Senior Sixth Trip to Docklands and Stratford - February 2012
On a February Monday morning, the A2 geography students set off for London Docklands and the East End to examine the regeneration schemes of East London. Our journey commenced at the Canary Wharf pier, where Mr. Pike and Mr. Davies outlined the local history of the area. We assessed the commercial regeneration that had begun on the Isle of Dogs in the 1980’s and began to compare levels of deprivation in areas where the original residents of the Docklands resided. Once at Cabot square we took in the full splendour of the area, built to accommodate financial sector services. From this position, we noted as to how global conglomerates such as Credit Suisse and JPMorgan had been enticed into setting up their headquarters in Docklands through varied government incentives including tax breaks and infrastructure development.
Our trip progressed to Canning Town, where we saw the traditional centres of light industry that used to be the main form of employment for the local residents. Today the area is rather scenic, though sadly quite empty, with businesses having closed down. The area has been regenerated along with the coming of the Olympics, though not with much employment in the area for local residents. However, the setting up of the new DLR and Jubilee line extensions have helped people to commute across London and other areas for means of employment, also helping us to reach the London Victoria Docks.
Here one highlight of the day was visiting the Excel Centre, first observing it from the Connaught Bridge. This area contained one of the other key schemes in the regeneration of Docklands, privatised housing, which was located right on the waterfront. The Excel Centre itself, was not at its best of days when we visited. A few janitors, security guards and coffee shop attendants could be seen working, with almost no visitors in the place. However we were able to fully appreciate the size and scale of the arena rooms and other areas where different events were held. After this we proceeded to our last and greatest site of the day, the Olympic park.
The view from a hill over the Olympic Park, despite the overcast conditions, was spectacular. This proved to be the highlight of the day, with the regeneration of the area potentially being extremely successful, most so in Stratford. The area was given a huge makeover; from the local car park we observed the £1.4 billion multi-domed Westfield complex at the height of its sales hours. The mall has contributed in improving the quality of life through employment opportunities providing a large amount of jobs for locals and goods in every price range for visitors and tourists.
Now we all await the summer, to see the whole area in its full regenerated glory. The real test of success for Docklands and the East End will be the ability for the Olympic Park and other regeneration projects to improve the quality of life of locals in the long term when the Games are gone. Until then, we will just have to wait and see.
by Bilal Thiam S6OJD