Evaluation of the London Docklands development corporation (LDDC)

History of the Docklands area:

In the latter stages of the 19th century a large number of industries had been attracted to the Docklands. These industries included the tobacco trade, process of imported food and drink, furniture manufacturing, leather goods, shipbuilding and a wide variety of transport and engineering trades.

Warehouses and factories sprang up, along with a maze of narrow streets, lined with rows of tightly packed houses.

During the Second World War the area suffered heavy bomb damage. One third of the total warehousing was destroyed. This began the decline of the area.

Migrant labour attracted people from all over the world. The mechanisation and containerisation during the 1960’s also helped the area into further decline, mass unemployment followed. A law was also passed that allowed larger ships to enter the docks; this bought with it the need for more mechanisation and containerisation.

Main aims of the LDDC:

The LDDC was a government organised organisation set up to redevelop the Docklands area.

It was set up in 1982 after the proposed idea was set up in 1979. The organisation was given £200 million to regenerate and redevelop the area.

It was responsible for an area stretching 13KM eastward from the Tower Of London on the North side and London Bridge on the South side.

They aimed to regenerate the area by:

Bringing land and buildings into use
Encouraging industry and commerce
Creating an attractive environment
Assisting in the provision of housing and social facilities to encourage people to live and work in the area.

How did the LDDC operate, and what are its responsibilities?

The LDDC had two main sources of investment. One was through the government in the form of grants, approved by the minister, the treasury and parliament. The other was through the process of land sales. After the LDDC had improved, cleared or developed previously derelict areas, they were sold or leased out.

Public money was used in the development of the infrastructure, such as main road access, or the Docklands light railway. Private money was invested after the resale of redeveloped land or buildings.

The Docklands area lies geographically within the boroughs of Newham, Tower Hamlets and Southwark. The councils still retain all of their responsibilities except within the redevelopment areas. The LDDC decides on planning applications after consultation with the borough council in question, and other people affected by the proposed developments.

The LDDC also built major roads in the area, including the Limehouse Link tunnel.

Within the Docklands area, ...

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Public money was used in the development of the infrastructure, such as main road access, or the Docklands light railway. Private money was invested after the resale of redeveloped land or buildings.

The LDDC also built major roads in the area, including the Limehouse Link tunnel.

Within the Docklands area, the councils are responsible for housing, other highways, education, the council tax and local services within the area.

The LDDC is primarily answerable to the government- To the Department of Environment (DoE). The LDDC has to submit an annual report, including its accounts to the DoE. An annual corporate plan, detailing future plans is also submitted.

The LDDC can be questioned in parliament by MP’s, and is also subject to the National Audit Office and the parliamentary ombudsman.

Achievements of the LDDC:

(All claimed by a publication published by the LDDC)

Physical regeneration

879 hectares(2,173 acres) of urban development land and water acquired
728 hectares(1800 acres) of derelict land reclaimed within the urban development area
135.5kms(84 miles) of new or improved roads and DLR. £959 million has been invested in access (excluding the jubilee line extension)
Improved public transport system. Docklands Light Railway carrying up to 321,000 passengers per week. More than 550,000 passengers in the last year used London City Airport, with 13 airlines flying to 18 European and UK destinations.

Economic Regeneration

£1,744 billion public sector investment
£6,277 billion private sector investment
2’28 million sq metres (24.57 million sq feet) of commercial and industrial space completed, including 1.37 million sq metres (14.7 million sq ft) of offices
First phase of Canary Wharf, with approximately 418,050 net square metres of office space completed
Businesses more than doubled from 1000 in 1982 to 2400
Employment increased by 157% from 27,200 in 1981 to 70,000(66,700 in 1995)

Building new communities

19,844 new homes completed
Privately owned housing increased from 5% to 40%
£178 million expenditure on new and replacement housing for local residents
7,900 local authority homes refurbished or improved
95% population growth from 39,400 to 77,000 (68,000 in 1995)
Increasing variety of new shopping facilities. Almost 50 retail units let at Canary Wharf, including Tesco Metro, Tesco, Surrey Quays Shopping Centre; Asda, Beckton and Isle Of Dogs; Savacentre, Beckton; Kwiksave, Beckton and Wapping; Safeway
£116 million expenditure on education, training, support for industry, health and community programmes, amenities and environment
Contributions to 11 new primary schools and a new secondary school, Bacon’s college, Rotherhithe
Contributions to post-16 colleges in each of the Docklands three boroughs and nine vocational training centres
Five new health centres built and six redeveloped
More than 430 community groups and voluntary groups have received funds
Extensive events, arts and watersports programmes
More than 160,000 trees planted, 18 conservation areas designated and more than 500 listed buildings
75 awards for landscape, architecture and conservation

Problems created by the LDDC

The locals are not trained enough and do not have sufficient qualifications to do the office based, well paid work
Local people often do the service type jobs such as cleaning, these are usually very low-paid jobs
National and international companies often bring their existing workforce with them to the Docklands
The raise in house and flat prices has made the area too expensive for the local people to afford
The LDDC lies outside the process of democratically elected government and its policies have often been at variance with those of the adjacent London boroughs that it replaced as a planning authority
The LDDC is under no obligation to put the needs of the indigenous local community first. It has been tasked by the government to secure the regeneration of the area through attracting new investment. It sees the Docklands as being of metropolitan, national and international importance and considers it inevitable that the national interest will sometimes be at variance with the interests of the local communities. The reasons for local opposition were summarised in an article in “The Times” newspaper: ‘ Local people believe, with some justification, that their needs and wishes are being ignored, that they have little place in the new office buildings and hi-tech industrial estates which are supplanting the old factories and warehouses and that they will be unable to compete in the housing market with the new generation of so-called yuppies and whizz-kids who are being offered company flats and huge low interest mortgages to enable them to live closer to the city’

“The Times”- 19 February 1987

Competition between designers and developers resulted, not in an orderly reconstruction of a wonderful watery peninsula, but a Los Angeles-like pattern of bulky glass office towers in a cityscape of parking areas, housing sites and low-rise factory units.
Without a strong network of streets, parks and squares tying together the different major projects, the Isle Of Dogs quickly matured into a chaotic cityscape.
A social divide is evident, sometimes only separated by a single wall or security fence.

Alternatives to the Docklands and its future

Companies could have been forced to employ a certain percentage of the local community. One pitfall of this is that companies that have relocated in the Docklands will have to lose existing workers in place of the locals.

Three main actions are needed to sustain the Docklands for the future. The Isle Of Dogs does not connect with the millennium dome; Wapping and Surrey Quays are separate enclaves; the Royal Docks lack infrastructure integration; the Hawksmoor churches are not in play. Bridges are needed, perhaps islands in the Thames as well, and parks are needed to form a green necklace along the waterside. Action is needed to create an infrastructure of support for the communities in Docklands. This involves public investment in transport, healthcare, education and recreation. There are private health and sports clubs, many dual carriageways, but few trains, cycle ways or doctor’s surgeries. Even if you privatise public space as the LDDC did you cannot avoid public amenity.

A Docklands university is being built, but there is still no Docklands hospital.

Bibliography

Thanks go to the following sources for their useful information that helped to compile this report: