LLDC hands planning powers back to Olympic Park boroughs
The London Legacy Development Corporation’s planning powers have been formally transferred back to the four London boroughs with boundaries within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The corporation’s powers were transferred back to the Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest on 1 December.
LLDC will keep its status as a development corporation – one of only two in London and six in the UK – and will continue to be a functional body of the GLA. But its role and staffing have been significantly reduced to reflect its focus on inclusive economy projects, development and park operations and venue management.
The London Legacy Development Corporation’s planning powers have been formally transferred back to the four London boroughs with boundaries within the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
The corporation’s powers were transferred back to the Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest on 1 December.
LLDC will keep its status as a development corporation – one of only two in London and six in the UK – and will continue to be a functional body of the GLA. But its role and staffing have been significantly reduced to reflect its focus on inclusive economy projects, development and park operations and venue management.
Key developments going forward will include Pudding Mill Lane, which has consent for 950 homes and more than 550,000 sq ft of commercial space.
Georgia Crowley, associate director at Lichfields, which has worked extensively in the park, said: “The LLDC has masterminded significant and positive regeneration of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as a legacy of the 2012 Games, including over 24,000 homes and bringing new educational and cultural institutions to the area. There are still plentiful opportunities for development in this important corner of east London, and I expect ongoing transformational change following the transfer of planning powers back to the component boroughs.”
The next phase of the LLDC will be led by Suki Kalirai as the new chair and Shazia Hussain as chief executive.
Kalirai wrote in a report looking at LLDC’s town planning legacy: “As a landowner, developer and regeneration agency, LLDC remains well-placed to drive continued delivery for many years to come, hand-in-hand with the local boroughs.”
LLDC was the first mayoral development corporation, having been set up in April 2012 to use the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to develop a new heart for east London and stimulate growth and opportunities for local people. It has delivered more than 13,000 affordable homes and more than 4m sq ft of commercial space.
The LLDC Local Plan will remain in effect in each borough until they adopt a new local plan incorporating the land which previously came under LLDC jurisdiction. Newham and Tower Hamlets are likely to be the first to do this.
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