Shortlisted developers: Carillion-igloo and Genesis Housing Association, Grainger, Lend Lease, L&Q, Mace and Argent, Places for People and Balfour Beatty.

Plans for accelerated delivery of new homes on Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park are a step closer as six developers have been shortlisted to go forward to the next stage of the bidding process. 

The Mayor of London and the London Legacy Development Corporation announced plans in July 2013 to accelerate the development with a view to completing in 2023, six years ahead of the original masterplan. 

The neighbourhoods of East Wick and Sweetwater will create up to 1,500 homes and will include private rented sector housing and much needed affordable homes. The inclusion of private rented sector provides a wider choice and tenure mix to the market, creating a vibrant new community on the west of the Park linking to existing communities in Hackney Wick and Fish Island. 

The standard and quality of the companies and consortia that came forward was extremely high. Following a rigorous pre-qualification process the shortlisted six will now go forward to the competitive dialogue stage. During this stage, the selected bidders are able to bring in additional national or international partners to further enhance their offers.

Over the next few months the Legacy Corporation will explore with the six bidders their outline development plans before selecting a shortlist of up to three bidders. The final three bidders will work up plans in more detail before submitting final tenders in the summer. A decision on the final development partner will be made in autumn 2014. 
  
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said:

“These neighbourhoods are about far more than bricks and mortar but about creating living, vibrant communities with a range of housing choices for Londoners, sitting at the heart of a dynamic new quarter of the capital. Having such a volume of interest from developers is a great step forward in this process.” 

Dennis Hone, Chief Executive of the London Legacy Development Corporation, said:
 
“We are delighted by the quality of the shortlisted developers in what was a highly competitive and rigorous selection process. It was a difficult decision to select just six. We are now focused on working with the developers on the next stage of the process. We want the new neighbourhoods at East Wick and Sweetwater to exemplify the best of London’s residential architecture with a range of family homes and apartments and we hope it can provide a model for speeding up delivery across London. 
 
“We are entering the most exciting stage in the transformation of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The south of the Park opens to the public on 5 April, work will start on the first new neighbourhood, Chobham Manor, in the summer, and our plans for a new educational and cultural quarter with the V&A and UCL are taking shape. We are creating a new part of the city and these neighbourhoods will be at its heart.”
 
This opportunity is the next phase of the Legacy Communities Scheme which, as a whole, will create up to 6,800 homes across five new neighbourhoods, and create 4,000 jobs. The call for developers for East Wick and Sweetwater followed the submission of the reserved matters planning application for the first phase of homes to be built at Chobham Manor. This is the first neighbourhood to be built on the Park and work starts in 2014.   
 
The new neighbourhoods will be situated near the new digital quarter at Here East, which is being transformed into a world-leading centre of innovation, post graduate education and enterprise creating the potential for over 5,300 jobs.  With so much local opportunity, and some of the best transport links in London, East Wick and Sweetwater residents will be part of a unique community. 

The creative communities of Hackney Wick and Fish Island are already seeing the benefits from the regeneration of east London – and there are plans for improved neighbourhood facilities created around a redeveloped Hackney Wick station, an enhanced public realm and with Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on its doorstep. These improvements, along with a dynamic and constantly evolving creative scene with its cafés, bars and gallery spaces, make the area a great place in which to live, work and socialise. 

East Wick

• Up to 870 new homes
• Located in the north-west of the Park next to Hackney Wick and Here East
• Townhouses, mews, studios and flats
• New primary school and two new nurseries
• Floor space will consist of up to: 
- 91,000sqm residential
- 5,300sqm employment
- 5,600sqm community
- 4,700sqm retail and leisure 

Sweetwater

• Up to 650 new homes

• Located in the south-west of the Park near Old Ford and the Copper Box Arena
• Studios, flats and family homes with private gardens
• New primary school and two new nurseries and a health centre
• Floor space will consist of up to: 
- 67,700sqm residential
- 1,000sqm employment
- 8,400sqm community
- 2,500sqm retail 
 
 
For more information visit QueenElizabethOlympicPark.co.uk, follow us on Twitter @noordinarypark and like us on Facebook facebook.com/QueenElizabethOlympicPark  
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For more information contact the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Media team on +44 (0) 20 3734 9010 or email press@queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk 
 
Notes to Editors

A CGI of the new neighbourhoods of East Wick and Sweetwater can be downloaded here.
 
London’s newest visitor destination, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will be a place unlike any other. The south of the Park will reopen from 5 April 2014. More than a million visitors have already enjoyed the Park since it started to open in July 2013. 

Visitors to the Park will be able to enjoy beautiful parklands and waterways, world-famous sporting venues, arts and events and spectacular views from the ArcelorMittal Orbit. As a new heart for east London, the Park will also provide new homes, jobs and a cultural and education quarter.

The London Legacy Development Corporation promotes and delivers physical, social, economic and environmental regeneration in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area, in particular by maximising the legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.