. But unless all those lovely squares become living spaces where people go and happily congregate, it won’t work.

We’ve all seen the housing disasters of the past that had looked good on paper.

CL: East Village is a great example of how investment in that community is built up and managed in those interventions, planned to bring people together. It’s built around courtyards, all the units have balconies or winter gardens – they’re designed on a very human scale.

TH: There needs to be enough going on that people don’t just see it as a place they sleep but the place they actually live and engage with – with shops, healthcare and cafes.

AC: There’s a huge risk at the moment, with so much housing planned for the Olympic Park – because real legacy needs jobs. And you’ve got a huge opportunity, like Canary Wharf, to have a major employment centre and put the housing around it.

MB: The big driver behind residential development is the projected growth of the population of London. Between now and 2020 we’re going to absorb the equivalent of the population of Birmingham. We need homes. Perhaps it’s all about masterplanning east London for residential and commercial, rather than having parts of Newham vying with each other, or with Hackney, to get the jobs or the housing. And it may be that actually the Royals is better for work-space, because there’s Crossrail, the connectivity, the airport … But it’s giving it that overall look, rather than pockets.

RF: Does it need government intervention?

TH: I’m not sure that national government will put enough priority on doing all of this.

Although I strongly believe that London is the economic driver for the rest of the country, it’s always under pressure to look at other parts of the country.

RM: You need time to have concentrated growth, and we’re very good at making the wrong decisions – look at post-war residential development in London.

SC: Another issue that worries me is transport: the Overground is stretched, the

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“East Village is a great example of how investment in that community is built up and managed in those interventions, planned to bring people together ...

They’re designed on a very human scale” road system is pretty archaic, there just isn’t the capacity to put better trams or more buses – and there’s a limit to how many people you can get on the roads cycling.

TH: Communications to Stratford are great, but with some of other parts of east London are still extremely difficult. Crossrail will make a difference, but it’s still not going to solve some of those fundamental problems.

AC: There’s a need for at least two more river crossings – that’s a barrier to economic regeneration on both sides of the river.

SC: Does it really need to be high-level – how often do big ships come up the river? There are lots of other technologies, like swing bridges, which could connect communities more cheaply and quickly.

RM: Airports, the subject of heated debate – but clearly one of the early wins for east London would be if Stansted became a

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round table

“City Airport will have better links, both to the east coast of the United States and into the Middle East – new planes with extended range, flying directly to Dubai or Boston” second hub for London. Crossrail could even be extended there.

MB: A ‘hub’ seems to mean an international, 24-hour airport. If Stansted were to become that 24-hour airport, would it attract more investment and opportunities here?

RM: I don’t think it will displace Heathrow, but Stansted does have the capacity to grow because of the limited population around it.

And that will change the centre of gravity of London and push investment growth.

AC: City Airport will have better links, both to the east coast of the United States and into the Middle East – new planes with extended range, flying directly to Dubai or Boston.

RM: That is one of the reasons why Silvertown Quays wasn’t chosen primarily as a residential location.

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RF: For the ABP [Advanced Business Parks] group to invest so much, they must be thinking about connections down to the City.

MB: ABP also came because the Royals has opened up and will benefit from Crossrail.

Until it arrives, you’ve got one way in, one way out, when the DLR is working. Crossrail is a complete step-change. With connectivity to Heathrow – when Crossrail’s in, it will be a very, very good connection.

SC: Its connectivity would be improved if Crossrail actually stopped at City Airport.

TH: There’s still obviously to be a debate as to where Crossrail goes next. Given how long it took Crossrail, they shouldn’t delay a discussion for long.

MB: Maybe the government thinks that with HS1, the DLR and Jubilee line extensions,

east London’s done ok. HS2 and other things will now take priority.

AC: The Royal Docks’ development also depends on the road system going through Newham, which could become a real bottleneck.

SC: There’s quite a lot of spare capacity in and around the docks – large roads and roundabouts, and bridges that stop because the crossing was never built. I think capacity for commercial transport is there – it’s how it filters north-south through the borough.

RM: The docks are a unique environment, with big, disparate and somewhat inhospitable spaces – I don’t get a sense of cohesion, a sense that it’s a place that people want to come and live?

SC: It needs more animation like the floating village. People gravitate towards a river or a park, where they can relax.

MB: It’s historically a transient community, in flats owned by buy-to-let investors, using Canary Wharf and the airport, and getting out at the weekends.

TH: Will the housing be at the expense of communities in east London, displacing deprivation somewhere else? Certainly, there are parts of east London, where it’s as though none of this regeneration is happening.

RF: There is massive transience in the population. Families want to put down roots where their children can be educated and have aspiration. We need the fundamental understanding that local authorities and schools need greater support.

MB: It’s worrying that there are still pockets of Newham that have been totally bypassed by all the regeneration that’s happened.

AC: Schools need to be at the heart of it.

There’s actually a shortage of people to fill the jobs, yet it’s quite hard to find people from the local schools to walk into those jobs, because they don’t have the right skills.

TH: There is a disconnect, with the education system not delivering the right skills mix, and not enough communication from future employers saying what they need.

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RM: This comes back to local government’s ability to direct and deliver the resources needed. The private sector has a role, but isn’t in a position to deliver the actual sites.

MB: Employers in Newham and Tower Hamlets could do their part. CBRE’s scheme got 1,500 applications for 15 apprenticeships.

It’s about briefing the schools on what we’re looking for, getting down to the grassroots, and getting out the message.

CL: It’s about focusing on young people as well – it’s quite often a generational change.

AC: We took Jules Pipe [elected mayor] round a school in Hackney and a surprisingly large number said they wanted to be BT apprentices, thanks to the apprentices we send into that school. Jules asked one of the boys sitting at a computer: “What’s the most complicated or interesting thing you’ve programmed?” The 15-year-old answered: “I wrote my own browser.”

SC: Schools are often centres of the community because they bring different people together. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about learning, but it could be activities or social events.

RF: The transient population comes here because it’s cheap. And when they can choose where to go, they leave. They need reasons to stay – place-making, infrastructure, animation and activity.

SC: It’s not just about a quick fix, putting up a block of flats, getting revenue and off you go. But how do we get cross-borough masterplanning of the whole area to ensure it’s not cherry-picking, trying to get the highest value or the quickest delivery?

TH: Do we need a model like Docklands, where it took the LDDC, with its unique powers, and an international consortium to bring capital and the expertise to invest that capital? I’m not sure that the London Legacy Development Corporation has the same flexibilities and freedoms.

Above: Lord Harris and Robert Maguire.

Opposite: Andrew Campling (left) with Matthew Black and Simon Child (right). Cable cars of the Emirates Air Line pass by the Crystal every few minutes, as they cross the River Thames to Greenwich.

MB: The Olympics were the catalyst at Stratford to assemble the fragmented ownership for comprehensive redevelopment, sort out the pollution, contamination and the pylons, or recycle the

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industrial buildings. My concern is that now it will fragment again, with each borough looking after its cause.

RF: Of course, local authorities are going to want autonomy, yet if they continue to compete are we going to get the maximum benefit? Everyone beneifts by having separate hubs but – by working together – it’s going to attract so much more investment and opportunity.

RM: A supra-local authority organisation like the GLA, with the appropriate powers and resources to ensure co-ordinated investment and design, is critical to achieving the quality of places that we desire to create.

There are two Stratfords – the Westfield shopping centre, the old shopping centre – and two demographics. The big challenge is integrating the old and the new – and not creating gated parts of London.

One of the problems is that local authorities are under-resourced and overburdened with statutory responsibilities.

They do not have the resources always to attract top-drawer talent. Policy is often driven by short-term political expediency and therefore, the law of unintended consequences often sets in, whereby wellmeaning policies lead to long-term structural problems – or where narrow policy formulations lead to poor outcomes.

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Spring 2014

TH: The Legacy Company in theory has a 20-year vision – what is the single most valuable thing that could contribute to a 20-year vision for east London?

RM: Corporate responsibility by developers – it’s critical that they take a holistic view of the places they’re trying to create, and consider the social infrastructure that goes into making these communities whole.

MB: A common vision brings the boroughs together, a masterplan that they all sign up to – that’s how the Olympic Park happened.

CL: It’s also the fine grain stuff – cultural organisations, charities and so on, can also animate and contribute to place-making.

SC: I would add strong, political leadership, such as Robin Wales and Jules Pipe. This would give power to planning departments – all heavily under-resourced and under pressure from government and from their members, making development very difficult – strong leadership gives them the power to make sure that whatever we’re designing is of the highest quality.

TH: So – it’s a genuine partnership with employers, local government, the universities and colleges – establishing a shared partnership vision with consultation.

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street art

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Spring 2014

Communities value art on the streets, shown when the removal of north london Banksy images for private sale provoked outrage. the artist’s riposte began with a bargain sale of pieces in New York’s Central Park, with fresh works appearing throughout the city. Back in London, East’s head of design Rachael Schofield roots out urban imagery in the east of the capital. photography by street art specialist Claude Crommelin

Street Spirit

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street art

S

treet art has become established as an innovative form of visual expression in most urban settings, distinct from graffiti or tagging – seen as the antisocial defacement of property. Attitudes and values have changed, with a move towards artwork being produced with the permission of property owners, or even commissioned by occupiers themselves.

Unlike graffiti, street artists produce work for an audience – the community – with the purpose of raising political issues or creative expression, to give character and distinction to a place, or brighten up an otherwise unmemorable street.

A great number of street artists have progressed from being graffitists.

Some saw themselves as outside of mainstream society, and others held professional jobs. With the shift in attitudes, many now produce work for galleries from their own studios.

Campaigns have been run in the past in collaboration with artists and charities, such as the partnership between artist, Stik, and the homelessness campaigning magazine, The Big Issue. A limited edition of 75,000 signed posters, of four different colours, were produced by Stik with one sold in each copy of the magazine.

The posters soon became collectors’ items, selling at upwards of £20 each, and turned magazine vendors into art dealers.

Stik has since collaborated on a similar campaign in Japan.

As the home of creativity, new ideas and trends, it is not surprising that most street art in London is found in the east. As urban artists moved in and began revitalising this once declining area of the capital, a cultural badge of coolness was stamped, and the regeneration of the east had begun.

Developers have since come on board with the recognition street art brings – literally – with their hoardings now displaying the latest works from renowned artists.

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Spring 2014

Previous page, left: ROA’s distinctive creatures are a familiar presence in the east.

Previous page, right: Phlegm’s work draws on dip pen and etching techniques, found in the work in his own comics.

Left: Ways of seeing – Stik’s quizzical figures invite the observer to join in and look.

Below left: Typographic artist Ben Eine brightens the street – and is popular with kids learning the ABC. Right: James Cochran aka Jimmy C paints Usain Bolt, reflecting speed and “the inherent energy and vibrancy of Bolt’s personality”.

Below right: Portrait of the artist? With the elusive Banksy, we never know.

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Issue 2 2013

LONDON’S HOTSPOT: EAST LONDON ISSUE FOUR_2014

thecrystal.org

Investment destination: Hounslow

WAKEFIELD’S CONNECTIVITY, SO CENTRAL FOR LOGISTICS BUSINESSES

ISSUE 2 2013

Issue 10 Summer 2013

Organiser

McLaren Construction Group Plc

Investment opportunities in the London Borough of Bromley

Developing a new concept in rented accommodation Investment opportunities in the London Borough of Bromley

issue eight: autumn 2013

An exciting new development a stone’s throw from Newcastle City Centre

Bromley de luxe – good business for top brands

The Rise is the first phase of a £265 million regeneration project which will deliver 1,800 modern homes, while creating jobs and training opportunities for hundreds of local people.

The 60 hectare site will feature its own community energy centre and carefully designed,

Proud to be Inside: Marine and offshore, creative and digital, asset management, decision makers and game changers . . .

Essential Living

working in association with Bromley Council Essentialliving.uk.com

renaissancenewcastle.com

ISSUE 2 SUMMER 2013

renaissancenewcastle.com

2013

5

95% morTgages available

Flying higher

London Biggin Hill Airport, quick and slick alternative

The exciting transformation of Newcastle’s west end has begun on the banks of the famous River Tyne.

opments

Issue 2 Summer 2013

Investment flows into Bromley town centre Newcastle’s regeneration magazine

public spaces to support the development of a truly green and sustainable community.

Wavesgreen of change Peel’s Chatham Waters gathers pace Behind the North East’s largest housing led regeneration is New Tyne West Development Art start Medway’s burgeoning creativeNewcastle industries Company, a public-private partnership comprising City Council and developers Homes and Keepmoat.

MadeBarratt in Medway The business gurus driving growth For further information log on to www.therise.info A rate of knots Historic links fuel future development

Invest Bromley

22/02/2013 10:58

375 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5QY +44 (0)20 7978 6840 3foxinternational.com

*93.3% of respondents to an independent survey of magazine readers in 2009

Changing up From Crossrail to expansion at London City Airport, business is booming along east London’s transport network, Sarah Herbert reports

A

long its route, Crossrail could help add value of £5.5 billion to real estate between 2012 and 2021, according to GVA’s 2012 Property Impact Study, and support delivery of more than 57,000 new homes and 3.25 million sq m of commercial floor space within a kilometre of stations. According to GVA, economic gains will be felt where development is under way or encouraged in the London Plan, such as Stratford, the Royal Docks and Woolwich, and at Whitechapel, Custom House and Abbey Wood.

The £110 million Whitechapel Crossrail station will link with existing lines through a new concourse. GVA predicts office rental values will reach market benchmark level for the City fringe – up from £58 per sq ft in 2012 to £76 per sq ft in 2021.

Average house prices will increase from £300,000 in 2012 to £500,000 in 2021.

Further east, Custom House station will improve connections to ExCeL and London City Airport, and Canning Town, where schemes by Bouygues Development and English Cities Fund are already under way.

Crossrail at Woolwich Arsenal will reduce journey times to Canary Wharf to eight minutes, and Heathrow to 47 minutes. Also in Greenwich, the Abbey Wood Crossrail station will reduce journeys to Canary Wharf and Bond Street by 20 minutes.

Research by York Aviation in 2011 shows that London City Airport could support up to £944 million of GDP at Canary Wharf, the City and ExCeL, contributing more than half a billion pounds to the economy each year. A record-breaking 328,115 passengers used the airport in July 2013, 25% up on the same period in 2012. The airport is progressing on its masterplan for additional aircraft parking stands and increased access, while a £15 million terminal improvement plan is also imminent.

➳ eastmagazine.net

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enterprise east

The most prestigious address in East London

With a 43 storey residential tower rising high above the London skyline, Stratford Halo is a truly landmark Genesis development of more than 700 homes. Located on the doorstep of the London 2012 Olympic Park and Stadium, it is the most exciting development in East London.

At Genesis, we’re passionate about developing new quality homes.

Our mission is to deliver places that people are proud to call home.

www.GenesisHA.org.uk 42

Winter 2013

WISH LIST What works to create great architecture or successful schemes? East asked five developers and regeneration specialists which projects they admire. interviews by Sitematch Researcher Huub nieuwstadt Chris Paddock, director, Regeneris Consulting Victoria Park In some respects Victoria Park didn’t need improving, but the works masterplanned by LDA Design and undertaken over the last two years have added real value. The range of interventions from the Burdett Coutts fountain to new changing facilities have made the park one of the best in London; a well-used, functional space and a source of civic pride.

eastmagazine.net

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enterprise east

Richard Fagg, regional director, Bouygues Development Siemens Crystal The Siemens Crystal is an iconic centre of imagination of the future, and demonstrates that success in urban regeneration is about more than housing. It brings aspiration and innovation to local people – as well as wider community groups, which helps promote the area by attracting visitors.

David Barnett, CEO, Londonewcastle Beveridge Mews Beveridge Mews [Peter Barber Architects] is a social housing project comprising eight terraced family houses in Stepney Green.

The development won a RIBA award in 2013. The houses are fully future-proofed with features such as high thermal insulation, rainwater harvesting, low energy fittings and grey water recycling.

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Winter 2013

Chris Shellard, development director, Lee Valley Estates William Morris Gallery I am a great admirer of the William Morris Gallery in Forest Road, Walthamstow. It is an outstanding example of 18th century architecture and was the home of the Morris family.

The Grade II-listed building has been transformed by Waltham Forest Council with the support of lottery funding and has been awarded the Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2013 for its reinterpretation of the life and works of William Morris.

Jamie Ritblat, chief executive, Delancey The White Building The White Building stands out. It is a well restored space with impressive architecture and has a great buzz and tenant mix by combining art and studio space with a theatre, and the Crate Brewery and Pizzeria. It is great for those who choose to live and work in Delancey’s neighbouring developments: East Village and iCITY.

eastmagazine.net

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sitematch

Sitematch: prime sites Development advisers speak to Sitematch researcher Huub Nieuwstadt about the regeneration potential of their current projects

Capita: John Bandler, director of regeneration Spray Street Quarter, Greenwich This strategically located site sits between the new Woolwich Crossrail station and the Woolwich Arsenal national rail and DLR stations. Its proximity to excellent transport infrastructure and the likely step-change in interchange footfall in 2018, when Crossrail goes live, means the site should be set for positive value-creep over the foreseeable future.

For developers with vision and the persistence to overcome some site assembly challenges, it has amazing potential. If a developer gets this site right for Woolwich, it would see the place transformation – already cemented throughout the Royal Arsenal development – creeping further south into the town centre.

Woolwich town centre has seen a lot of change over recent years, most of which has been well received. With Crossrail services commencing in 2018, for many, this site will become the entrance to the town centre. Done right, it could have a huge positive impact on Woolwich.

Above: Woolwich Crossrail station Right: Wood Wharf

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Spring 2014

Peter Brett Associates: Gregory Callaghan, partner Poplar Riverside, Tower Hamlets, (near Wood Wharf, above) Peter Brett Associates worked with Tower Hamlets Council to assess the feasibility for developing former depot sites. The council-owned Poplar Riverside site forms part of a larger potential development. The site is reasonably well connected by public transport and is well located for vehicle use.

Adjacent to the River Lea, providing waterfront views, the location also facilitates sustainable construction access methods. The site is close to major employment generators like the depots across the river and is connected to Canary Wharf and the City by the DLR from Langdon Park.

The site provides an opportunity for residential development, being in close proximity to Canary Wharf Group’s Wood Wharf development.

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