It has emerged that more than £200m of the £350m spent on infrastructure at Westfield’s £1.4bn Stratford City shopping centre, which opened this week, was subsidised by the taxpayer.
The figure was part of the agreement concluded by the Olympic Delivery Authority with Westfield three years ago, according to a report in the Financial Times today.
The FT reported that, according to the ODA, the infrastructure was common to the shopping centre and the Olympic park site which it sits next to. The money was spent on roads, bridges and other infrastructure.
The FT quoted ODA chief executive Dennis Hone, who said that the agreements were scrutinised by government departments, but not by the National Audit Office.
The newspaper also quoted the ODA, saying: “The infrastructure elements were always needed by the ODA for games-time access but were also crucial for Westfield’s opening, so there were benefits and efficiencies to both sides by the joint delivery.”
EG blogger Jackie Sadek, chief executive of UK Regeneration, has questioned the subsidy: “When this country is crying out for funds to kickstart regeneration schemes in deprived areas, this seems like an astonishing level of government subsidy to be siphoned into the pocket of the biggest shopping centre owner in the world.”
daniel.cunningham@estatesgazette.com
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