By
1886 - there were 7 enclosed dock systems within the Port of London:-
London and St Katherine's Docks, the Surrey
Docks, the West India Docks, the Millwall
Docks, the East India Docks, the Royal Victoria Dock, and the Royal Albert
Dock.
•Traditional
port activities, e.g ship
repairs
•Heavy
engineering
•Food
processing
•Warehousing
•Muddle
of factories
•Poor
housing
•New
communities
Slide 7
Docklands – 1930s
•55,000
ship movements a year
•35
million tons of cargo handled a year
•100,000
men employed in Port of London
Slide 8
1960s – decline sets in
•1962
Rochdale report – suggested that smaller docks in heart of London were not
viable for the future
•Larger
docks at Tilbury should be developed
Slide 9
1970’s – dock closures
•As
docks began to close numerous plans were put forward by PLA, GLC,
various boroughs, etc.
•Accepted
that Docklands needed renewal
•What
to do in the face of a planning shambles?
Slide 10
Enter the LDDC!
•Set
up by Michael Heseltine to manage Docklands Urban Development Area on 2 July
1981 (following Act of Parliament 1980)
•Was
an Urban Development Corporation (UDC)
Slide 11
Docklands in 1981
“The
place was a tip: 6,000 acres of forgotten wasteland” (Michael Heseltine, 1981)
Slide 12
Aims of LDDC
•Bring
land and buildings into effective use
•Encourage
development of existing and new industry
•Create
attractive environment with housing and social facilities to encourage people
to live and work in the area
Slide 13
LDDC Inheritance
•Catastrophic
job losses
•95%
social housing
•Severe
dereliction
•Poor
infrastructure
•Poor
links with London and UK/Europe
•General
depression
Slide 14
LDDC powers
•Acquisition
of land, including compulsory purchase
•Planning
autonomy
•Powers
to renew infrastructure
•Channel
for government resources
Slide 15
What was achieved by 1998?
•Massive
investment by public and private sectors
•Over
1,000 acres sold for redevelopment
•144km
new and improved roads
•Docklands
Light Railway
•24,000
new homes built
•2,700
business trading
•New
health centres, schools, colleges
•85,000
employed in Docklands