London First

London First mobilised business support for the Olympic Bid as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform East London.  We are now working to ensure this crucial opportunity isn’t squandered.

The Olympic Park is located in some of the most deprived boroughs in the whole of the UK.    It also sits within the Thames Gateway – an area stretching from the City eastwards to the coast, along both banks of the Thames – which has been earmarked for massive housing growth by central Government and in the Mayor’s London Plan. 160,000 new homes are planned to be built here over the next decade.  However, the current rate of construction is woefully inadequate. 

As part of the Olympic budget the Government has provided £1.7bn for the regeneration of the Olympic park – but it is clear that this investment cannot stop at the park boundaries.  Equally, spreading regeneration funding too thinly across the whole of the Gateway will dilute its impact. 
The focus of the legacy strategy should be the area surrounding the Olympic Park, known as the Lower Lea Valley

Using the catalyst of the Olympics, London First is

• calling for clear cabinet-level leadership to ensure a lack of focus does not jeopardise the regeneration legacy
• helping to develop a single legacy strategy for the area, currently faced with multiple regeneration plans from a plethora of public sector stakeholders
• pressing for investment in essential infrastructure to underpin the area’s regeneration – transport, education, health
• identifying action to tackle the area’s negative image which may otherwise deter potential investors, residents and visitors

We are putting together a business advisory group to take up the physical legacy challenge outlined in our Business Opportunity Prospectus.  The group will work to identify the obstacles to rapid regeneration in the Lower Lea Valley and propose ways to overcome them.

In addition, we are lobbying for two other key projects for the area:  Crossrail and the Thames Gateway Bridge.  Although not due for completion before 2012, these projects are vital in cementing the Games’ long term regeneration benefits for East London. 

For more information please contact Claire Jenkins on 020 7665 1561