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Mayor of London backs UCL East plans

11 October 2017

Leading_london_conference_October_Mayor

 

In his opening address to the Leading London conference on 9th October, Sadiq Khan, Mayor of London, publicly backed plans to bring together some of the world's best arts and education institutions on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to create "one of the largest cultural and educational destinations within Europe". As he commented: "The centre of gravity in London is moving east."

 

The continued rise of east London

As London has expanded, its centre of gravity has shifted over time - with a broad trend since the 18th century of moving from east to west. But this trend is now changing, and UCL is part of the move.

Monday's business innovation conference, held at Here East on the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, showed the new reality: that "east London is the fastest-growing part of the capital as the 'Olympic effect' continues to attract jobs and investment". (Evening Standard).

In his speech, George Osborne, Editor of the Evening Standard and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, emphasised: "Over half of Londoners live to the east of Tower Bridge - for the first time ever. If you look east, you see the land is bright".

To an audience of over 400 people, 12 influential speakers highlighted the changing landscape London's organisations and institutions need to work within, and the future importance of east London on a city-wide, national and global stage. Other speakers included Professor Tony Travers (Director, LSE London), Sir Peter Hendy (Chair, London Legacy Development Corporation), and Professor Julia Hobsbawm (Writer and Social Health Expert).

UCL East at the heart of a world-class destination

UCL is co-founder of the Cultural and Education District on the Olympic Park. Through the plans for UCL East - the largest-ever single expansion of UCL's estate since we were founded - we will create a vibrant new campus, distinctive in its connections between: Experiments, Arts, Society, Technology (EAST).

In the Mayor's speech, which called out UCL East as part of this urban regeneration, he stated that the Cultural and Education District "sets an example for London, our country and the world…I'm backing the continued growth and change here 100%".

For UCL, our plans will help give us the land and space that we need to pursue our outstanding academic ideas and become world leading in areas as diverse as robotics, advanced propulsion, cultural heritage, the urban environment, imaging science, and innovative finance.

We will work in partnership with the wider Cultural and Education District members, which include Sadler's Wells, V&A in collaboration with the Smithsonian, and London College of Fashion. Together we can be bold in our scope and our connections with the Olympic Park, the local community, East London, and London as whole: nurturing curiosity, and enabling creativity.

Prominent organisations making east London their home

 

Transport for London, Cancer Research UK, the British Council, Matches Fashion and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) are also among the prominent organisations moving into the wider area. They are joined by other educational institutions, such as Loughborough University London and the University of East London, as well as other well-known names, including Ford and BT Sport.

 

As the FCA commented in an interview with the Evening Standard"We chose the Park because it offers a compelling mix of an exciting location, a quality building with excellent facilities, value for money, and the right transport links to meet our future needs, with many underground and overground lines and Crossrail to come soon as well."

Rejuvenation and community investment

A recent study by Oxford Economics has revealed that an extra 110,000 jobs have been created in east London since the 2012 Olympic Games. The study showed that, through continued investment, this boom is expected to continue, with an additional 125,000 jobs predicted across the six Olympic boroughs by 2030.

Through UCL East, we are excited about the opportunity to be part of this rejuvenation. Our campus will be accessible not only to staff and students, but also to visitors and the public. We envisage indoor and outdoor spaces for festivals, performance, collections and exhibitions, and a vibrant, connected campus which encourages movement in, around, and through our buildings.