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Such Businesses Further Demonstrate The Demand For Commercial Space. Housing ...

Such businesses further demonstrate the demand for commercial space.
Housing
By the time the LDDC exited from Docklands development in 1998, it noted that 24,000 houses and flats had been built of which nearly three quarters were sold to owner-occupiers, while 8000 council houses had been improved (LDDC 1998: 24).
After the fall in property prices, the LDDC's plans for private developers to incorporate social housing were not followed through, so direct grants were provided in some instances (Kleinman 1999: 11). However, Winsor Park in Beckton (Newham), which received £20m from the LDDC, became a development with concentrated deprivation rather than a social mix, and concerns arose regarding the decontamination of the land prior to building, with residents' suffering health problems allegedly as the result of contamination (ibid).
The Docklands Forum catalogues rent increases between 1991 and 1995 of 89% in Tower Hamlets, 64% in Southwark and 56% in Newham (1996: 15). Homelessness figures nonetheless fell during this period, from 4442 to 3376 in Newham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets, a 24.0% decrease compared to a 25.3% decrease across London as a whole (calculations using figures in Kleinman 1999: 8)
The effects of regeneration in different Boroughs varied, as did the relationship between Borough Councils and the LDDC. In Tower Hamlets and Southwark, a partnership between the LDDC and Borough Councils operated. Tower Hamlets' social mix became significantly more balanced during regeneration, while Newham saw less change (Kleinman 1999: 11). The GLC had been abolished in 1986: strongly socialist by this time, it had antagonised the Conservative Government and had been highly critical of the LDDC. However, it had provided a certain element of unity and concern for regional issues, and its demise led to a somewhat fragmented system of local government in the capital. A Greater London Authority was restored in 2000, helping strategy to embrace more regional issues rather than the more disjointed approach of individual Borough councils.
Transport
The lack of commitment to transport infrastructure contributed to the difficulty for Docklands in competing with other areas of London as property prices began to fall. However, during the 1990s, major investment was made. The extension of the DLR to Bank station opened in 1991, linking Docklands transport more effectively with the London underground system (www.canarywharf.com/mainFrm1.asp?strSelectedArea=History). Work on the Jubilee line extension commenced shortly after, opening in 1999, but helping revitalise investment in the area prior to this by demonstrating a commitment to solve transport issues in the area.


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