89-year-old Canning Town resident helps to demolish tower block paving the way for £600m redevelopment
25 November 2009
One of Canning Town’s oldest residents
heralded the beginning of the town centre’s £600m redevelopment in
east London today (Wednesday 25 November).
89-year-old Alice Lashmar was invited by
Newham Mayor Sir Robin Wales to help demolish the last housing
block that stands in the way of the first phase of the
multi-million pound regeneration of Canning Town.
With the support of the London Thames Gateway
Development Corporation (LTGDC) Canning Town and Custom House will
be transformed into a thriving, sustainable place for people to
live, work and stay.
The demolition coincides with an agreement
between Newham Council and Bouygues UK to deliver the town centre
development over the next 10 years – creating 500 jobs during the
construction phase.
Alice was born in Canning Town and has lived
there all her life. The octogenarian, who turns 90 in April, worked
from age 14 to 62, with 15 years in the Canning Town Labour
Exchange and many more in the civil service.
Alice Lashmar said: “I have lived in Canning
Town all of my life and have many fond memories of the town. I have
seen it go through a lot of changes over the years and it is about
time the area was spruced up a bit so that the future generations
can reap the benefits and enjoy living here as much as I have.”
The 11-storey Swanscombe Point, in Clarkson
Road, is one of the final blocks in a 16-acre brownfield site which
has been cleared to make way for 1,100 new homes and 60,000 sq m of
retail, offices and leisure facilities. Swanscombe Point’s
demolition will make for a new large supermarket, more than 200
homes and a leisure facility. The Canning Town and Custom House
regeneration area is the sixth largest regeneration scheme in UK.
More than £3.7bn will be invested.
Unlike other developments in London which have
stalled in the recession it is still full steam ahead for Canning
Town – with this final demolition phase being a major milestone.
Last week Bouygues UK signed an exclusivity agreement with
Newham Council, as a development partner, securing private sector
interest in the plans.
Mayor of Newham, Sir Robin Wales, said: “Today
signifies the start of new beginnings for our area that will bring
improvements for many residents.
“I would like to thank all those involved in
making this happen and look forward to seeing the scheme progress.
This sends a powerful signal that Newham means business – this
project is part of a once in a lifetime opportunity to turn around
the prospects of Canning Town for residents and we are determined
to get a better deal for them.”
LTGDC Chairman Bob Lane, said: “It was great
to have Alice’s help to clear the way for the regeneration of the
area. Her role reflects the involvement that local people have had
in shaping Canning Town’s future, creating a place for new and
existing communities with exemplary public spaces, homes and
amenities. I’m convinced that this development will re-shape
perceptions of east London as a place to go to – rather than pass
through.”
The Chairman of Bouygues Development, Bouygues
UK and Warings, Madani Sow, said: “Today is a significant day for
the regeneration of Canning Town, marking the start of a
construction programme that will completely transform the area for
the local community. Bouygues Development and our consortium
partner the One Housing group are very proud to be involved in such
a significant London Development”.
The redevelopment of the Town Centre for
Canning Town is in addition to the Rathbone Market and A13 junction
improvement scheme which will be on site in spring next year.
Other major projects in the borough include
the 2012 Olympic Park and the development of Stratford City, which
will have the biggest shopping centre in the south east of
England.
End
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Notes to Editors
About LTGDC
The London Thames Gateway Development
Corporation is the Government’s lead regeneration agency for east
London.
This year LTGDC has committed to further
investment of £5.65 million by March 2011. This will take the total
site assembly investment to £19.95 million and the total Canning
Town centre expenditure to 37.95 million.
Also, LTGDC has invested a further £8 million
in projects in the wider Canning Town & Custom House area,
bringing the total investment in the area to £45.95 million.
The Canning Town Centre scheme is one of many
different development projects of the Canning Town and Custom House
regeneration programme.
About Canning Town and Custom House
Regeneration Programme
The Canning Town and Custom House Regeneration
Programme includes the building of up to 10,000 new homes and two
improved town centres. This £3.7billion project aims to transform
the area physically, socially and economically.
Canning Town is located close to the Olympic
site, Canary Wharf and City Airport, with first-class transport
links. Canning Town’s superb connections give it phenomenal growth
potential and the next few years will see an amazing transformation
of Canning Town into a desirable place to live, work and visit for
a wide range of uses and activities.
Canning Town Centre will be the heart for most
of the planned residential development in the area. The town centre
will therefore benefit from the significant uplift in its catchment
population and underlying socio-economic profile. This will provide
a catalyst for the continued growth and development of the town
centre as a retail and commercial location.
Bouygues Development
Bouygues Development is an experienced
developer which operates in a number of market sectors in the UK
including housing, commercial office space, mixed use developments
and major regeneration schemes. Bouygues Development is part of
Bouygues Construction – a world-leading construction and services
group. Generating value through creativity and delivery, Bouygues
Development enables environments and communities to thrive.
Bouygues UK
Bouygues UK is a subsidiary of Bouygues
Construction – a world-leading construction and services group. The
company provides a fully integrated design, build, finance and
operate service across a broad range of sectors with a particular
focus on education, healthcare, housing and commercial as well as
urban regeneration and property development.
Warings
Predominantly focused on the South East,
Warings provides a professional construction service from its
Portsmouth headquarters and specialist airport team based at
Heathrow. The company delivers innovative construction
solutions across major industry sectors for both public and private
clients.
One Housing Group
One Housing Group currently manages over
12,000 homes in 26 local authorities across London and adjacent
counties, with over 2,700 homes in the development pipeline. These
include shared ownership schemes; intermediate rent homes for key
workers, affordable rented homes and homes for outright sale.
Community Housing Association, Island Homes
and Toynbee Housing Association joined to form One Housing Group in
September 2007. Visit http://www.onehousinggroup.co.uk/
for further information.