London Docklands

Docklands past

Docklands in the 1980s - unemployment was sky high, exacerbated by immigration + the site was brown field, derelict after the WWII blitz.

1960s ‘Containerisation’ saw the beginning of the closing of the Docklands in 1967

40% of the land in the Docklands had become derelict

Between 1970 and 1980 there was 30,000 jobs lost, with in 1981 50% of the Docklands being derelict (1000 hectares)

Unemployment levels were at 21%, with males at 24%, which was twice the national average. There was inadequate transport links by both road and rail meaning that people didn’t invest in the area as it couldn't be accessed easily.

Docklands Aim 1

Ensure housing was available to all

* 1981 housing - 20% of housing was classified as being in poor or uninhabitable condition
* 95% of housing was rented, 83% through local authorities.
* Owner occupied increased from 5% (1981) to 38% (1991)
* 24000 new homes constructed, but there is now a lack of council housing

Docklands Aim 2

Attract business and investment

* London City Airport built, providing jobs for those who previously worked at the docklands
* Over 700 new firms located in the area including HSBCS, Bank of America and the Daily Telegraph
* Access was improved by building the DLR
* Most of the new jobs were higher skilled so instead of creating new jobs in the area employment moved from another part of the country

Docklands Aim 3

Bring land and buildings back into use

* The LDDC opened up to the public waterfront from in 3.7 miles in 1981 to 31 miles (50 km) in 1998

Docklands Aim 4

Create an attractive environment

* Fully grown trees (costing £30,000 each) were brought to the area. It planted 160,000 trees and won 94 awards for excellence in landscaping, architecture, planning and conservation
* Marble was imported from various countries to give the idea of luxury and class
* Very high maintenance ensuring no litter/chewing gum

Docklands success/failures

Successes – population has more than doubled,

now over 25000 companies located in the Docklands,

41,421 jobs created between 1981 and 1990

830 ha of derelict land reclaimed,

major tourist attraction attracting 2 million visitors a year

£7.7 billion invested by private sector

£1.86 billion invested by public sector

Contributions to 5 new health centres

Funding towards 11 new primary schools, 2 secondary schools, 2 post 16 colleges

Failure – LDDC on expenditure on the community was 5%, change in industry of jobs

Social Regeneration

Good:

\- rise in quantity of CCTV, reducing the crime rate to just 110 per 1000, reducing it by 40%

- education improved: school readiness was just 55.5% (lowest Ldn borough) to by 2020, 32.2% of 19 year olds being qualified, which is higher than the UK average

- more leisure facilities built e.g National Indoor Sports Centre and Marina built

Bad:

\- broke down east End Community due to hipsterfication driving locals out of the area as a result of increased house prices from £192,000 to £500,000 + the rise in availability of high skilled jobs are not accessible to local pop

\- creates a 'them' and 'us' culture; e.g Cereal Killer Cafe, sells bowls of cereal for £3.50 and was the 'symbol of inequality in east London' so in 2015, an anti-gentrification riot occurred, carrying pigs heads and sprayed 'scum' on the door as they were angry about changes in affordability

Economic Regeneration

Good:

\- LDDC + Govt subsidised firms to locate in the area, bringing in £4.4 billion into the area in private investment, triggering a multiplier effect + raising tax revenue which is put back into the area as the govt spent £441 million e.g better schooling

\- 244 km of rail built e.g Docklands Light rail

\- 25,000 homes built (affordable + luxury)

Bad:

\- costs of living rose, eroding people's purchasing power e.g bread prices tripled

Environmental Regeneration

Good:

• 20,000 trees planted, which lowers flood risk + acts as a carbon sink + beautifies the area= better morale

• regeneration saw the advocation of Boris Bikes as an alternative to driving = lower CO2 emissions

Bad

• New City Airport released lots of CO2

• lots of glass built, which isn't sustainable