Ken Livingstone: "I only bid because of the regeneration potential, otherwise we could never have justified it."

With the Olympics three years away, and the weather being nice this week-end, I had a very long walk through the areas surrounding the Olympic Park to see how things are shaping up. I was impressed and very disappointed at the same time.

The Olympic Park island site is impressive and appears well organised. After having seens it from so close I am convinced the ODA is doing an excellent job; I have no doubts left that they will deliver a fantastic park and solid infrastructure.

However, at the same time I was very disappointed that the Olympic project does not appear to being taken advantage of by the host boroughs (Newham, Waltham Forest, Hackney and Tower Hamlets). There are some shockingly poor and neglected neighbourhoods around the olympic site and it really strikes you when you take the time to walk through them. The public realm ranges from very bad to average.

For sure there is a considerable amount of investment in public transport, but bar the capacity upgrade of Stratford Regional, all of these projects would have gone ahead as well without the Olympics.

What I was looking for was any sign that the host boroughs were leveraging on the Olympics to clean up the poor public realm in some of the finge areas. With only three years to go, there was not the smallest sign of this. In that respect, they could as well have located the Olympics anywhere. It is an island site and there are no visible spill-over effects. It appears nothing is being done about the poor state of public housing, potholed streets, shabby pavements, poorly maintained communal spaces, etc. Even Westminster is currently doing more with its pavement upgrade programme for the Olympics!

I then had a look on the internet sites of the Host Boroughs to see whether something is about to happen. Again, big disappointment. They all seem to suffer from the "London Thames Gateway Development Corporation Disease", i.e. perpetual debating groups, multiple publications, but no action on the ground whatsoever.

Newham clearly comes out the worst, a lot of spin and nice pictures of politicians but nothing concrete.
http://2012games.newham.gov.uk/2012games/

Hackney comes out second worst, a complete internet site with aspirations and spin, but OK they are going to invest £3 mio in upgrading the facilities of the Hackney Marshes.
http://www.hackney.gov.uk/2012-games.htm

Tower Hamlets seems to have just woken up with its High Street 2012 plan but it is not clear whether this is just another document (and internet site) or whether they will do something.
http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/800001-800100/800017_olympics.aspx

Waltham Forest seems to have done the most work, with its Northern Finge Plans, but it is unclear whether these are just publications or whether they will also execute them.
http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/index/2012games/northern-olympic-fringe.htm

The LDA clearly has too many employees; the number of publications and masterplans are incredible, but without any sign that anything is actually going to be done. They even had the time to make an internet site dedicated to the topic, but again without any indication of what will be done. I assume that in July 2012 they will still be launching new masterplans.
http://www.legacy-now.co.uk/designing-the-park/around-the-park/

With only three years to go, one would have assumed there to be a clear plan of how to address some of the omni-present neglect in the fringe areas such that there would be a visible spill-over effect of the Olympics. Whilst the public realm is only one aspect of the regeneration, it is the most visible one. It seems that the Host Boroughs are missing a unique chance to improve the opportunities and environment for the existing residents and businesses, to attract new businesses and residents and to portray themselves to the country and the world as a dynamic, ambitious, up-and-coming, progressive and pleasant area of London.

Most of what you say will not happen until later next year. Much of the regeneration programmes that the LDA mention will now take longer thanks to Boris slashing their budget. The regeneration potential for East London that Ken used as impetus for hosting the Olympics was always a long term goal, many of the masterplans are looking forward to 2040 and how the locale will be shaped once the Games have gone.

2040 eh?

Most of what you say will not happen until later next year. Much of the regeneration programmes that the LDA mention will now take longer thanks to Boris slashing their budget. The regeneration potential for East London that Ken used as impetus for hosting the Olympics was always a long term goal, many of the masterplans are looking forward to 2040 and how the locale will be shaped once the Games have gone.

It is clear that regeneration is a long-term matter, but the momentum to get anything done before the Olympics is much better than after the Olympics. If it is tough for the Host Boroughs to get funds now, it will be even harder to get funds after the Olympics. And unless enough momentum is built up before the Olympics, there is a real risk that with the Olympics gone, everything will go into reverse.

With regards to the regeneration plans for which Boris has slashed the budgets, are there any specifics in this respect? I have found it very difficult to get any concrete information about specific plans, commitments, budgets, etc.

Also, I think that even relatively small amounts of money can make a massive change to the public realm, such as repairing pavements, fixing public lighting, tree lining streets (I think Boris has another 8,500 trees to plant in the next two years), etc.

Oh, come back Ken! I love reading what he has to say - he is spot on.....and he really cares. The problem is that no single body seems to be driving regeneration, however small and superficial for 2012. One of many features of Boris Johnson's mayoralty is to leave it to the local boroughs thereby diluting the office of mayor and flying in the face of the idea of a single elected authority to co-ordinate things. The GLA and Mayor should be driving some sort of co-ordinated strategy to ensure that these boroughs do not embarrass the whole country in 2012.

Oh! My house is within the Northern Olympic Fringe!

http://www.walthamforest.gov.uk/inde...pic-fringe.htm



Leytonstone is pretty run down.

It's a scruffy area of East London, bisected by the High Road and the Hackney cut motorway. The high street's run down and tired, just a few chain shops and Polish supermarkets and chicken and pizza places. Lots of Eastern Europeans, South Africans and older Irish residents. The demographic is changing, but it's got a long way to go.

For instance, two pubs nearest my house were raided by undercover cops. This is in the public domain so I can name the pub, it's Lincolns on the high road. The cops were offered bootleg porn DVDs and were told:

''You look like you like cocaine, he'll be along in a minute!''

License withdrawn.

The whole of East London is changing, the Shoreditch twats who all look homogenously like Amy Winehouse's boyfriend are creeping north into Hackney and East Down Bethnal Green Road. Stinky old boozer pubs are being renovated and turned into gastro pubs for the new younger residents. But the gigantic developments taking place at Stratford City and the OP are beyond anything seen in the area before.

It's very hard to envisage what Leytonstone will look like in 5 years but I'm positive it will be a huge improvement.

I hear Custom House is a complete shithole and that it's not far from Excel . My friend lives immediately next to the Thames Barrier and he says Canning Town is a disaster area.

Olympic visitors are going to see the unacceptable face of London . I suppose it is inevitable .

Olympic visitors are going to see the unacceptable face of London . I suppose it is inevitable .

Olympic visitors are going to be so wrapped up in the experience of the Games they won't even care what part of London they are in.

Did you honestly expect the whole of east London to turn into Kensington in a mere couple of years?

Olympic visitors are going to be so wrapped up in the experience of the Games they won't even care what part of London they are in.

Did you honestly expect the whole of east London to turn into Kensington in a mere couple of years?

I'm not entirely sure the olympic games have yet acquired the all-encompassing power to render all human senses inactive.

How many years are involved in the bid process and eventual winning'hosting of the games ?

1997-2012 . Hardly ' a mere couple of years ' .

We won the Games in 2005. Canning Town has only had a regeneration masterplan in place for the last couple of years, which has begun, but like many other places in this country and city has stalled because of the economic climate. Things are changing though and just like things were tidied up when the IOC inspection took place of course the streets will be cleaned and graffiti removed in the weeks and days before the Games begin.

I can't see what the alternative is. You can't change the make-up of an area overnight by demolishing and rebuilding a few buildings. These things take a good few years. The venues will be draped in 2012 branding, there will be flags and banners everywhere over Custom House station, no-one will actually set foot in the residential area anyway because the DLR station goes directly into Excel, and Olympic visitors are hardly going to be turning their noses up as they take their DLR train past a couple of council blocks. Otherwise, gees, they might as well turn their noses up to the whole of London! Do you expect visitors to be scared of their lives when they walk from Woolwich Arsenal DLR to the shooting events? Of course not, the whole place will be scrubbed up and security will be everywhere.

Have you even been to a major event in a city before? The London Marathon goes through some not-so-salubrious areas of the capital, but I don't think it dents the popularity one bit.

We won the Games in 2005. Canning Town has only had a regeneration masterplan in place for the last couple of years, which has begun, but like many other places in this country and city has stalled because of the economic climate. Things are changing though and just like things were tidied up when the IOC inspection took place of course the streets will be cleaned and graffiti removed in the weeks and days before the Games begin.

I can't see what the alternative is. You can't change the make-up of an area overnight by demolishing and rebuilding a few buildings. These things take a good few years. The venues will be draped in 2012 branding, there will be flags and banners everywhere over Custom House station, no-one will actually set foot in the residential area anyway because the DLR station goes directly into Excel, and Olympic visitors are hardly going to be turning their noses up as they take their DLR train past a couple of council blocks. Otherwise, gees, they might as well turn their noses up to the whole of London! Do you expect visitors to be scared of their lives when they walk from Woolwich Arsenal DLR to the shooting events? Of course not, the whole place will be scrubbed up and security will be everywhere.

Have you even been to a major event in a city before? The London Marathon goes through some not-so-salubrious areas of the capital, but I don't think it dents the popularity one bit.


You simply cannot delay these plans and use the recession as the excuse . Firstly , they're too important . Secondly, we still have bilions to throw around saving banks,incentives for foreign companies not to close/relocate, wars and foreign aid etc.etc.

An unnecessary air of uncertainty is pervading many olympics plans in relation to not only the surrounding boroughs but also venues.Weymouth seafront is a prime example . Now it seems they ARE actually going to get the refurbishment they planned for,but they've had to protest and publicly beg to get it. This is no way to organise and present an olympics.

Forward planning and a long-term view is not something you can ever accuse the British of . However, I think the olympic rejection of Manchester and Birmingham has been the catalyst for change in those cities and the foward planning that I speak of .

I certainly hope and expect any grotty areas will be 'beautified' albeit superficially for the sake of the nation's image. A few semi-mature trees, community projects , lick of paint etc. I think each borough has a duty to do that .

Having said all of that , I recall when the Queen visited Cambridge and the roadsweepers were in full swing the day before. I remember thinking , ' Why can't it be this clean all the time ? She obviously gets a distorted view of her own realm too ' .

My general view is that the so-called 'ordinary' British people should start seeing some of the enormous wealth this country has in their day to day lives and their environment is crucial in that . It shouldn't take an olympics to wake people up. Supposedly we are the 5th richest nation on earth and yet it just doesn't look or feel like it unless you live in a gated community at Wentworth.

As far as I'm aware the boroughs are lacking dynamism in this area and they are perhaps losing confidence. I suppose if you keep your mouth shut and don't fight you just don't get .

Change is happening though. I've lived in the area for six years and you can feel it. Not everywhere in a city can be as neat and tidy as the salubrious parts, there will always be certain areas that have less. You can only provide the impetus to bring these areas up to a level playing field, but London has always been in flux and the nice places of today will no doubt become the rundown places of tomorrow. I think you were expecting far too much if you thought east London would be unrecognisable between winning the Games and hosting them. It was always about a much more longer goal than that.

China is a rich nation, Beijing had billions spent on it before the Games, yet there are still areas that look worse than many parts of London.

There's still three years to go anyway. That's actually quite a time if you consider it only takes a few months to repave areas and stick in trees. 2011 will see a massive tidy up of the Olympic boroughs - it's already starting anyway with council towers being refurnished and reclad as well as pavements being relaid. High Street 2012 kicks off next year and the Greenway project has begun. Things are moving in the right direction.

2011 will see a massive tidy up of the Olympic boroughs - it's already starting anyway with council towers being refurnished and reclad as well as pavements being relaid. High Street 2012 kicks off next year and the Greenway project has begun. Things are moving in the right direction.

DarJoLe, do you know to what extent they will implement High Street 2012? I think it is a fantastic project but it all seems a little uncertain of what is going to be done and what not. Also, are there any detail of what exactly the Olympic Borough will do? To be clear, I would not expect it to be Kensington but I would expect it to be clean and pleasant. Pavements, road surfaces paint, and trees go a long way....

Leytonstone is pretty run down.

It's a scruffy area of East London, bisected by the High Road and the Hackney cut motorway. The high street's run down and tired, just a few chain shops and Polish supermarkets and chicken and pizza places. Lots of Eastern Europeans, South Africans and older Irish residents. The demographic is changing, but it's got a long way to go.


Having walked through Leytonstone for the first time last week-end, I though it was actually sad. It is incredibley grim yet only limited investment would be needed to turn the public realm for the better. It is clear it is completely neglected. A good planner could turn it around on a relatively small budget though. Apart from the carvan park I think the private buildings are OKish, it is just the public realm that lets down the area.

Simple things like putting pressure on shops to renovate shop frontages to a more standardised template etc asking landlords to renovate the external would create an very quick visual boost with little public money.

JGG...
Greenwich is also a Host Borough
http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/YourEnvironment/Regeneration/OlympicParalympicGames/

Threads on SSC:
Greenwich Peninsula £5bn Regeneration (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=632984)
Kidbrooke £1bn Regeneration (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=670786)

JGG...
Greenwich is also a Host Borough
http://www.greenwich.gov.uk/Greenwich/YourEnvironment/Regeneration/OlympicParalympicGames/

Threads on SSC:
Greenwich Peninsula £5bn Regeneration (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=632984)
Kidbrooke £1bn Regeneration (http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=670786)

Fortunately, at least one Olympic Host Borough seems to be doing something! But to be honest Greenwich has always been in better shape because it has always had very nice areas.

very interesting information, my parents house is by leyton station and also they have a restaurant in lea bridge road.. i'm just hoping its not alot of talk as they are now looking to sell the place on lea bridge road, as it is a shit hole:lol:

I used to live near the Olympic site in Sydney, and I can tell you that it was not the most salubrious area. But I don't think it was highly commented on during the Olympic Games...so I doubt it will be highly commented on during the London games.

Olympic legacy projects slashed over cost
(http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23744584-details/Olympic+legacy+projects+slashed+over+cost/article.do)Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent
16.09.09

A raft of projects intended to deliver a legacy after the 2012 Olympics have been cut by the London Development Agency after a bungled land deal blew a £160m hole in its budget.

Cuts of more than £21m this year will affect 2012-related programmes run by the LDA and undermine Boris Johnson's claim of using the Games to make Londoners more active and improve their employment chances.

The LDA has been forced to make the cutbacks after poor internal accounting was blamed for the cost of buying up the 500-acre Olympic site in Stratford spiralling to £1.1bn.

At its board meeting today, the LDA will submit cost-cutting proposals with the axe due to fall on a dozen Olympics schemes.

Savings will be made by:

- £2m cut in funding to “High Street 2012”, a major facelift to the final stretch of the Olympic marathon in Tower Hamlets and Newham

- £1m cut to “Art in the Park”, a project backed by Tate director Sir Nicholas Serota to decorate bridges and underpasses in the Olympic Park

- £1.6m cut to skills and employment scheme for the five Olympic boroughs in the East End

- scrapping a £170,000 scheme “Supporting Disabled People in Olympic Jobs”

- scrapping the £150,000 “Olympics Forecasting Function” to count the jobs created by the Games

- cutting by £25,000 and “Olympic Legacy Impact Evaluation” study

A further £250,000 will be saved by cuts to schemes for volunteers at sports events, training young sports officials and umpires and promoting the business benefits of the Games.

Critics say the cuts will deny Londoners a grassroots legacy from the Olympics.

Conservative Assembly member Andrew Boff said: “By cutting or reducing these programmes we are effectively going back on some of the promises made about hosting the Games.

"While the bricks and mortar projects of the Olympic sports venues are having cash lavished on them the legacy is being undermined.

"Londoners are saying they don't feel the benefits of the Games and this will only make matters worse.”

Disability charity Scope attacked the cuts to the Olympic employment scheme.

Director of Policy and Campaigns Ruth Scott, said: “We are disappointed when any resources to support disabled people into employment are cut.

"Disabled people face considerable barriers to finding employment and these are often exacerbated during a recession when competition for jobs intensifies.

"If this scheme was not found to demonstrate good value for money then consideration should be given to developing an alternative scheme that does, instead of scrapping it all together.”

An LDA spokesman said: “If the system of improved financial controls had been in place earlier we would have identified these projects and stopped them then because the priority has always been to transfer the land to the Olympic Delivery Authority.

"Lots of these projects are delivered on a three-year cycle and would have come to an end this year anyway.”

Other schemes to be cut:

“Taxi Driver Diversity Programme” for women and black, Asian and minority ethic groups, cut by £150,000
Redundancy prevention scheme for small and medium sized business,cut by £5m
Building Energy Efficiency Programme (BEEP), cut by £2.5m

Olympic legacy projects slashed over cost
(http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23744584-details/Olympic+legacy+projects+slashed+over+cost/article.do)Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent
16.09.09

A raft of projects intended to deliver a legacy after the 2012 Olympics have been cut by the London Development Agency after a bungled land deal blew a £160m hole in its budget.

Cuts of more than £21m this year will affect 2012-related programmes run by the LDA and undermine Boris Johnson's claim of using the Games to make Londoners more active and improve their employment chances.

The LDA has been forced to make the cutbacks after poor internal accounting was blamed for the cost of buying up the 500-acre Olympic site in Stratford spiralling to £1.1bn.

At its board meeting today, the LDA will submit cost-cutting proposals with the axe due to fall on a dozen Olympics schemes.

Savings will be made by:

- £2m cut in funding to “High Street 2012”, a major facelift to the final stretch of the Olympic marathon in Tower Hamlets and Newham

It is pathetic they are saving on this project, a month after the LDA proclaimed it would be part-financing it. Creating a pleasant and high quality link between the City and Stratford is a cost-effective and high-impact project. Sure, the Olympic island site may be fantastic, but it should also be about creating axes of regneration along mayor routes. A good snapshot of the current situation:

http://www.richardfjbrown.co.uk/page1/assets/070430prospectus%20draft-small.pdf

A cut in funding for the High Street 2012 project is terribly disappointing.