Regeneration
By the late 1960s the effects of the closure of London’s docks were obvious and unemployment was growing in London’s riverside boroughs. In the areas closest to the docks around 25% of jobs had been lost, and as the jobs disappeared, local residents began to leave. The local authorities were also faced with the problem of what to do with 5,100 acres of derelict riverside land.
Developing the Old Docks
From 1970 onwards, The Port of London Authority (PLA), Greater London Council (GLC) and local authorities tried to draw up strategies to regenerate the area. In 1976 the Docklands Joint Committee (formed of representatives of the local authorities and GLC) produced a Strategic Plan to develop the area but it was largely frustrated by political disagreement and lack of money.
In 1981 Margaret Thatcher’s recently elected Conservative Government established the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) to manage the redevelopment of 8.5 square miles, which included 1756 acres of former dock land and 417 acres of dock basins.
In 1982 much of the old docks area was designated an ‘Enterprise Zone’ - an area where planning restrictions were eased and where financial incentives were offered to potential developers. However, as house prices began to rise developers were tempted to build high cost housing which local people could not afford. Many were forced to leave the area in search of cheaper housing – and there was growing bitterness in the local community.
The LDDC’s task was to attract private investment to the area, especially the Isle of Dogs, by improving its image and transport connections. To achieve this the LDDC was given public funding, the power to acquire land and, most controversially, control over planning.
They recognised that people enjoy living and working by water so the filling-in of the old docks was immediately stopped, and ‘Docklands’ became a recognised brand and a desirable place to live.
Transport
Better transport was the key to the redevelopment of London’s docks. Potential tenants of the new office development at Canary Wharf wanted more efficient transport links to the City and other parts of London.
The first stage of redevelopment involved the building of the new Docklands Light Railway (DLR). The initial stretch, from Tower Gateway to the southern end of the Isle of Dogs, opened in 1987. In 1991, an extension of the DLR into the centre of the City was completed with financial help from Olympia & York, who were funding the Canary Wharf Development.
Later extensions to Stratford and Lewisham meant that people living in those areas might obtain work in the City or in the regenerated docklands area - or that those with jobs might have the benefit of cheaper housing in the suburbs.
Canary Wharf was joined to the London Underground network when the Jubilee Line was extended from London’s west end to Stratford in the east.
Once again Olympia and York provided a major contribution to the cost. When the developers of the Greenwich peninsula also offered to contribute, the line’s route was altered to include a station at North Greenwich.
The new transport links encouraged commercial tenants to move to Canary Wharf in the early 1990s, despite economic uncertainties.
The area has now been transformed completely from the dereliction of the 1970s to a glittering 21st century cityscape, with high-rise offices, shops, restaurants, health clubs and leisure facilities.
The rise and fall of the docks in the post war period is examined in the Museum's New Port, New City gallery.