Olympic Park post Games masterplan unveiled
A modified master plan outlining how the Olympic Park will be developed after the 2012 Games has been unveiled by the Olympic Park Legacy Company.
The plan has outlined a significant change in direction away from high-rise one and two bedroom apartments towards a focus on lower density family housing, which will lead to 2,000 fewer homes being built on the site.
The London Development Agency (LDA) published an initial master plan in February 2009 which indicated the site could contain 10,000 homes. But the Legacy Company is now looking to create just 8,000 residential units in predominantly low density family houses.
Baroness Margaret Ford, chair of the Legacy Company, said this lower density housing was “much more deliverable” and better suited London’s needs.
The adaptations to the master plan followed a consultation with the public and developers which revealed the high density was not wanted, needed or suitable for the location.
Ford said: “On the previous master plan, excluding the village, the LDA thought they could get 10,000 units based on very high density. From the consultation it’s become very clear not only that that wasn’t wanted in the park but that it was not appropriate for such a treasure of a place and it didn’t do justice to the natural landscape and it wasn’t what people wanted.
“So we have taken that density down. Where the LDA thought they could do 10,000, we are saying in the new master plan, excluding the village, it’s 8,000.”
Andrew Altman, chief executive of the Legacy Company, said inspiration for the master plan had come from the capital’s great estates including the likes of Grosvenor and Portland, with developments based around squares and crescents. He said: “The Olympic Park will be a 21st century great estate for London.”
Under the revised master plan the Olympic Park will be divided into two distinct areas, defined by the parkland running from north to south. In the north the open parkland will be more natural, quiet and landscaped while in the south the park will be more urban and energetic and will include the ArcelorMittal Orbit designed by Anish Kapoor.
The parkland will be surrounded by five neighbourhoods, comprising high rise apartments at the Stratford city entrance to the site and lower density housing across the rest of the park.
In the northwest of the site a campus neighbourhood will be created surrounding the Broadcast and Media centres, with low density housing fronting on to the park.
The Olympic site will be handed over to the Legacy Company in 2013 with the first phase of building expected to be the housing development adjacent to the Athletes’ Village, starting in 2014.
Ford said: “Here we have an opportunity of a lifetime to create a new district. We must learn from and interpret the best of what London has to offer. So particularly in the housing, it’s not a throwback to the past but it’s seeing what makes London great. That’s what we are really trying to build on here and to create a great take on the best of London for the 21st century.”
Ford insisted the master plan would not be affected by the Legacy Company’s inclusion on the leaked government list of 180 quangos which are set to be abolished.
It is thought the OPLC will become a Mayoral Development Corporation and be granted new planning powers similar to those of the ODA, with the Company reporting solely to the Mayor.
Legislation is expected to go through this winter support the change in status with the Legacy Company, which is expected to retain its name, to become a development corporation next year.
Ford also dismissed as “rubbish” claims that a rift had arisen between the ODA and the OPLC over the former’s sale of the Athletes’ Village. She said the sale by the ODA was “just the way the government decided to do it” as money spent on its development could then be recouped by the organisation before it is disbanded.
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