My SHMBO is from Stratford. You could see the Olympic stadium going up from the end of her parents’ road. Her mum was offered a tour of the site as part of a campaign to keep the locals onside, but honestly most were more excited about getting a John Lewis.
Stratford was always a bit edgy but I kinda enjoyed the vibe of the place pre-olympics. It’s changed now, but yeah, away from station you don’t have to go too far before it gets sketchy.
I could get in to the politics of the Olympic site at length but I’ll save you that. EXCEPT, it won’t be long now until Catweazel, Coe and the shill Burnham start on about affordable housing. For anyone interested, look at what happened to the Stratford Olympic village.
No wonder Scruffy Jim has brought Seb Coe in as part of his Tax Payer of the North (funded) stadium proposal.
Correct.
It feels like a massive betrayal,” said Amuzie, who now works as a community organiser for Citizens UK, a charity that helps local families living in overcrowded accommodation, and still shares a flat in Newham with his mother and two younger brothers. “It might look like the area has changed for the better, but it hasn’t for most existing residents,” he added. “They’ve brought a new community in, and they’re the ones reaping the benefits. There’s no way me or my friends could rent any of the new housing, or afford to buy a shared-ownership home, despite the fact that we campaigned for the Olympics to come here. Instead, the legacy has just meant gentrification on an industrial scale.”
‘A massive betrayal’: how London’s Olympic legacy was sold out
The long read: After so many other Olympic sites ended up left to rot, London 2012 was supposed to be different. But who has really benefited from this orgy of development?
There are many reasons for rage about £752m being casually tossed away on a stadium to accommodate a London football team currently larging it in the £5bn Premier League, though the contribution which that club is stumping up for the privilege tops the lot.
West Ham United have paid £15m – the cost of an average midfield player – towards the £323m alteration costs to their new ground and are finding about £2.5m a year – the annual salary of an average midfield player – to help with the running costs. And that’s their lot.
Blame Boris and Coe, not West Ham, for the Olympic Stadium farce
Is this the legacy Coe envisaged 11 years ago?