UCL’s proposal for a new £1bn “univer- sity quarter” in Stratford was rubber stamped by Newham Council and the Mayor of Ne- wham, Sir Robin Wales, last Thursday despite objections from local residents. The 700 peo- ple who live on the Carpenters estate will be forced off if UCL’s plans go ahead. Not being allowed into the public viewing gallery, many Carpenters residents picketed the town hall as the decision was being made.
The 23 acre site in Stratford is approximate- ly the same size as UCL’s current Bloomsbury location and, if it goes ahead, represents a very significant expansion for UCL. The Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, has said that the new campus will not be a “an east London satellite” of the Bloomsbury campus, but a new “research led hub” in itself. Teaching facilities, research labs and accommodation for both UCL students and non-UCL resi- dents are included in the plans. Reaction to the decision was strong amongst Carpenters residents. One woman shouted repeatedly: “They’re grabbing our land!” Mary Finch, a retiree who lives on the estate, described the decision as “terrible”.
Joe Alexander, member of campaign group Carpenters Against Regeneration Plans, took a long-game perspective saying “the mayor was always intent on gentrifying the area - UCL are just the newest partners in this.” Tony Bird, independent advisor to the residents, advised UCL in a flurry of indignation: “you have to fuck off, or you are going to have a war on your hands”.
UCL academics have also criticised UCL’s plans in Strat- ford. Michael Edwards, a lecturer in the Bartlett School of Plan- ning, takes issue with the loss of social housing, severely lacking in London and especially Newham, that would follow the demolition of Carpenters’ estate. He tweeted “Of all the sites in London, why would UCL choose the one which displaces a community? #Carpen- ters” and went on to tweet that the loss of social housing represented a “great disaster.” UCL’s “Urban Laboratory” a cross-department think-tank on urban planning, last week released a statement which inferred UCL and Newham’s current path was unethical, saying that ethical regeneration is only possible if it is “community led”, recognising the project so far had not been community led.
Considering the cost of the development - £1bn project- ed - and taking into account the £500m going into the “Blooms- bury Masterplan”, UCL’s spending looks set to soar over the coming years. Despite predicted budget shortfalls in the future (see ‘The First Cut is the Deepest’ CG 28), not to mention the £1bn a year black hole in university funding created by the new fees regime, UCL seems to be steaming ahead with its grand scheme regardless of its potential unsustainably.
The redevelopment of Carpenters takes away from resi- dents with one hand whilst giving big perks to its leading architects with the other. The regeneration of the site not only fits in with the supposed “Olympic Legacy”, but also conveniently with that of both Sir Robin Wales and our soon to be departing Provost. The Stratford campus is sure to work wonders for Grant’s reputation as a public servant and if the pri- vatisation of the health service in his new role as chair of the NHS’s Commissioning Board doesn’t get him on the next honors list then doubling the size of the university certainly will.