The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has announced that 3,000 new homes will be built on the remaining three Olympic legacy sites at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park — with the level of affordable housing boosted to 50%.
Approximately 3,000 homes will be built across Stratford Waterfront, Pudding Mill and Rick Roberts Way over the next 12 years, with City Hall working with the landowner — the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) — to speed this up. While Sadiq has no power over those Olympic legacy sites that were agreed before he became Mayor, he is ensuring an average of 50% affordable housing across the remaining three sites, in line with his commitment for housing developments on public land, by forgoing income from the sites and absorbing the cost.
600 homes will be delivered at Stratford Waterfront, 1,500 at Pudding Mill and 900 at Rick Roberts Way, subject to planning permission. To ensure 50% are affordable across the three sites, the Mayor will invest housing and infrastructure grants and proposed funding of around £10m of City Hall funding a year over 20 years. This will be confirmed in the Mayor’s budget early next year.
Sadiq’s decision to boost affordable housing to 50% on the three remaining sites means they will leave a better legacy than those sites already agreed before was elected, which contained an average of 29%* affordable housing. Despite inheriting lower levels of affordable housing on these sites however, Sadiq and LLDC will continue to explore whether it is possible to increase their levels further.
The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “It’s vital that our Olympic legacy truly benefits Londoners, and that includes affordable housing as well as culture, education and business. While I cannot change the deals that were agreed before I became Mayor, I’m committed to ensuring that at least half the homes across the three remaining sites for development will be social rented or other genuinely affordable homes.
“There’s no getting away from the fact that to deliver on this commitment costs money — but this is an investment, and City Hall and the public sector in general will benefit from council tax and business rates thanks to the incredible regeneration of the area.
“These will be genuinely affordable homes that Londoners desperately need. I’m prepared to put my money where my mouth is in my proposed budget next year and make sure they are delivered — and I urge the London Assembly to help me do this.”
Tackling London’s housing crisis has been one of Sadiq’s top priorities since he took office, and he has started a record number of genuinely affordable homes in the capital, exceeding targets agreed with the Government despite the horrendous legacy left by the previous Mayor.
He started 12,555 starts of affordable homes in 2017/18, the highest number since responsibilities for funding affordable housing were devolved to the Mayor of London. Crucially, this included 2,811 homes with rents based on social rent levels, after there being zero homes at such levels in the pipeline inherited from the previous Mayor. That is more than double the number of homes for social rent that the Government started in the rest of England combined.
Lyn Garner, LLDC Chief Executive, said: “Housing is a critical part of the London 2012 legacy and the Mayor’s proposals will help us to accelerate delivery of thousands of homes, including affordable homes. Four new schools have been built on the Park already, including the new Bobby Moore Academy which opens tomorrow, together with thousands of new jobs in the local area to provide the much-needed infrastructure to support these new neighbourhoods.”
The regeneration of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has created an entirely new urban district in London, and in June the Mayor set out his vision for East Bank at the Park, which is set to create 2,500 jobs, £1.5bn of economic benefit and 600 new homes.
Sadiq unveiled new plans and building designs for Sadler’s Wells, UAL’s London College of Fashion and the V&A including a partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, across Stratford Waterfront. The BBC will also join this list of prestigious institutions with facilities at East Bank, to create a new home for the world-renowned BBC Symphony Orchestra & Chorus and BBC Singers, as well as the Proms.
East Bank will also be home to UCL East, a new and pioneering campus for University College London.
