Chobham Manor, the first neighbourhood on the Park including 850 homes, is set to receive its first residents by 2015. The Legacy Corporation will now speed up the creation of the East Wick and Sweetwater neighbourhoods to include 1600 homes completed and fully occupied by 2023 rather than 2029 as originally planned. Homes in the East Wick neighbourhood would be ready first with residents moving in from 2016.

In order to accelerate the delivery of these properties,  the Legacy Corporation will require development partners to provide many more homes for rent in the new neighbourhoods. With a substantial element of the scheme to be designated as homes for rent, homes can be made available more quickly as it takes away the risk of competing against homes for sale in the wider area.

East Wick will be in the north-west of the Park, next to Hackney Wick, framing the edge of the parklands with a primary school and community centre at its heart. The East Wick neighbourhood will provide townhouses, maisonettes, mews, studios and flats. Sweetwater will be in the south-west of the Park, near Old Ford and is set to create studios, flats and family homes with private gardens and communal green space alongside the Lea Navigation canal.

The Legacy Corporation will work with host boroughs to ensure that local services and facilities such as schools are in place to support the new neighbourhoods as families move in.

The Mayor made the announcement at a speech at London’s Guildhall (Wednesday 24 July) as he set out the on-going Olympic and Paralympic legacy benefits being delivered in the capital.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said:

“There’s a huge need for more homes in London and this pressure will only increase as the city grows. Because of the massive interest in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, we have found a way to accelerate the delivery of two neighbourhoods including 1600 homes without compromising quality. It’s a move that will help people get into the homes they want more quickly.”

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation said:

‘Building new homes for rent enables us to achieve this acceleration in housing delivery. We have been very encouraged by market interest in developing this housing at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and we hope it can provide a model for speeding up delivery across London.’