East London: Bidding for better times

News

30 October 1993

The application, on behalf of East London, is in two parts: the Lea Valley and the East Thames Corridor. This L-shaped band of land sweeps across East London, down the Lea Valley and along the East Thames Corridor. The total spend envisaged on infrastructure, improvements to the environment and support for business and vocational training is at least £100m over six years.

The bid document, which is being supported by the Department of Trade and Industry, claims that these areas account for the greatest concentration of deprivation in the country. The unemployment rate of 21.1% is over twice the EC average of 10.4%. More than 100,000 manufacturing jobs were lost between 1981 and 1991. “There can be no other such concentration (of unemployment) in Europe,” the document states.

Another regeneration initiative, the Lea Valley Partnership, is to be launched in December. It comprises the London boroughs of Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, Lee Valley Regional Park, three training and enterprise councils and the London Docklands Development Corporation.

The partnership argues that the valley has a major contribution to make to the regeneration and maintenance of London’s manufacturing base. But it is held back by outmoded business premises, derelict land, mismatched skills, and environmental image.

The East Thames Corridor bid claims that the scale of unemployment and latent opportunity is such that major structural assistance is required to enable regeneration to take place. More than 1,200ha of land is contaminated – and over 1900ha is classed as development land. “Recent economic degeneration in East London has reached a level of crisis,” it declares.

Planned projects include the regeneration of contaminated land at Port Greenwich, with partners Port Greenwich Ltd, Greenwich council and the Urban Regeneration Agency. The URA, which is expected to come into being in April, will be responsible for derelict land grants and English Estates assisted area grants in England.

An announcement on which areas in the UK will receive Objective 2 status is likely to be made by the EC in November. The funds will be distributed from the January onwards. In July, Merseyside, Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands were awarded Objective 1 status.

If the Objective 2 bid is successful, an integrated development organisation will be set up by the public-sector funders and Government departments. Its task will be to prepare and monitor a regional plan in the Lea Valley and East Thames Corridor. It would also work in partnership with the private sector and consult widely.

Meanwhile, the East Thames Task Force, set up in March following the DOE’s response to the Llewellyn Davis report on development capacity in the corridor, has split into two groups – one for Kent and the second for London and Essex. The task force, headed by the DOE’s Mike Ash, has been consulting with the private sector and will report to the Government early next year.

A total of 12 local authorities in the Lea Valley and the East Thames Corridor, parts of which became assisted areas in July, have joined forces to present a submission to the EC’s European Regional Development Fund for Objective 2 status. John MacRae reports. The application, on behalf of East London, is in two parts: the Lea Valley and the East Thames Corridor. This L-shaped band of land sweeps across East London, down the Lea Valley and along the East Thames Corridor. The total spend envisaged on infrastructure, improvements to the environment and support for business and vocational training is at least £100m over six years. The bid document, which is being supported by the Department of Trade and Industry, claims that these areas account for the greatest concentration of deprivation in the country. The unemployment rate of 21.1% is over twice the EC average of 10.4%. More than 100,000 manufacturing jobs were lost between 1981 and 1991. “There can be no other such concentration (of unemployment) in Europe,” the document states. Another regeneration initiative, the Lea Valley Partnership, is to be launched in December. It comprises the London boroughs of Enfield, Hackney, Haringey, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest, Lee Valley Regional Park, three training and enterprise councils and the London Docklands Development Corporation. The partnership argues that the valley has a major contribution to make to the regeneration and maintenance of London’s manufacturing base. But it is held back by outmoded business premises, derelict land, mismatched skills, and environmental image. The East Thames Corridor bid claims that the scale of unemployment and latent opportunity is such that major structural assistance is required to enable regeneration to take place. More than 1,200ha of land is contaminated – and over 1900ha is classed as development land. “Recent economic degeneration in East London has reached a level of crisis,” it declares. Planned projects include the regeneration of contaminated land at Port Greenwich, with partners Port Greenwich Ltd, Greenwich council and the Urban Regeneration Agency. The URA, which is expected to come into being in April, will be responsible for derelict land grants and English Estates assisted area grants in England. An announcement on which areas in the UK will receive Objective 2 status is likely to be made by the EC in November. The funds will be distributed from the January onwards. In July, Merseyside, Northern Ireland and the Highlands and Islands were awarded Objective 1 status. If the Objective 2 bid is successful, an integrated development organisation will be set up by the public-sector funders and Government departments. Its task will be to prepare and monitor a regional plan in the Lea Valley and East Thames Corridor. It would also work in partnership with the private sector and consult widely. Meanwhile, the East Thames Task Force, set up in March following the DOE’s response to the Llewellyn Davis report on development capacity in the corridor, has split into two groups – one for Kent and the second for London and Essex. The task force, headed by the DOE’s Mike Ash, has been consulting with the private sector and will report to the Government early next year.