Mayor of London Boris Johnson and the government have unveiled plans for the vehicle that will be charged with delivering the Olympic 2012 legacy.
The Mayor, Communities Secretary Hazel Blears and Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell today said they had agreed to establish a dedicated 2012 legacy delivery company to 'plan and maximise the opportunities available from this huge area of public sector land.
Commercially driven and community focused, it will work with the host boroughs and local people, building on the enormous investment and momentum already underway to transform the Park into a treasured asset for the capital and the country'.
The exact structure of the vehicle was not disclosed but property week has learnt that it will be set up by the Greater London Authority and the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government (CLG).
It will operate largely as an urban regeneration company engaging on a contractual basis, as a normal developer would, with the Olympic Park majority landowner, the London Development Agency.
The legacy vehicle, which has yet to be named, will have neither planning powers nor overall control or ownership of the land. It will also have to negotiate with five local planning authorities – Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Newham, Waltham Forest and Greenwich – on the implementation of the legacy masterplan.
Johnson confirmed it would have no planning powers but would liaise closely with the boroughs and the Lower Lea Valley Regional Authority.
Boris Johnson said: 'Today we have reached a landmark in the delivery of the 2012 legacy.
‘The prize that lies ahead is awesome for our capital and will reap benefits for generations to come if we get it right. To get it wrong is unthinkable.
‘That is why I believe this decision will bring together crucial private sector expertise and ideas, in partnership with the extensive knowledge of those already working on legacy planning in my office, in the government and in the Olympic boroughs.’
The Olympics 2012 legacy, which is credited with winning the games for London, seeks to attract public and private sector investment to regenerate east London and the Lower Lea Valley.
Read the full story behind the legacy vehicle as revealed in Property Week tomorrow.
