Arquitectes, led by David Mackay were appointed. The proposals were developed over a three-year period (in parallel with the emerging Stratford City masterplanning process) and set out a strategy for nearly 500 hectares of land along the Lea Valley corridor. Informing all this work was the strong economic emphasis of the borough, which was seeking to overturn the economic consequences of industrial decline. Employment and wealth creation for its residents were of the highest importance – new and improved housing was also important but the top Newham objective was jobs.


London Looking at the scale of London as a whole, it is worth remembering that the development of ideas for the Stratford site was evolving in parallel with the creation of the Greater London Authority (GLA). After 14 years without city-wide administration,


the GLA was established in the year 2000, bringing strategic control over issues of planning, transportation and economic development into the hands of the newly elected mayor, Ken Livingstone. Livingstone was a strong supporter of the plans for Stratford, as was his influential head of planning decisions, Giles Dolphin. As the scheme developed, there were stages of the process in which tensions existed between London-wide policy (for example, on the percentages of affordable housing) and the local issues of the planning authority. The role of Transport for London as the city-wide public transport authority was of increasing importance


to the development of the masterplan, as heated negotiations on numerous issues within and beyond the boundaries of the site took place.


National Alongside the re-emergence of a London government under the GLA, at a national level the newly elected Labour government was actively developing its urban policy in the late 1990s. Politically, this was led by John Prescott at the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister who, in many ways, continued Michael Heseltine’s role as the champion for major regeneration projects. Prescott established the Urban Task Force,


chaired by Richard Rogers, which proved to be highly influential. Now embedded in policy and collective practice, Towards an Urban Renaissance (1999) was a key report in setting the agenda for cities. The report established a priority for mixed-use development on brownfield land in urban settings, with higher density at points of public transport connectivity. In each of these aspects, the Stratford project was demonstrably compliant and in many ways held up as an exemplar. The creation of CABE in 1999 strengthened the


recognition of design within the built environment through detailed review and campaigning advocacy. The Stratford City proposals were subject to formal Design Review by CABE and later cited by the organisation as an example of best practice in urban regeneration.


4. The


development at Canary Wharf helped boost transport


infrastructure in the area 5. Richard Roger’s Urban Task Force key document 6. Newham’s Arc of Opportunity document


21


4


5, 6


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