A partnership between Balfour Beatty and Places for People has been awarded a contract to create 1,500 new homes on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

With property prices spiralling in the UK capital, up to 30 of the housing is to be affordable and 500 properties will be for rental. 

“This is the most successful and fastest growing city anywhere in Europe, and it is absolutely vital we provide thousands of new houses to allow people to live close to their places of work,” said Boris Johnson, mayor of London.

“I am thrilled to confirm we have now appointed high quality developers to help bring forward plans for these important new neighbourhoods on our iconic Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, a whopping six years ahead of target.” 

The joint venture between Places for People and Balfour Beatty was awarded the contact through a competitive process involving a shortlist of six other candidates.

“We are delighted by the high quality of the bid from Places for People and Balfour Beatty, which offers exciting opportunities for local people, businesses and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,” said David Goldstone, chief executive of London Legacy Development Corporation, responsible for redeveloping the park.

Over the next eight years, Balfour Beatty is to invest up to £35 million in the project – 50 per cent of the equity required. 

Balfour Beatty is to deliver the entire construction aspect of the property development, which it anticipates will create approximately £400 million of revenue. 

“I look forward to continuing our strong partnership with the London Legacy Development Corporation to ensure that commitments made as part of the London 2012 Games are delivered by not only creating new communities but also new jobs, and apprenticeships for young people wanting to join the growing infrastructure sector,” said Leo Quinn, chief executive of Balfour Beatty Group.

“With our partner, Places for People, we are very excited to be able to create these new, vibrant, sustainable communities for East London.”

Two new neighbourhoods are to be created, East Wick and Sweetwater, both at the western side of the park.

The designs include terraced and mews houses, in keeping with London’s residential architecture.

850 new homes and a primary school will be built in East Wick, in the north west of the Park next to Hackney Wick and the digital quarter, Here East.

650 new homes, a primary school and a health centre will be built in Sweetwater, in the south-west of the Park near Old Ford and the Copper Box Arena.

"This is East London's moment and it's our big moment too and we are thrilled to have been selected to be part of the transformation of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park,” said David Cowans, chief executive of Places for People. 

“With our partner, Balfour Beatty, we have the perfect opportunity to work with the London Legacy Development Corporation to create a truly unique and exciting place to live.”

The project is set to be complete by 2023, bringing the new housing to the park six years earlier than scheduled in the original legacy masterplan. 

VINCI Stadium has been appointed to manage the former Olympic Stadium at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for a 25 year period, starting before the England 2015 Rugby World Cup. 

The deal with London is VINCI’s first stadium contract outside France. 

The contract was awarded by E20, a joint venture between the London Legacy Development Corporation and Newham Council. 

“The E20 Stadium LLP awarded the contract to run the former Olympic Stadium to VINCI Stadium in recognition of VINCI's expertise and the business model it has developed for the operation of multi-purpose arenas, including the Stade de France,” said Pierre Coppey, Chief Operating Officer of VINCI.

“In addition to broadening the range of events offered at this amazing venue, VINCI Stadium will work with the E20 Stadium Partnership to develop and revitalise East London for the benefit of citizens.”

The venue, designed by Populous in a modular way that enables it to be repurposed for legacy use, is currently being transformed into a multi-use stadium. 

“This marks another step forward in the long-term future of the Stadium. VINCI have a great track record and a wealth of experience in managing world-class venues,” said David Goldstone, chief executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation. 

“We are looking forward to working with them and delivering a multi-use stadium capable of hosting a range of different sports and events, including this autumn’s Rugby World Cup.”

The stadium will host five matches of Rugby World Cup 2015, starting with France vs. Romania on 23 September and ending with the bronze final match on 30 October.

The venue will not fully reopen until 2016. Premier League football club West Ham United are to take up tenancy of the stadium, which will also act as the national competition venue for UK Athletics.

VINCI Stadium currently operates a network of stadia in France including the Stade de France in Paris, the Allianz Riviera in Nice, the New Bordeaux Stadium and the MMArena in Le Mans. 

The Olympic stadium is currently being transformed into a multi-use venue. It will host five matches of Rugby World Cup 2015 before fully re-opening in 2016 when it will become the home of West Ham United.

“Managing the basic day-to-day operations at a Premier League football stadium is a unique challenge, so we will be passing on our extensive experience and expertise to Vinci to ensure they provide the same high levels of service our supporters have become accustomed to at the Boleyn Ground,” said Karren Brady, vice-chairman of West Ham United.

“While Vinci will manage the functional aspects of the matchday operation, we will still be overseeing the overall supporter experience to make sure watching West Ham remains one of the very best days out in the Premier League.”

The stadium will also be the national competition venue for UK Athletics and will be the venue for the IAAF 2017 World Athletics Championships and 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships.

"The Olympic Stadium will be the new home of British Athletics, staging a wide range of events from mass participation runs to elite track and field meetings,” said Ed Warner, chairman of UK Athletics and London 2017.

“We look forward to working closely with VINCI to deliver all of these events, and in particular the twin World Championships in the summer of 2017, in London's most iconic sporting venue."

As well as running the stadium, VINCI will manage the London Marathon Charitable Trust Community Track and events on the south park lawn, below the ArcelorMittal Orbit. 

They will also work with the E20 Stadium Partnership to promote sport and healthy living in the local area and deliver mass participation events such as the Great Newham London Run.

“This is more good news in our goal to deliver a long-lasting legacy from London’s Olympic and Paralympic Games,” said Boris Johnson, mayor of London.

“VINCI is a world-class operator and set to be a key partner in the creation of a spectacular stadium offering a dynamic range of sport and attractions for Londoners to enjoy.”

5,500 tonnes of steel and 6km of cabling are being used in the transformation of the stadium. The 14 floodlight panels were removed to make way for the new roof. 

During renovation, the existing running track is being protected by a 75cm deep mat of recycled concrete.

The rebuilt Olympic Stadium will include 21,000 retractable seats, which are said to allow closer pitch-side viewing during football matches while allowing the running track to remain in place.

Full capacity will be 54,000 seats in football mode, 60,000 in athletics and 80,000 for concerts.

Alongside the main stadium, a new floodlit 400m community athletics track, funded by the London Marathon Charitable Trust will be built for use by the local community, schools and will host a resident athletics club – the Newham & Essex Beagles. 

Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales said “We look forward to working with VINCI to ensure the Stadium is a world class visitor attraction that delivers job opportunities, community benefits and increased sports participation that transforms the lives of those living in London’s East End, but especially the residents of Newham.”

The redevelopment of the south section of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is now complete, enabling the park to fully open to the public for the first time since the London 2012 Olympic Games. 

“In the 18 months since the end of the Games, we have created a magnificent new park for London with beautiful parklands and waterways and world-class sporting facilities,” said Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, which led the post-Games transformation of the park.

“We want people to come and enjoy this new destination, whether they are reliving the memories of the golden summer of 2012 or experiencing it for the first time.”

At 560 acres, or 2.2sq km, the park is the largest to open in London for more than 100 years. Newly landscaped parklands, waterways and an action-packed adventure playground featuring swings, a rope bridge and activity zones have transformed the site.

Sir John Armitt, chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority said: “The Olympic Park was a huge hit with spectators in 2012, but now countless thousands more will get a chance to see how it has been transformed for generations to come to use and enjoy – walking, relaxing, seeing the sights, or having a picnic, as well as playing and watching sport in four world-class venues.

“This, and the work we are doing to complete 2,818 new homes in East Village, is proof that the legacy we all talked so much about is very real.”

The park also features a new tree-lined promenade with a unique globe lighting system, interactive water fountains, four themed walking trails and miniature gardens that represent different climatic regions including South Africa, the Americas and the Mediterranean.

The northern section of the park, which began to reopen in July 2013 with concerts and other major events, has already attracted more than a million visitors. The Copper Box Arena, the first former Olympic venue to open to the public, has already had more than 100,000 visitors. The Aquatics Centre, which reopened on 1 March 2014, has already received over 55,000 visitors.

The Lee Valley VeloPark opened its doors for public use for the first time on 31 March 2014, while the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will open in June 2014. 

Meanwhile, the Olympic Stadium is being transformed into a multi-use venue. A major new arts and cultural centre is also set to be built within the park.

Planning permission has also been granted for up to 10,000 new homes, including more than 2,800 in the former Olympic Village, which has now been renamed East Village.

“The opening of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is not the end of the transformation story,” said Hone. “We are building a new heart of east London creating jobs, building new homes, and bringing in investment, culture and education with partners like the Victoria and Albert Museum and University College London. It is a truly exciting time for all Londoners and we encourage people to come and see Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park for themselves.”

Lee Valley Regional Park is a unique 10,000 acre destination for sport, leisure and nature, stretching 26 miles from the banks of the River Thames in east London into the counties Essex and Hertfordshire.

There are almost 7 million visits to the Regional Park each year, with people taking part in a variety of activities; from sport in inspirational world class venues to enjoying open spaces that are home to a variety of British wildlife.

The park, which is run by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, was created by a 1967 Act of Parliament for the “development, preservation and management for recreation, sport, entertainment and the enjoyment of leisure” for the people of London, Essex and Hertfordshire.

Large scale sports venues have always been part of the Regional Park and today the Authority owns three London 2012 Olympic venues. Two of these are located on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park: Lee Valley VeloPark, which offers the four Olympic cycling disciplines; track in the iconic London 2012 velodrome, BMX on a modified version of the Olympic track, road on a one mile circuit and mountain biking on a set of graded trails; and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre which has two state-of-the art hockey pitches and four indoor and six outdoor tennis courts. The third, Lee Valley White Water Centre is 10 miles north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It staged the London 2012 Canoe Slalom competition and has two separate white water courses for training, rafting and paddling activities as well as cafes, viewing areas and meeting rooms.

The Authority raises 65 per cent of its £29 million gross budget from commercial and other operations while the remainder comes from a levy on households in London, Essex and Hertfordshire – around 88 pence per person annually. It has many years’ experience of running sports venues that are community focused and commercially driven, where comprehensive community programmes are run alongside income generating activities and elite competitions. This same business model has been adopted at its three London 2012 venues, which offer a range of events and programmes for all abilities.

“Our venues have brought some of the world’s top sporting events to London, providing great entertainment and excitement and allowing Londoners and sports fans from across the UK to experience the very best in sporting competition,” says Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

“The hosting of major international events is a central 2012 legacy objective which sees these venues continue to inspire future generations.”

Established venues that predate the Games include Lee Valley Riding Centre, which specialises in catering for disabled riders, children and a range of horse enthusiasts, and Lee Valley Ice Centre - one of the UK’s leading ice rinks which attracts 300,000 visits a year.

Hosting grassroots and elite

Since opening, the Authority’s three London 2012 venues have staged 17 top international level sporting events. They also hosted more than a quarter of the Every Road to Rio London events, which brought the world’s leading athletes to the capital.

In June 2015, eight times Olympic medallist Sir Bradley Wiggins broke the one hour world track record in Lee Valley VeloPark’s velodrome before a sell-out crowd of 6,000. In March 2016, the venue hosted the UCI Track Cycling World Championships and also regularly hosts the Revolution Series, Britain’s top commercial track cycling competition.

Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre has staged the Champions Trophy in June 2016 between the best 10 men’s and women’s teams. In 2015 it staged the Unibet EuroHockey Championships, which was the sport’s biggest event of the year.

In September 2015, Lee Valley White Water Centre was home to the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, the largest international canoeing event outside of the Olympic Games.

These major events dovetail with extensive activities – more than 80% of programming - which is reserved for community, clubs and school groups, a key part of the Authority’s Olympic legacy drive. More than 5,000 children from over 400 schools from across London and further afield have enjoyed free paddling, tennis, hockey and cycling in these inspirational London 2012 venues thanks to the Authority’s Schools Festival outreach programme.

Events already secured for 2017 include Revolution Cycling Champions League, Six Day London and cycling events of the London Youth Games, Europe’s largest youth sports festival comprising 30 different sports. 

In June, Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will stage the Men’s World Hockey League with some of the sport’s leading international men’s teams. In November it will host the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters for the fourth time, with the top eight seeded international men’s and women’s players playing for the title.