London still awaits Olympics’ promised 'affordable' housing

The Manila Times

London still awaits Olympics’ promised 'affordable' housing  Over ten years since the Olympics in London, construction work continues in and around the Olympic Park in Stratford. Many buildings are still being built. However, the affordable housing that was promised for the east London area, which has experienced gentrification like the rest of the city, has yet to be completed.  Video by AFP   Subscribe to The Manila Times Channel - https://tmt.ph/YTSubscribe    Visit our website at https://www.manilatimes.net     Follow us:  Facebook - https://tmt.ph/facebook  Instagram - https://tmt.ph/instagram  Twitter - https://tmt.ph/twitter  DailyMotion - https://tmt.ph/dailymotion    Subscribe to our Digital Edition - https://tmt.ph/digital    Check out our Podcasts:  Spotify - https://tmt.ph/spotify  Apple Podcasts - https://tmt.ph/applepodcasts  Amazon Music - https://tmt.ph/amazonmusic  Deezer: https://tmt.ph/deezer  Stitcher: https://tmt.ph/stitcher Tune In: https://tmt.ph/tunein   #TheManilaTimes #tmtnews  #london  #olympics2024

Transcript

00:00 Stratford, 2012. The Olympic Games was a time of celebration.

00:07 Twelve years on in what used to be London's industrial heartland,

00:13 its shiny new developments shooting up into the skies.

00:16 But the work is far from over for the London Legacy Development Corporation,

00:20 the agency charged with fulfilling the Olympic pledges.

00:23 The planning for the Games started in 2000 and before. We're nearly 25 years on,

00:30 a quarter of a century on, and we're still doing that work because this is a huge area.

00:36 But fundamentally as creating opportunities for local people, that work takes time.

00:43 Creating opportunities for people living near the Olympic Park was the aim of the London Games.

00:47 This used to be the athletes' village, but now it's mostly luxury flats.

00:53 In this part of London, rents have risen faster than anywhere else in the city over the past three years.

00:59 The real challenge is you invest vast amounts of money into the area,

01:04 you uplift the value of the land, it increases rents,

01:08 and then the very people that you want to help and reach, you're at danger of pricing them out.

01:14 On the other side of the tracks from the Olympic Park is the Carpenters' Estate.

01:18 Physically divided by the railway, it has an entirely different feel.

01:23 Growing up, Ethan spent time with his grandparents who lived in one of the tower blocks.

01:30 It does feel weird looking at this and to see that it's just sort of like dilapidated.

01:36 Obviously it has helped the economy, but I wouldn't say that after those initial few months

01:41 there was really anything going on that I can remember vividly.

01:46 Ethan's family chose to be rehomed, just one example of the many that cleared out of the Carpenters' Estate

01:51 in the run-up to the Olympics amid looming regeneration projects that never happened.

01:57 Elected six years after the Games, Rokshana Fiaz campaigned on the promise

02:02 that she would redevelop the estate in a way that would help current residents.

02:06 So I felt a sense of responsibility and an obligation to reverse the trust deficit of local residents

02:14 that frankly were angry and felt quite aggrieved about the range of promises over the preceding 15 to 20 years.

02:23 It may have taken decades, but the Carpenters' Estate is now the focus of a regeneration project

02:28 that involves locals, led by Populo Living.

02:32 So this is the restored Carpenters. It will be an absolutely amazing place to live.

02:39 The project is set to deliver homes at social rent levels, meaning 40 to 60% below market rate.

02:46 My message to the Mayor of Paris is please be really clear and do not lose sight of the ambition

02:54 that you have for your people and deliver for people in terms of what they want in the immediacy,

03:00 but also into the future.

03:03 A word of warning from across the channel, as Paris is making similar housing

03:08 and regeneration pledges ahead of their hosting of the 2024 Olympic Games.

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