The Evening Standard reports that East London’s population is projected to grow by 600,000 people over the next fifteen years, and plans are underway for London’s tallest residential tower to be built in the Docklands, where the local council has granted permission for a 67-storey tower to be built.
This demand is indicative of East London’s cultural offer. Londoners and migrants to London (whether from other parts of the UK or abroad) are actively seeking out the East London lifestyle. The trend can be traced back to the 1990s, when a new wave of fashion designers and retailers set up shop in the then down-at-heel neighbourhoods around Whitechapel.
Eschewing the expensive and somewhat staid traditional fashion hubs around Saville Row, Carnaby Street, Jermyn Street and other West London centres, punk and grunge retailers gathered around the more affordable neighbourhoods east of the City. The clubbers followed, as music venues also took advantage of the lower rental costs there.
But the centre of gravity really began to shift when large investments were made. Excel provided the anchor for major events, with a vibrant cluster of supporting businesses springing up around it. London City Airport increased its flight capacity considerably, and investments such as the Siemens Crystal building, the Emirates Air Line cable car and the entertainment stadium, The 02, just south of the river all helped to provide additional reasons to live, work and play in the east of the city.
Then the greatest show on earth came to East London in 2012. Olympics officials were determined to learn the lessons from previous Games which left underused facilities after the show had moved on. The London 2012 organisers embedded “legacy” as a core objective of the Games, and the Mayor funded the London Legacy Development Corporation generously, while the government gave the LLDC legislative powers to transform the Queen Elizabeth Park into a vibrant hub.
All this investment could have created a somewhat artificial neighbourhood feel, were it not for the fact that East London’s organic, ground-up hipster culture was already well-embedded. It was a case of investment following the cultural trends, rather than trying to manufacture them.
There is more that could be done to promote and grow this organic cultural hotspot, but it seems that the momentum is now virtually unstoppable. There is a curious historical parallel – in Tudor times more than 400 years ago, East London was the most fashionable part of the city, with fine houses lining the Thames river east of the city. With development and industrialisation, the east became the focus for manufacturing and shipping docks, while the greener West of London became the more sought-after area. It seems fashion has now gone full circle, to return East London to its position as the trendy, fashionable heart of the British capital once more.
