new urban living for the making of East Village

By Denise Chevin THE SMITH INSTITUTE

Foreword Denise Chevin, research fellow at the Smith Institute, and Paul Hackett, director of the Smith Institute

East Village, the new name and legacy identity for the London density scheme work: some of the best transport links in 2012 Olympic Village, is urban building on a scale of ambition London, a highly aspirational new school, green open space, unparalleled in this country since the 1960s. In its scope, its and retail and leisure facilities galore. It is also trailblazing a provenance, its amenities and its tenure, the striking new new allocations policy for affordable housing. neighbourhood designated by the E20 postcode represents a bold rebirth for a proud area that had been condemned to But it will face more than its fair share of challenges when sorry decline for decades. residents begin populating the area in 2013. Exactly how do you persuade people from different backgrounds to put It comes at a time when the Capital’s rents are 50% higher down roots in virgin soil? Can over 6,000 strangers gel to than the national average, there are 360,000 people on form a genuine community? Can the financial model work London council waiting lists, and first time buyers are and spur on other developers to invest in large numbers of struggling to save the average deposit of £58,000. The need homes largely for rent? And is the density just too high to for new housing in London has never been greater. comfortably house hundreds of families?

This Smith Institute publication looks at how East Village aims to Over the following 22 pages, we look at how the new deliver what policy makers, regeneration experts, and Londoners landlords, Qatari Diar Delancey (QDD) and Triathlon Homes, themselves have for years been calling for: high-quality, well- plan to overcome these challenges and put E20 firmly on managed accommodation in a socially diversified community. the map. It is clear they have every confidence of meeting them, and of ensuring that the Athletes’ Village’s legacy is an The 2,818 homes, developed by the Olympic Delivery Authority, enduringly beneficial one for Londoners, now and for many have all the ingredients that are vital to make such a high- generations to come.

This publication was commissioned by the Smith Institute in partnership with Qatari Diar Delancey (QDD) and Triathlon Homes.

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Having it all? How East Village could provide a new way of urban living in east London

If you’re a tad cynical about what’s happening in Stratford And with 360,000 people on London council housing waiting with all its Olympic razzmatazz, have a word with Nick lists, rents 50% higher than the national average, and first- Edwards. He runs Fundamental, an architectural inclusion time buyers struggling to save the average deposit of £58,000, charity in east London that helps teenagers become more there’s an enormous socioeconomic imperative for East Village savvy about the built environment. “Before all this happened to succeed. Given the resources devoted to it, if this scheme with the 2012 Games, you’d speak to these young people and turns sour it will be a squandered opportunity of the highest they couldn’t wait to leave the borough,” he says. “Now they order, tarnishing irreparably the 2012 Olympic heritage. see a future here.” The new neighbourhood is certainly monumental in size, To build on this new-found sense of hope and excitement, the and aspirational in what is trying to be achieved. But the Olympic Park Legacy Company have set up a Youth Panel, and developers are confident that the similarities with previous tap into Fundamental members to shape and influence the projects which failed to live up to expectations end there. future of the area after the Olympic tent has been folded up and moved on. As Eduardo and other panel members tell us In many ways, East Village is providing something that on page 22, attitudes are definitely changing. London has been demanding for years; high-quality and well- managed private rented housing and access to affordable That’s palpably the case. Walk around Stratford today and you housing, not just for those on council waiting lists, but for can feel the vibe on its streets. The transport hub is buzzing workers in lower-paid jobs too. What’s more, it’s not just with people arriving for Westfield Shopping Centre, the local about homes - this is all about creating a fully functioning is heaving, and there’s a swagger about community from scratch. So the new inhabitants of East the place. And why not? In a little over four months’ time, Village will arrive to find on their doorsteps a gleaming health Stratford and its four neighbouring boroughs play host to the centre, an exceptionally aspirational school, the largest new world’s greatest sporting event. urban park created in Europe for 150 years, providing cycle routes all the way up to the Hertfordshire countryside, and From the very outset, the UK’s staging of the 2012 Olympics one of the best-connected transport hubs in the capital. The has been as much about the legacy as the event itself. advent of the Games has created virtually overnight a new Transforming a neglected and largely unloved area of east zone of the city that will constitute a novel mode of urban London into a dynamic new piece of the city – where the living for this part of London, set to attract interest from young folk with whom Nick Edwards works will be happy to planners and developers across the world. stay – has been the quid pro quo for spending £9 billion of taxpayers’ money. But does the vision mean we can be confident of success? Well, the designers and developers have had plenty of time That’s why, after the athletes have departed, one of the main to get it right. East Village was on the cards well before the benefits will be the addition of thousands of new homes in bid was secured in July 2005. In fact, the masterplanning was the vicinity of the Olympic Park, set along tree-lined streets, conceived as part of the development in 2002 boulevards and traditional London squares. (see page 8).

First off the starting blocks and set for the largest degree of East Village has taken just three years to build, but in its scrutiny is the Athletes’ Village, or East Village, as it will be Stratford City incarnation it would have taken a decade or known after the Games. The scrutiny to which it is subjected two to have come this far, thanks to the appalling economic will be intense, for we all know only too well of the failures climate of the past few years. And that’s supposing there that dog the country’s track record in ambitious housing was investment for new infrastructure in the first place. development – certainly at this scale of nearly 3,000 new More than 6,000 residents will start moving into apartments homes. Too many tacky boxes and not enough amenities – and townhouses from mid 2013, after the homes have been that might sum it up well. completed with the addition of kitchens following the Games

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(with communal eating facilities, the athletes will have no have put it, its aspect can strike one as “citadel-like” and its need for them). hue as resembling a “cliff face of beige”.

More than a third of the homes will have three bedrooms or It is true that the disconnect between these adjacent retail more. Of these, 1,379 will be available as affordable housing, and housing developments helps neither sit comfortably in either through social renting, intermediate rent (discounted their shared environment, but at close range the varied palette rent) or shared ownership (part buy/part rent). These homes and style of the individual housing plots becomes apparent. have been bought by a troika of two housing associations, East Thames and Southern Housing Group, and private urban Moreover, the landscaping, varied topography, wetlands and regeneration and investment company First Base. planting of 3,000 mature trees will soften the effect of the Village’s monolithic scale. With many more buildings yet to The remaining 1,439 homes, plus land with planning consent come, the full masterplan is still some way short of being for 2,000 more to be built, have been contracted to be sold realised. The arrival of higher and lower buildings will bring to QDD, a joint 51:49 venture between Qatari Diar Real more variety, as will the gradual appearance of other building Estate Investment Company, the property arm of the Qatari types and scales on the site. Sovereign Wealth Fund, and Delancey, a specialist real estate investment and advisory company. And in a massive break It is also worth noting, as Olympic Delivery Authority chair from the perceived wisdom of the property world, QDD Sir John Armitt reputedly told London mayor Boris Johnson intends to rent them out on the open market, creating the when he expressed initial consternation at the size and scale first large-scale investment fund for private rent in the UK. of the blocks: “The success of a place is not just about the architecture, it’s about the people who live there, and how The accommodation is arranged in 11 plots, each comprising well managed and maintained the place is.” perimeter blocks of between eight and 12 storeys around a central courtyard. There are about six or seven blocks on Richard Simmons, the former chief executive of the every plot; each block has just a few flats to a floor, and most Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment, benefit from a dual aspect with views at the front and into underscores the point: “Creating a good society and a the courtyard. neighbourhood is not guaranteed by good housing alone.”

In the past, high-rise housing has been dogged by poor Unlike the high-density estates of the past, there are plans to standards of construction. Here, the quality of finish and ensure the development is tightly managed and maintained. East Village: key facts and figures attention to detail are exemplary. Many studies and guidance This is made affordable by the presence of a landlord with reports have been drawn up over recent years showing how a long-term commitment to renting. That guardianship • Home to more than 6,000 Londoners in over 27 hectares • Home to a new academy for 1,800 students aged to make high-density housing work – and the Village has had will reduce what can be the detrimental effect on the (the size of St James’s Park) with 10 hectares of this between three and 19, set to open in September 2013. the rulebook thrown at it. Ten of the 27 hectares it covers are community of widespread subletting, which often affects comprising parks and open space. • State-of-the-art health centre, including multiple GP given over to communal space – closed courtyards equipped new developments. Instead, QDD and Triathlon Homes will • Bought by QDD (a joint venture between Qatari Diar Real surgeries. with much-needed children’s play areas and handsomely establish a joint management company to handle potential Estate Investment Company and Delancey) and Triathlon • Next to Europe’s largest shopping centre, Westfield landscaped gardens. social friction as diplomatically as possible – although Homes (a joint venture between First Base, East Thames Stratford City. ensuring its staff don’t grate on the neighbours with over- Group and Southern Housing Group). • Adjacent to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park which offers The development will initially be split 51:49 between private zealous balcony policing, for example, won’t always be easy. • Will be known as East Village after the Games. 285 hectares of parkland, waterways and nature trails, and affordable housing and is genuinely tenure-blind, with • In total, 2,818 new homes, including nearly 1,000 connected by paths for jogging, cycling and walking. no external visual differentiation. All homes have their own Where housing development in the past has often gone three- and four- bedroom homes. Of these, 1,439 private • Sports and recreational facilities. balcony, and three-quarters of the 1,000 units of family wrong is by building homes in isolation – with no local homes, mainly available to rent, owned by QDD; and • Connected to the Lea Valley, comprising 42 kilometres of housing will all be on the fifth floor or below. That’s another shops, nowhere to play and no means of getting anywhere 1,379 affordable homes, offering the choice of buying or parkland from Hertfordshire to the River Thames, with big tick on the high-density must-do list (see pages 12 and 16). else. Here, facilities include a state-of-the-art health centre, renting to people with a range of income levels. the 4,000-hectare Lea Valley Park. an 1,800-pupil academy for children aged from three to 19, • Planning permission for 2,000 more new homes • Part of a new residential district, with 11,000 new homes Visually, the Village’s lack of variety in housing type and its and a 285-hectare park on the doorstep, not to mention • All homes designed to Code for Sustainable Homes level expected to be built in and around the Olympic Park over monotone colour palette have already attracted criticism. the nine rail lines whisking travellers into the West End and four. the next 20 years. And it’s fair to say that this might not be the sort of place that the City in just a few minutes. These are exactly the kind of • Occupation begins a year after the Games, once the • Well connected, with travel time to Canary Wharf 12 will generate love at first sight. Viewed at a distance from the facilities that should make people want to put down roots homes have been fitted with kitchens (these are not minutes, to the West End 20 minutes and to St Pancras Westfield Shopping Centre next door, the monolithic scale can and bring up their children here. At the moment, the High included in Games mode). International six minutes. seem a bit forbidding. Or, as one or two architectural critics Speed Rail Link does not stop on its way to Paris – to catch • Thirty local shops, cafés and restaurants.

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that requires a six-minute train ride into King’s Cross. But it the generations? And will the closed courtyards be enough may be only a matter of time before it does. to sate the appetite for private space that many of us crave? New low-rise housing on the adjacent Olympic Park is a welcome addition to the choice. There are intended to be In response to these uncertainties, Nigel Hugill, who has 30 or so shops at street level, to contribute to the sense been involved in the project from the outset – first for of community at East Village. Westfield may be on the Stratford City as the managing director of Chelsfield, then doorstep, but residents still need a neighbourhood dry as chair of Lend Lease Europe, the development manager cleaner and somewhere to nip out for a pint of milk. Lack for the Village – says this: “I think criticisms of the project of small-scale amenities have been a hallmark of nearby have been naive and superficial. If you go back to the Docklands, and one that the development’s masterplanners beginning – 20 years ago, regeneration in London had yet at Fletcher Priest have been keen to avoid (see page 12). to make that big step away from the banks of the Thames. Above all else, that step up has now been made.” There’s also proximity to the City, combined with the greenery that normally only comes with moving quite a bit Sir David Higgins, the ODA’s former chief executive, also puts further out of central London. As working hours get longer it succinctly: “The simplest test is that 3,000 apartments and leisure time more compressed, having amenities on your are already sold – at a price that sets a new benchmark for doorstep is an added attraction, as it saves on travel time. the area. Would you get that level of commitment from Says Ralph Luck, director of property at the ODA: “One of such a high quality of investor if the development wasn’t the biggest pressures we all have at the moment is time. The of such a high standard? It is built as a totally integrated set-up here is something very different, and it means you development with all these amazing facilities. Show me won’t have to drive out of London on a Sunday in search of anything else in London that is comparable.” the country.” These two men are not the only ones hoping the Despite all the thought and planning that have gone into development succeeds in fulfilling expectations. There are the richness of its facilities, making the Village work will many people in the housing world looking to East Village not be without its challenges, as QDD and Triathlon are as a catalyst for future investment in large-scale rental only too aware. The development will certainly provide housing development on the open market – difficult much-needed high-quality rental for the capital. But as it still might be. There is a lot resting on this mixed- big questions hang anxiously in the air. Can the sense of tenure experiment, which hopes to offer more than 6,000 transience that renting sometimes creates be overcome? people not just a home but a community and a lifestyle Will management step in quickly to defuse the tensions not previously open to them. And somewhere, too, that that will inevitably occur when 6,000 people live so closely Eduardo and his peers will remain fiercely proud of and together? Will a close-knit community grow up that spans excited to be part of for many years to come.

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The story of Stratford City The roots of the development go back to the building of the High Speed Rail Link to France The long road to the Village and the Olympic Park

1840 Stratford Railway Works started in 1840 while Stratford derelict for a number of years until being picked up by the Plans to build the Athletes’ Village were on the drawing board million sq ft; and LCR another 4 million sq ft of commercial Works was built in 1847, on six hectares, for building and repairing London Development Agency and eventually demolished in long before Britain put in and won the bid in July 2005 to host offices. vehicles such as locomotives, carriages and vans. The whole site 2003. the 2012 Olympic Games. In effect, the new apartments have covered an area of 54 hectares. Stratford Works built 1,682 been retrofitted for the athletes, not the other way round, and “Looking at the success of Westfield now, it seems bizarre to locomotives 5,500 passenger vehicles and 33,000 good wagons. 1940-45 The area, like most of east London, was heavily will be kitted out with kitchens and other facilities in a £100 think it was such a controversial proposal at the time,” recalls bombed by the German Luftwaffe; Marshgate Lane alone is million programme after the Games. Nigel Hugill, who has had a hand in the development from 1844 Many polluting factories had been moved from central believed to have suffered six direct hits. The bombs disrupted the start, first running Chelsfield and then chairing Lend Lease London to areas along the River Lea. Industry thrived in the much of the local industry, and there was even a direct hit on The 27-hectare site was part of the much bigger Stratford City Europe. “But we made a convincing case in the end. You define area and some important breakthroughs were made, such as Hemingway & Co, which for years had operated on the site. masterplan to turn derelict railway land into a gleaming new a place by the retail offer. The Olympics have accelerated the the invention of plastic in 1860 and the introduction of dry district of the capital, complete with shopping centre (now residential. It was anticipated it would take 20 years to build cleaning in 1876. 1950s By the middle of the 20th century, the site was a Westfield), offices and residential homes. The designs were that many new homes. The combination of retail, residential thriving industrial area, making products as diverse as paint, developed back in 1997 by Stanhope and Chelsfield. This huge and Olympics is very strong. I’m sure the offices will be built,” he 1858 The “Great Stink” of 1858 led to parliament supporting pies and Lesney’s Matchbox toys. site, owned by London & Continental Railways, was made viable adds. Hugill is now executive chair of Urban & Civic and chair the construction of the “Northern Outfall Sewer”, where the for development when spoil from digging tunnels to take the of the Centre for Cities. contemporary Greenway footpath and cycleway is situated. 1972 was the site of Chobham Farm, a meat High Speed Rail Link from St Pancras to Ebbsfleet was used to cold-storage warehouse. A strike and picket of the site in July raise the level of the area by 4 metres, thus taking it out of the Measures of success 1893 Hackney Marsh, which makes up a portion of the site to 1972 led to the arrest and imprisonment of five trade unionists flood plain. When London decided to bid for the Olympics, it How does Nigel Hugill evaluate the project in which he has the north, was acquired as an “open space”. The then-chairman known as the Pentonville Five. The dispute spread nationally, made sense to team up with owners of the Stratford City site been involved for such a long period, and how confident is he of London County Council, Sir John Hutton, publicly dedicated becoming a cause célèbre for the trade union movement and as the residential component for the Olympic Park would fall that it will be considered a success? “I would say there are two the Marshes as “forever the property of the people of London”. creating a political crisis. partially within it. After several more deals, Westfield became the measures of success. Firstly, when people walk around during sole owner of the retail site, while the government – in the form the Olympics, they’ll think it’s fantastic. Secondly, there were 1900 Major Arthur Villiers, a director of Barings Bank, acquired 2003 Planning approval was sought for Stratford City, which of the Olympic Delivery Authority – became developer of the Park a number of very savvy purchasers all bidding for it. It’s worth an area of land on the site to be used in perpetuity as allotments. has since become East Village. and the Village, with Lend Lease acting as development partner remembering, too, that it was built on time and on budget. This bequest ended in 2007 under a compulsory purchase order on the housing. When it could not raise the capital, it took the That’s an extraordinary achievement.” for use as part of the Olympic Park. 2007 The Olympic Delivery Authority, in partnership with role of project manager to the government’s developer role. the Architecture Foundation, issued an international call for Hugill says the residential blocks were designed with a 1932 Hackney Stadium, on what was Waterden Road in Hackney architects to design the village. This resulted in 16 world- The grid formation, layout and height of the blocks – all consistent footplate to produce efficiencies of construction. Wick (and is now within the Olympic Park), was opened in 1932 renowned architects being chosen. between eight and 12 storeys – vary little from the original “We wanted to be able to use large-scale prefabrication so that and used for greyhound racing and the Speedway. In 1994 a masterplan, drawn up by Fletcher Priest, Arup and West 8. it could be built in as short time as possible, and being built £12 million stand and restaurant was built and the stadium was 2012 The Village becomes the final venue to be handed over What is missing, as yet, are the smaller-scale buildings around off-site would reduce site labour and safeguard against cost renamed the . In late 1997 London Stadium to the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games in the edges of the site and the towers of up to 50 storeys in inflation. Remember, at the time we were in a boom, so these Hackney Ltd, the owner of the stadium, folded. It was left preparation for the Games. the centre of the village. Westfield has planning consent for 1 things were very important.”

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Meet the neighbours Integrating the Village and the Park - a long term perspective

The near-on 3,000 homes in East Village are just the start of will have in the new (see page 20). There what is to become a major new residential quarter in Stratford. will be plenty of local shops too. The low-rise housing, tree- After the Games, the Olympic Park Legacy Company (soon to lined streets and green squares will sit comfortably beside be taken under the ’s wing and rechristened their higher-rise neighbours. “You’ve only got to look at the London Legacy Development Corporation) will begin somewhere like Kensington and Chelsea: different house constructing from scratch the first of five neighbourhoods. types and buildings come together organically, and it all Each will comprise a large proportion of family housing that works perfectly well.” has been planned as a lower-density development akin to the elegant mews streets and terraced housing found in certain Unlike East Village, where 49% of the homes are designated other areas of the capital and will provide around 11,000 affordable in one form or another, the percentage of additional new homes. affordable housing in Chobham will be 35%. The remainder will be sold to private buyers. “As I see it, young professionals Baroness Margaret Ford, the OPLC’s chair, says that Chobham might come to East Village, might graduate to renting a Manor’s 800 family houses, with their attractive front and family home, like the area, like the school and decide to buy back gardens, will be complementary to the Village and finish in the Park. It is brilliant that the Village will provide high- off the area sympathetically. quality rental housing with the kind of good management you only get on the Continent and in North America. We’ve She explains that the design and development philosophy never been able to do that here. What QDD and Triathlon the OPLC is following is one of “going back to the future”, by are planning is coming together to play a very active creating housing of the popular vernacular. Londoners want management role. If there are any problems, it will be crucial front and back gardens and a decent school – which they that they intervene quickly.”

Learning from the past

Sir John Ritblat, chairman of Delancey Real Estate Asset conditions not just because of neglect, but also as a Management Advisory Board, and honorary president and result of the lack of design and lack of forethought at the former chairman and chief executive of British Land, on commencement of a total planning concept for modern, creating mixed communities that work: long-term living conditions.

“Communities should be located in areas where there is good “This is illustrated when comparing some of the post-war public transport. Mixed residential complexes should offer new towns to the design excellence apparent between the independent housing with outdoor living space, together wars – for instance, towns like Hemel Hempstead, Welwyn with apartments that provide for family units, that are Garden City and Hampstead Garden Suburb. Lately, Milton distinct from single-bedroom and restricted domestic spaces. Keynes has been a sound example of improved planning Schooling is obviously also very important, as is security and processes. local shopping facilities. “East Village represents a new way of London living which “The re-establishment of a new living identity depends very recognises the importance of excellent master planning much on imbuing a congenial atmosphere for pleasant living, - equal priority given to indoor and outdoor space, open in which it is essential that segregation and loneliness is courtyards fostering a friendly environment, and one that is avoided. We have seen evidence of this only too clearly in designed to create a truly mixed neighbourhood which will post-war developments, where high-rise towers have been appeal to young professionals, families and couples alike. This poorly constructed and badly maintained. This created poor will be London’s most exciting new quarter to live.”

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The importance of good design Generous space standards, hardwearing construction materials and private courtyards are all vital ingredients

Cast your mind back to the late 1990s and early 2000s. After has three-storey townhouses with their own back gardens an era of greenfield development and out-of-town shopping and front doors. centres, attention was returning to our cities. Led by architect Richard Rogers, now Lord Rogers, the influential Urban Task “Running constantly through our brief was the need to deliver Force had emerged and firmly placed at the top of the inner- the Olympic function while at the same time holding on to our city agenda the regeneration of cities and high-density vision for the legacy,” says Fletcher Priest’s Jonathan Kendall. housing around transport hubs. Stratford already had some of the best links in London and was about to get more, as The mid-rise block arrangement and its design were also the High Speed Rail Link was being built through it. Huge selected on the basis that it could be built quickly and within swathes of land were in the control of one hand – that of the the Games’ budget. It was laid out to a standard grid, using government-owned London & Continental Railways. As Elliot a restricted range of materials and colours. Sixteen architects Lipton, First Base managing director and executive director were then chosen to design to these pattern books. “We of Triathlon Homes, puts it: “If that isn’t suitable for high- wanted a degree of variation, but we didn’t want to create density development, what is?” some kind of expo or theme park,” Kendall explains.

Thus the masterplan for the Village was born. Says Jonathan Each perimeter block has had two or three architects Kendall, partner at Fletcher Priest, who first started working working on its six or seven buildings. The firms selected on the scheme back in 2002 and produced the masterplan: were all emerging small or medium firms, tasked with the “High-density, high-rise estates got a bad reputation thanks aim of producing contemporary, modern designs rather than to the tower blocks of the 1960s – monolithic tenure, poorly anything outlandish. The buildings are elegant, in muted maintained, poorly managed and poorly constructed. But colours with splashes of the playful – such as references to none of those factors apply here.” the Elgin marbles frieze and barcode stripes.

One of the central ideas was to ensure the development rippled However, criticisms have been levelled at the lack of variety in out to its surrounding area, in contrast to the American model colour and typography. Looking down from the bridge leading used at Canary Wharf where the ripple effect and linkage to to the Westfield shopping centre, one’s eyes are undeniably the surrounding areas has been largely avoided. This is a work met with a wall of beige. in progress, and that linkage is still to become apparent. But the layout of the site, as well as its height and scale, largely Alex Lifschutz, a partner at Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands, reflect what was drawn up in the masterplan that received one of the chosen architects, says that the pattern-book outline planning permission in 2004. approach and the scale were the right ones. “The landscaping will be the making of it. It will give it human scale, and soften The portion of the masterplan that was selected for build- the impact.” out was chosen on the basis of being able to house 17,000 athletes without having to resort to blocks over 12 storeys, Though the development is European in scale, the form of the which were deemed undesirable by International Olympic perimeter blocks themselves takes its cue from the Victorian Committee officials for fear that lifts might not work. mansion blocks of Maida Vale. Lifschutz himself lives in one: “These developments are highly popular, though they are few So East Village consists of 11 plots of accommodation, mostly and far between.” in the form of perimeter blocks of eight to 12 storeys, built around shared courtyards. Each grid square or block comprises Later in the scheme’s development path, inflationary pressures six or seven buildings. Three buildings face the primary roads, eased as the recession kicked in, so a wider choice of cladding with commercial space on the ground floor and between could be procured. Townhouses designed by DRMM, for seven and nine storeys above. At the lower level, each block example, are dressed in grey terracotta tiling as opposed to

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the cream reconstituted stone cladding of the earlier blocks. “I keep street levels clear. The underground car parking is don’t think you’d describe it as exciting architecture, “says Steven formed from raising the courtyard up a level. Parking space Wallis of DRMM, “but rather a new, exciting urban experience.” is provided at the equivalent of 0.5 cars per unit – lower than the amount for which planning consent was originally given, Good open space throughout, quality of finishes and a but all that was deemed to be required. high standard of construction are distinctive hallmarks of the development. Another hallmark is the generous space The design is consistent with the East Thames High Density standards in every home. Over the years, the size of new-built Toolkit, which highlights the considerations developers need homes in the capital has been shrinking. The public sector, with to think about to ensure these schemes work for the residents. encouragement from the mayor of London, has tackled this by Explains Geoff Pearce, development director of East Thames drawing up minimum space requirements. Normally with mixed- and executive director of Triathlon Homes: “We worked with tenure developments, the private homes are built to a smaller Lend Lease to ensure we followed best industry practice. All floorplan than the public, but this is not the case at the Village. the flats have large balconies, minimum sound transmission, high-quality lifts and very robust finishes.” Dark wood and It is, in fact, genuinely tenure blind. All flats have balconies, reconstituted stone are in abundance. for example. All are built to a high level of sustainability, reaching level four on the Code for Sustainable Homes – a Says Fletcher Priest’s Kendall: “This design helps us position good deal higher than required by Building Regulations, and the project in London as an attractive place that provides also making them cheap to run. both good indoor and outside space and, just as importantly, somewhere you can stay as your life changes. We wanted to Winter gardens run between the buildings to provide a ensure that high-rise and high-density be equated with high valuable amenity space, while car parking is underground to value.”

The joy of outside space Award-winning landscape architect Michael Balston in praise of balconies

“When I went there, I was struck – even though the Village was together. It’s really important to know your neighbours. in a half-finished state – by what a big effort the designers and developers had gone to to achieve a good mix of external “And I’m pleased to see that most of it will be rented. That’s and internal space, even in the apartments. The external space wonderful. A huge great chunk of rental accommodation has is much more extensive than you’d expect. All the apartments got to be a good thing. have balconies and these seem to extend into the living space inside the flat, so even living in the flat you get a sense of “I’m all in favour of high-density, too. Back-to-back streets nature and outdoors. And that’s very important. produced a strong sense of community. I remember the debates going on in the 1970s; and on the coattails of Milton “The landscaping isn’t finished yet, but I sense that it will be Keynes, we were developing at lower and lower densities. It very green. The courtyards are interesting too – being able was crazy. to let children play somewhere safe counts for a great deal. I think it will develop a sense of community too. We live in “In terms of the architecture of the Village, the proportions are quite an introverted age – people seem obsessed with staring okay, though the decoration is possibly a bit off – though it’s at a TV or computer – and they don’t go to the pub anymore. not offensive. But once you get a few more trees planted, the The courtyard might help reinvent that sense of coming buildings will recede into the landscape and it will look fine.”

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Turning an estate into a thriving community Active and strong management and more social housing for working people will soon create a sustainable community

When the Olympic Development Authority starts handing Instead, half of those given social housing will have to be in over the keys to 2,818 newly finished apartments a year work or training. Homes will be allocated to people from other after the Games, the hard work for the new owners, property parts of London and ex-servicemen and -women. consortium Qatari Diar Delancey (QDD) and affordable housing consortium Triathlon Homes, will really kick in. Sir Robin Wales, the mayor of Newham, wants to see this approach used more widely in the borough. He says: ”Our Not only is there the logistical challenge of moving more pioneering approach to housing and community policy will than 6,000 people into the blocks and townhouses within the reward those that make a contribution to society. This new space of a few months, there is the small matter of ensuring development will ensure Newham residents benefit from the that thousands of total strangers bed down into a thriving provision of high-quality social affordable housing, and East stable community, where people of all ages and walks of life Village will help to leave a lasting legacy after the Games of a happily coexist. strong and more resilient community.”

The wealth and range of facilities on the doorstep will, clearly, Stuart Corbyn, chairman of QDD East Village Operations and play their part in both attracting and keeping residents former chief executive of the Cadogan Estate in Chelsea, says content and staying put, not least the new 1,800-pupil of the mixed-tenure scheme, with its social housing lettings academy that will give priority admissions to children living plan: “When you have so many people living next to each in East Village (see page 20). other, you always run the risk of people being a nuisance to others. It’s no different to Chelsea, where private blocks sit But for QDD and Triathlon Homes, the success or failure of East cheek by jowl with council blocks. So it’s vital to have strong in a borough like Newham which is trying to derive maximum Corbyn says of the management style: “We’re not trying to Village will stand or fall on good environmental management, active management.” benefit out of the Olympics. It needs to provide housing that be in people’s pockets, but we have to get the balance right. and this means they must seed a culture where people want people can afford if they are doing lower-paid jobs in society.” Clearly, if people have radios blaring out in the early hours of to put down roots and to take control of and pride in their Dale Meredith, development director of Southern Housing and the morning, we’ll be on to that.” own community. executive director of Triathlon Homes, is highly attuned to the Each of the 11 plots has properties belonging to both Triathlon issue: “Of course we’ll handle it sensitively and reasonably. It and QDD – with each core or staircase within the plot being Geoff Pearce, group director of development and asset Affordable housing consortium Triathlon Homes is also doesn’t mean if you lose your job you’ll lose your property.” designated to either one or the other. The idea is that it will management at the East Thames Group and executive director departing from the traditional social housing allocations be impossible to tell one type of housing ownership from of Triathlon Homes, adds: “The unique scale of the private policy, where those at the top of the council waiting lists Nick Raynsford MP, who chairs Triathlon Homes, remarks of another. All will have the same space standards and finishes rented offer makes this a real, exciting opportunity. Hopefully, – often people on housing benefit – normally get priority. the allocations policy: “It’s extremely important to have this (see page 12). we’ll be able to offer a concierge service that will, for example, get bikes repaired or take care of your dry cleaning.” It’s one of the key drivers for community building that both Unique and special types of accommodation will have the same level of service The inclusion of a decent percentage of home ownership David Lunts, executive director for housing and regeneration at the Authority on what the Village means to London and be governed by the same sets of terms and conditions. has been the mantra of good place-making in recent years. Says Meredith: “There will be the same level of service through Here, a portion of the Triathlon Homes accommodation will “What’s interesting about it is that it’s a preassembled estate clinical and institutionalised at this stage; but there’s no patina all of the buildings, though the private renters will be able to be sold in shared-equity and shared-ownership deals. But almost without precedent, which brings a unique opportunity – yet and it will mellow with time. pay for more. They might want cleaning twice a week – they predominantly the estate will be rented, as either affordable but also some challenges – to establish a community. Triathlon have the right to that if that’s what they want.” or private dwellings. and QDD are absolutely right spending a lot of time on lettings “Compared to this, a lot of Stratford can seem a bit like an and management to get things right. urban shatter-zone – with recent developments springing up Triathlon and QDD are setting up a joint service company Some regeneration experts argue that, whatever QDD that have little relationship with their surroundings. The Village that will provide the overarching management framework might say, this will inevitably make for a transience which “The extent of the pepperpotting of tenures is very ambitious is a nice counterpoint to that. It may never quite be Marylebone and facilities management of the common areas and public undermines the foundations of building a solid community. but it’s good to see; and it’s nice that you’ll be able to go from or Mayfair – and it won’t suit everyone – but it’s unique, and I realm. This company will then contract various services, and Corbyn disagrees: “I don’t think tenure is a relevant issue; we high density to a more suburban layout within the overall plan. think it will be quite special.” because of the scale of the development it becomes economic want people to be here for several years – that’s a significant Maybe some of the architecture and finishing seems a little to employ services staff who will be based on site. feature of what we’re offering as a landlord. Residents will

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Model for the future Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, on the impact of the Village in the property world Breaking the mould for property investment “I was very pleasantly surprised by the whole scheme, market we have seen. It’s always been notoriously difficult East Village could provide a model for the development of large scale private rental considering how people have got to be fitted in there for to make this financial model stack up. You need scale to the Games. I liked the individual designs of the blocks, help make a high enough return on investment. People the public realm and the internal layout. I would certainly worry about reputational issues too – though I think that East Village is the first large-scale residential property fund Stuart Corbyn, chairman of QDD East Village Operations, contemplate living there. Another great thing is that is overplayed. I hope it will be a model for other schemes with in excess of 1,000 properties in the UK. Previously agrees: “We’re renting because the market is active and it’s the first large-scale addition to the private rented going forward.” property companies have eschewed this type of investment, we always saw this as a rental product. Returns will be for a number of reasons. Firstly, they haven’t been able to satisfactory.” He says the business model will be based on a make the numbers stack up; by the time management fees residential investment asset, where total returns take account know that we are in it for the long term. Owner-occupation is The logistics of moving so many people into the place so and the loss of income from voids are taken into account, of income and capital value movements. not the be-all and end-all.” quickly will be challenging. One scenario being painted is that returns haven’t been deemed high enough. It also represents the services might not cope and it could all become a bit of a risk for the company’s reputation – evicting people who QDD will consider adding to the portfolio of rented properties Elliot Lipton, managing director and founder of First Base a mess. haven’t paid their rent is not always the best PR. And the in future, says Delancey’s Ritblat, though there is no timescale – one of the three organisations forming Triathlon Homes opportunity to create the scale to make it economic just has as yet when this might happen. – agrees, saying: “Our plan is very much to form long-term East Village has inevitably drawn parallels with the Millennium not existed. stable communities. For this to happen, there usually has Village at Greenwich, built in the early to mid 2000s. Both The question many are asking, however, is whether this model to be a high degree of home ownership, but the way the are large-scale communities with mixed tenure – though the In buying the Athletes’ Village, QDD certainly has the scale, can be replicated. There is certainly a bit of momentum around market is going, with people having to put down a bigger privately rented dimension in Greenwich comes from owners and believes it can provide a good return in the longer term. the whole rented model. Berkeley Homes set up a rental fund in deposit – people can’t or don’t want to buy. It’s fortunate that subletting. But Ralph Luck, ODA director of property who has London rents are roaring – averaging £1,125 per month, 2010, with backing from the Homes & Communities Agency, to we share a long-term commitment with QDD to make the had a hand in both developments, remarks: “At Stratford, I which is 50% more than the national average. build 555 private rented homes in the South East and the South neighbourhood work.” think we’ll see a community created far faster. And with a West. Meanwhile a few major councils, including Sheffield and greater feeling of place within the wider community.” There has been debate over whether QDD got a good price Manchester, are exploring the possibility. “The model at East One plan being drawn up to help cement a sense of community or paid too much. It bought the 1,400 apartments and land Village can be replicated and so can the returns,” says Ritblat. is the setting up of a community development trust. It is Geoff Pearce backs him up, saying: “The area will develop; with permission to build 2,000 more for £557.5 million. The expected that this will be run by the residents in the medium things will be filled in around Chobham Farm. Eventually the government recouped another £268 million from Triathlon, QDD acknowledges it has a challenge on its hands getting term, and will organise various activities, such as homework whole area will feel knitted in. It will feel like a new way of so altogether that is well short of the £1.1 billion sum the development up and running. As Stuart Corbyn says: “No clubs and exercise classes. living in this part of London. It will become a special place.” budgeted to build it. Without a degree of subsidy for land one has ever attempted to let that many properties so quickly and infrastructure, observers also wonder whether the before.” He says that they want to see a mixture of people private rented model would stack up here. Jamie Ritblat, living there – but given East Village’s proximity to the City and chief executive and founder of Delancey, concedes that the Canary Wharf, expects it to be attractive for people working situation “certainly helps to make the economics more viable”, in those locations too. It will then hope to tempt people to but adds: “It’s the sheer scale here that makes renting work.” stay for a number of years.

Triathlon Homes: a new venture for affordable housing

The business model to own the affordable housing is also How the affordable housing breaks down something of a departure from the norm, bringing together Triathlon’s 1,379 units are split into: 675 social rented; 269 both public and private sectors in a venture that is designed shared ownership (part bought, part rented); 79 shared equity to run at a profit. Triathlon Homes comprises East Thames and (generally buying up to 80% but no rent on the remainder); Southern Housing, which are both registered social housing 356 intermediate rented. Half of the social housing for rent providers, and First Base, a private urban regeneration and is made up of family units: 164 are four-bedroom and 162 investment company founded by Elliot Lipton. The joint are three-bedroom. So practically half of social rent comprises venture is off-balance-sheet, with cash for the £268 million three or four bedroom houses. Some 523 homes of the social investment raised from the banks based on assets and housing for rent element will go to east London and wider revenue. The 1,379 flats designated as affordable housing in London council nominations, with a significant number the scheme were purchased off-plan. Profits will be split three allocated to those in work or training. ways, with the social landlords channelling theirs into the parent organisations, which are run on not-for-profit lines.

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Top class Much is resting on the success of the new, 1,800-pupil academy at the Village

As Baroness Ford points out on page 10, nothing acts more of 14, smaller class sizes where we can, and extra one-to- like a magnet to attract parents to an area than the lure of one tutorials where needed. And we’ll be teaching Latin and a good school. And the Chobham Academy at East Village Mandarin. We take the approach everyone can achieve and aims to be not just a good school but an outstanding one. The we provide the support for that.” Academy will take 1,800 pupils when it is fully operational, from the age of three to 19 – a first for the Harris Federation, The school buildings themselves are spectacular. “It’s going to be which has been chosen to run it. one of the most talked about schools in the country,” says Nigel Hugill, chairman of the school’s board, who has been closely The Harris Federation runs 13 academies in central London involved with the school from its inception. He was head of Lend and its outskirts. Of those, 11 have been inspected and eight Lease Europe when it won the competition to be development classed as outstanding, says the organisation’s chief executive, partner on the Village, and his former company – which is project Dr Daniel Moynihan. manager on the Village – is the academy’s key sponsor.

Chobham Academy is split across three separate buildings Like Westminster Academy, the new Chobham Academy has to accommodate the different age groups, starting with been designed by AHMM and is expected to win just as many a nursery. The benefits of taking pupils right through from design plaudits as Westminster captured, even though the their formative years is that it gives a real chance to raise cost was no more than that of a traditional school. attainment levels, says Moynihan, although extra pupils will be taken in at year seven. Residents of the Village will be first in line to be allocated a place for their children. However, there are still a few logistical The academy will specialise in literacy and the performing problems to be ironed out. The school opens in 2013 and for arts. “Stratford has a growing cultural quarter, and we wanted the first three years, because of the way schools are operated, to link with that,” says Dr Moynihan. It will also be equipped it can only take pupils in years seven and 10, with year groups with high-quality sports facilities, which will be available to eight and nine being added in the third year. A small, soon- the local community. “We’ll be having a high-powered sixth to-be-forgotten hitch for what is sure to be seen as beneficial form of 250 people, with Oxbridge coaching from the age to the Village and wider community.

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Shabez: “I really like the block with the Greek engravings on Eduardo: “It needs to have people from different backgrounds Regeneration for a new generation the wall. It’s good that every building is different. I like the and provide homes for people of all incomes. The homes fact there’s a lot of play areas and a lot of green areas.” should be of good quality and fit for purpose for all. There Safety, schools and green spaces: members of the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s Youth should be good educational facilities and green spaces. It Panel discuss the ingredients vital to creating a place where young people want to live Eduardo: “I think architecturally the design could have been should be somewhere you’d want to bring your children up more adventurous. It’s perhaps playing too safe.” and somewhere you’d want to retire to.”

What do you think is important in creating a new Shabez: “It should be somewhere you can walk out at 10pm Panel members David: “I’m very excited by what’s happening. I’m a Gold neighbourhood? or 11pm at night and not feel afraid. It needs to have facilities Eduardo da Costa: aged 18, a student at Queen Mary’s College Ambassador for the Olympics and I’m really into sport. But David: “Security. It’s important to feel safe. You need the such as schools and community centres that bring people who lives in Newham. I’m not sure that excitement reaches into Dagenham where presence of security people.” together.” David Simmons: aged 16, a student at Havering College in I live – they’re not aware yet of the opportunities for them. Romford who lives in Dagenham. Hopefully that will change soon.” Shabez Hussein: aged 17, a student at Ilford County School who lives in Waltham Forest. Shabez: “I think people were sceptical at first, but now that the stadium has been built and Westfield opened, the general Overall impressions perception has changed. People are more excited. Having said Eduardo: “We’d lived in the shadow of the Park for some time, and that, as you go further out you do lose the buzz.” What is the Youth Panel? heard all the promises of a new shopping centre, but it seemed it was never going to happen. Now, people are genuinely excited. Have the Olympic developments changed the perceptions The Olympic Park Legacy Company’s Youth Panel was established in experts in planning and have influenced the future of east I remember coming back to Stratford in the summer of 2009, of east London? 2008 and has 97 members. About 30 new people, aged between 14 London through their response to the planning proposals. and the whole thing seem to have exploded, with something Eduardo: “The Olympics and Westfield have put Stratford on and 19, are selected to join each year. They come from across the five Their manifesto for the legacy called for high-quality schools new appearing all the time. The Olympics has been an amazing the map – and I think in that sense perceptions have changed. host boroughs. The idea is to capture the ideas of young people and and living areas, where people are encouraged to mix, creating catalyst for regenerating Stratford – we’ve got brilliant transport But it’s a shame it has such a reputation as a crime spot. The get them involved in shaping the plans for the park after the Games. new community hubs in the Village. links, one of Europe’s biggest parks opening on the doorstep, and perception is certainly worse than the reality. you get this massive party too. But we have to remember it’s a The panel is run by the architectural inclusion charity Edwards says that what is happening in Stratford is definitely 40-year programme. My only worry is that it just becomes all What do you think of the Athletes’ Village? Fundamental, which helps young people gain knowledge and changing attitudes amongst the young people living there: about Stratford and nothing much else changes in Newham. I’d David: “I like the variety of the designs. I definitely think become involved with the built environment. Nick Edwards, “Before, it was a place that people couldn’t wait to get out of. like to hope that it filters down to the rest of the borough.” people will want to go and live there.” the charity’s director, says the panel’s members have become Now they believe they have a future here.”

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With thanks Produced with help and input from: Sir David Higgins, Sir Smith Institute: Michael Ward, Paul Hackett, Sean Kippin and John Armitt, Jamie Ritblat, Stuart Corbyn, Elliot Lipton, Paul Hunter Baroness Margaret Ford, Nigel Hugill, Nick Raynsford, Sir John Ritblat, Jonathan Kendall, Alex Lifshutz, Ralph Luck, Geoff This report represents the views of the author and not those Pearce, Dale Meredith, Daniel Moynihan, Pam Alexander, Peter of the Smith Institute. Murray, David Lunts, Richard Simmons, Ken Shuttleworth, Liz Peace, Michael Balston, Steven Wallis, Nick Edwards, OPLC © The Smith Institute March 2012 Youth Panel, The Communication Group plc

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