WHOSE OPPORTUNITY ?
From the beginning of London Plans in 2000 the label ‘opportunity area’ has been applied to major sites for development. Initially there were a dozen or so; by 2021 there were 47, with London Mayors adding more in each revision of the Plan.
Initially these areas were former industrial or transport lands being prepared for housing or employment or other new uses – like King’s Cross Railway Lands and the remaining parts of Docklands. Displacement of existing users was not a big issue. But in later decades the OA label has been applied to fully occupied areas, where powerful impacts can be felt by residents, public services and existing businesses, like in the City Fringe, Elephant and Castle, Park Royal and Vauxhall, Nine Elms and Battersea (VNEB).
Just Space has been very critical of the pulling together of so many different areas that operate under this policy: they tend to prioritise less affordable housing, less green space, less family housing and higher densities. Also, people are displaced from their homes and businesses, such as in the Elephant and Castle. And there are no transparent or democratic mechanisms to designate an Opportunity Area in the first place, to prepare a development plan or manage the resulting area.
Basically, whatever is agreed between the Mayor’s staff and the relevant Borough – and often major landowners and developers – gets put in to the Opportunity Area plan.
Just Space has made submissions about this in the last London Plan hearings and more recently contributed to a London Assembly investigation. This included the two Opportunity Areas that are also Mayoral Development Corporations, which have their own brand of unaccountability.
Solutions in our COMMUNITY-LED PLAN
- There must be a full review, documentation and assessment of Opportunity Areas to date.
- Until this takes place, there must be a moratorium on the declaration of any further Opportunity Areas and no more approvals of Opportunity Area Planning Frameworks.
- The Mayor of London needs to put a system in place to make already designated Opportunity Areas function more democratically and adhere to strict public participation principles.
- A community audit before designation An audit of population, economy, social infrastructure and local needs by community organisations or co-produced with community groups before any new area is designated or targets set.
LINKS, GROUPS CAMPAIGNING ON THIS ISSUE
Find Opportunity Areas on the Mayor of London’s map
Grand Union Alliance (at Old Oak and Park Royal)
Thames Life CDT (At Barking Riverside and Thames View)
Latin Elephant
Brent Cross Coalition http://brentcrosscoalition.blogspot.co.uk/