Delivering placemaking and housing in central London

About this lecture

David will focus on the challenges of delivering good place making and housing in high density / central London locations whilst tackling the net zero agenda, addressing overcrowding and dealing with unprecedented viability challenges.  He will also provide an overview of some of the economic trends which are shaping rapid change in places such as Canary Wharf, the City Fringe and The Lower Lea Valley (including the Olympic Park and Hackney Wick/Fish Island Creative Enterprise Zone).  He will outline the role that Tower Hamlets is playing in attracting key employers such as JP Morgan to the borough whilst ensuring the borough retains its authenticity and the vibrancy of communities which make it such an incredible place to live, work and visit.  He will set out how Tower Hamlets and other Councils are at the forefront of leading and developing housing directly or in partnership, and the steps which boroughs are taking to address the temporary accommodation crisis.

About the speaker

After studying at the Bartlett School of Planning, David embarked on a career in London local government, advancing into senior leadership positions. After periods in the Thames Gateway boroughs of Redbridge and Barking & Dagenham, he spent 10 years at Camden Council overseeing projects such as the regeneration of King’s Cross and High Speed 2’s contested Euston redevelopment. Further roles followed at Lambeth Council, overseeing Vauxhall / Nine Elms, Waterloo and Brixton transformations, and at Haringey Council where he was responsible for the set up of its ALMO, a council housebuilding programme that has now delivered 1000 homes, and regeneration in Tottenham and Wood Green. David is currently Corporate Director of Housing & Regeneration at Tower Hamlets, where he has overseen a significant pipeline of new development. This includes 10,000 homes granted planning consent in one year alone and the scaling up of the Council’s direct delivery of housing through the Mayor’s Accelerated Housing Programme. He is working with Canary Wharf Group, the Greater London Authority and other stakeholders to secure the long term future of JP Morgan in Tower Hamlets, through the construction of a new European HQ, which will be the largest office building in London. Focused on the Creative Enterprise Zone in the Lower Lea Valley, David and his team is working to ensure that the growth in this part of London provides homes, jobs, and a longer term sustainable future for Tower Hamlets’ many small and medium sized enterprises.

Accessibility

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