ao link
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In
Twitter
Facebook
Linked In

You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles

London’s Olympic Games have not benefited everyone

The 2012 London Olympics was supposed to close the gap between the richer and poorer boroughs – but east London’s economic growth is not working for everybody, says Navin Shah

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Sharelines

London’s Olympic Games have not benefited everyone, says Navin Shah #ukhousing

From the spectacular opening ceremony, to the incredible venues and the remarkable success of British athletes, the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games showcased the very best of Britain.

The transformation in and around the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has been breathtaking, with new transport infrastructure, world-class sports and leisure venues, and a new neighbourhood in the East Village.

“The games were meant to not only physically transform the area, but to also bring about a legacy of improved life chances for local people.”

However, the games were meant to not only physically transform the area, but to also bring about a legacy of improved life chances for local people. This meant ensuring that the life chances of people living in east London needed to improve, to get closer to the average for London as a whole, in a process known as ‘convergence’.


READ MORE

Bidders shortlisted for building accelerated Olympic Park homesBidders shortlisted for building accelerated Olympic Park homes
Intergenerational Cookery Project Builds On Olympic Park Legacy At Chobham Manor
PfP and Balfour Beatty sign Olympic legacy dealPfP and Balfour Beatty sign Olympic legacy deal

To achieve this, the host boroughs of the games – Barking and Dagenham, Greenwich, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, and Waltham Forest – came together to form the Growth Boroughs Partnership.

In 2010, the Olympic host boroughs’ convergence vision was adopted with the objective that “within 20 years, the communities which host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will enjoy the same social and economic chances as their neighbours across London”.

Investigation

We set out to explore the success of convergence in the London Assembly Regeneration Committee report Relighting the torch: securing the Olympic legacy. To this end, we launched an investigation into convergence and held a meeting with experts to learn more about how east London is changing.

Housing is a key measure that we looked at and in order for local people to have benefited from London 2012, the amount of truly affordable housing available was key. We found that in 2015/16, 3,200 affordable units were achieved (out of a total target of 5,000 units). This brings the total of affordable units completed since 2009 to more than 26,000.
This goes some way to giving local people the chance to access good quality, affordable homes, but how do we know existing communities are really benefiting?

We did learn that the Olympics had made great progress in creating wealth in the former host boroughs, or Growth Boroughs. It had a truly transformative effect on employment and economic growth. There have been more than 110,000 new jobs in the Growth Boroughs since 2012, and a further 125,000 are forecast for 2030. This growth in jobs reduced the effects of the 2008 financial crisis in this area. Indeed, employment in the Growth Boroughs looks set to meet the London average if levels continue to rise.

However, the Olympics has not helped to support healthier lifestyles, and progress on developing successful neighbourhoods is limited. Levels of physical activity and obesity are getting worse, and the life expectancy of local people is not improving. Crime levels are rising, in common with the rest of London, and overcrowding remains a problem.

“We are concerned that economic growth in east London is not working for everyone.”

As a result, we are concerned that this economic growth in east London is not working for everyone. We found that average earnings, unemployment and the density of jobs were not improving to meet the London average – in fact, the gap in income levels is getting worse.

Gentrification

A new, younger, richer population is moving into east London and this could be leading to the displacement of poorer households. This movement could be gentrifying the area and increasing the local population, diluting the needs of more deprived people rather than reducing their numbers or improving their life chances.

This change could even be pricing local people out – London’s Growth Boroughs have seen some of the highest property price rises in the capital.

To address these problems, we urge the mayor and the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to make a greater commitment to convergence. The mayor should commission research to better understand the changes taking place in the Growth Boroughs, and commit to convergence in his new London Plan and his strategies. The LLDC also needs to step up by reviewing its local plan and work more with the Growth Boroughs.

Many other cities have fallen short of achieving a lasting legacy from the games – let’s prove that London can do better.

Navin Shah, chair, London Assembly Regeneration Committee

Linked InTwitterFacebookeCard
Add New Comment
You must be logged in to comment.