Felix Denton detects green shoots in the East London economy
With a one per cent rise in GDP from July to September 2012, Britain stumbled cautiously out of the double dip recession, performing better than many economists had predicted.
The consensus is that the rate of national growth was largely down to the Olympics factor. In the longer-term, however, what will the Olympics do for the East End of London? Will it be like Athens – parts of the city left with rusting infrastructure and feeling like a ghost town, or will there be the kind of sustainable legacy that the Games organisers always wanted?
Undoubtedly, the future looks a lot brighter for this part of London than it did before the Olympic bid. Not only because of the money the Games brought in, but also as a result of new developments in the Thames Corridor such as the High Speed Sustainable Manufacturing Institute in Dagenham, close to the old Ford factory.
It has been suggested that the ‘Golden Triangle’ (an area including Canary Wharf, Stratford, North Greenwich and the gateway to the Thames Corridor) could end up contributing 180,000 jobs and £21 billion to the British economy. Already the £1.45 billion invested in the development of Westfield Stratford has led to the creation of 10,000 permanent jobs, netted £1 billion in profit, and attracted 47 miliion visitors in its first year of operation.
The regional economy remains fragile, what with another round of job cuts at Ford’s Dagenham and retail sales falling 0.8 per cent in October (further proof that urban regeneration cannot live by retail alone). But the region’s strategic position, i.e. its proximity to European markets, the Olympics-driven infrastucture upgrade, and the availability of relatively cheap land, all bode well for future development.
After so many false starts and hollow promises, it’s easy to be cynical. But following on from the success of London 2012, there are signs that the New Year will bring new growth to the East London economy.