APPENDIX 30
Memorandum submitted by the Greenwich
Waterfront Development Partnership
INTRODUCTION
1. The Greenwich Waterfront Development Partnership
(GWDP) is the tripartite body spearheading regeneration of the
entire Greenwich Waterfront area, including the Greenwich Peninsula
site of the Millennium Experience. It brings together Greenwich
Councillors, elected representatives of the local community, and
elected representatives of local business. It includes an active
Community Forum, of well over a hundred varied community and voluntary
groups, and a broadly representative Business Forum, including
380 large, medium and small businesses from all sectors within
the area. The Partnership also includes active local area management
agencies, for East Greenwich, Greenwich Town Centre, and Woolwich
Town Centre. These too comprise Council, community and business
representatives and other relevant agencies. The GWDP, together
with communities in South Greenwich and Greenwich Council is part
of an emerging Borough wide Partnership for Greenwich.
2. This memorandum to the Committee represents
the views of the Partnership. It pays particular attention to
the views of the local residential and business communities, the
Committee also having the benefit of separate written evidence
of Greenwich Council. It will be evident to the Committee that
there is a degree of consensus amongst the partners, although
sometimes with differences in emphasis.
3. The Select Committee will be aware of
earlier written and oral evidence submitted by the GWDP in January
1999. Since then the GWDP, together with partners in South Greenwich,
have been discussing the Dome legacy as part of English Partnership's
Dome legacy competition process and the issues herein reflect
key points made as part of these discussions.
THE DOME
IN 2000
Transport to the Millennium Dome
4. Transport improvements associated with the
Dome are very much welcomed as an integral part of the regeneration
of Greenwich. In particular, the extensions to the Jubilee Line
and Docklands Light Railway and the new rapid Millennium Transit
system between the Dome and Greenwich Town Centre and Charlton
provide essential physical and economic linkages within the Borough,
across the River, with Central London and beyond. London's West
End is now 12 minutes away by Jubilee Line, by DLR the Docklands
are five minutes and the City 15 minutes. Generally, the transport
arrangements put in place for the Dome seem to have worked well
and so far there has been no appreciable rise in the volume of
traffic on approach roads to the Dome. However, continued monitoring
of and diligence to transport arrangements is paramount throughout
the year.
5. Inevitably, the timescales, complexity
and scale of a major project like the Dome and its associated
infrastructure improvements create a degree of uncertainty and
concerns. Partners within the GWDP have been, and will continue
to be, committed to working in partnership to address these, including
the two particular areas of attention, the Controlled Parking
Zone (CPZ) and bus priority measures. Generally welcomed by residents
and accepted as a necessary traffic restraint measure, the CPZ
is an area of concern for sections of the business community,
particularly local traders. There are concerns also about its
effect on voluntary and community groups' abilities to go about
their business. As a way forward, business and community partners
are working with the Council to fine tune CPZ regulations—particularly
regarding loading and unloading restrictions and the Partnership
will assist in seeking to address business anxieties. Bus priority
measures, indirectly a Dome transportation issue, are a further
area of attention, particularly around road safety measures in
and around Greenwich Town Centre and East Greenwich and the clarity
of the measures for road users. Again, partners are encouraged
by an ongoing review.
6. The Millennium Transit is a significant
economic and social benefit of the Dome and a major aspect of
the Dome's legacy. There is concern about the limited use of the
service, in particular that this might undermine continued operator
support and hence the likelihood of it being retained as a part
of the Dome legacy. Interim stops between the Dome and Greenwich
have been implemented and are welcomed, but consideration might
be afforded to further measures to improve the nature and awareness
of the service. Also, the role of bus services in alleviating
any disruption caused by temporary failure of Jubilee Line services
has not yet been demonstrated in practice; partners believe this
would present bus services as a vital link in any relief strategy.
7. On a general note, the Partnership applauds
the delivery on time of the Dome related transport infrastructure,
and recognise this as a major achievement in itself and central
to securing the car free Millennium that the GWDP has consistently
supported.
LEGACIES BEYOND
2000
Progress of the competition to determine the future
use of the Dome and its surroundings
8. The GWDP fully welcomes the effect that the
Millennium Dome has had on boosting Greenwich's regeneration and
local economy. It has been key to the transformation of one of
the largest tracts of derelict land in Europe. The process now
to find a world class and long term sustainable successor use
is an unprecedented opportunity, one which can bring benefits
to the locality and the whole of the Borough. Partners of the
Greenwich Waterfront Development Partnership, together with partners
in South Greenwich, have been pleased to be involved in the Dome
legacy competition process and will welcome continuation of the
commitment to consultation.
9. The GWDP is keen to promote that, as
part of the Dome legacy process, concerted effort be applied to
ensuring that benefits accrue to local people. The threat that
investment in the area might exclude local communities and businesses
needs to be recognised, openly debated and addressed. The Partnership
recognises its role in providing mechanisms for this debate and
in ensuring that benefits are optimised locally. In a similar
vein, community and business partners will be looking for a winning
developer who is committed to involving local people and local
business and who sees local interest, input, skills and enthusiasm
as a necessary part in building a sustainable scheme. Once a winning
bidder is chosen partners would welcome a transparent and inclusive
planning and development process.
10. Several sectors of the Partnership see
the success of the Millennium Experience as linked to the legacy
and are concerned to see a positive and targeted offensive in
support of the success of the Dome during the Millennium Experience.
It seems self evident that the marketing, both nationally and
internationally of a theme branded attraction involves a gradual
take up and increase in respect of visitor numbers. The business
community particularly resist any apparent virtues of premature
closure; viewing such an outcome as damaging the chances of success
of any legacy development, specifically any visitor based development
and possibly damaging the branding of historic and commercial
Greenwich. By contrast, an effective debate with a hitherto critical
press and obvious attention to Dome Millennium Experience operational
matters might be the most effective remedy for current negative
publicity.
11. Partners have highlighted a number of
key issues which in some instances point to obvious preferences
between the schemes short listed for the final phase of the Dome
legacy competition:
Design
12. The GWDP advocates excellence of design.
We believe that a real opportunity exists to promote the best
of design and that the principles of the urban Task Force should
be embraced, making this part of London a beacon of good practice.
The Partnership are looking for clear demonstration of how these
design principles are integral to their vision both in terms of
physical design, nurturing healthy and vibrant community and integration
of the Dome into the surrounding areas and as part of Greenwich's
public realm.
Accessibility and integration
13. Public accessibility is a key concern
for partners. Business and community want to see the Dome and
environs returned to the public arena, opening up what will essentially
be a covered part of the city. Business and community partners
would be concerned about any after use that retains the Dome as
a walled and gated space to which access is exclusively given
against payment. In respect of the Riverside walk the agreement
to closure was given on a one year basis and there is clear expectation
that this return to public use.
14. The Dome will need to be integrated
with the surrounding context at an economic and social level.
Planning for the Dome clearly needs to be integrated with planning
for the Peninsula, East Greenwich—including the Greenwich
District Hospital redevelopment, the Borough as a whole and the
wider Thames Gateway, including serious consideration of shifts
in the centre of gravity of Greenwich towards the north and west
of the Borough. A partnership and multi-agency approach to planning
has been an integral part of the Waterfront regeneration process
and partners would commend such an approach for the future.
Transport
15. Transport issues are a major factor
of the Dome's legacy. Transport improvements can bring tremendous
regeneration benefits to the area and are a major part of management
solutions to address increases in visitor numbers and activity
in the area. The GWDP has consistently supported the concept of
a car free Millennium and has been keen to promote environmental
good practice and innovation in transport measures associated
with the Dome. The GWDP would encourage such principles to be
carried forward as part of planning for the future use of the
Dome and are particularly keen that Dome related transport improvements
such as the river services and Millennium Transit are the basis
of long term and permanent public transport improvements in Greenwich.
Partners would hope to see developers establishing close links
with transport providers with the aim of maintaining and developing
sustainable transport links to and from the Peninsula.
Economic and Community regeneration
16. Already the Dome has been a real economic
driver for the regeneration of the area; the challenge now is
to capture and optimise the benefits of the Dome for the long
term sustainability of the area. The GWDP believe that the legacy
process presents a unique opportunity to physically open the Dome
to the surrounding (local, Greenwich and Thames Gateway) community,
and can promote high quality training, jobs and business opportunities,
and social, leisure and cultural benefits. Local benefits that
can emerge from the development of the Dome and that the GWDP
would commend to the Committee include:
— a charter for jobs, skills, investment
and local businesses;
— jobs and training for local people,
with such benefits made accessible by investment in good transport
links, both east-west and north-south;
— encouragement given to local employment
in the construction phase; and
— schemes that are open and participative
and not solely venues for specialist or elitist functions.
17. Partners in Greenwich also recognise
scope for a project of this scale to be part of a broader regeneration
agenda that embraces issues such as health and community safety,
culture and leisure.
18. In respect of local contracting opportunities:
— future companies should be encouraged
to sub-divide or package large contracts to broaden benefits to
local companies, along the lines operated by Canary Wharf—a
model of good practice in this instance;
— future promoters should have a clear
work schedule, which is well publicised, giving businesses the
greatest opportunity to prepare their business for tendering;
and
— it would be helpful if performance
standards and associated developer expectations were expressed
as early as possible during the development planning phase, again
to ensure businesses have the best opportunity to prepare.
19. As for the activity within the Dome
itself, clearly a certain critical mass of activity will be necessary
for economic success. Long-term viability of the after use is
a key factor. Partners see particular opportunity for an emphasis
on cultural and creative industries in the Dome, building on Greenwich's
growing success in this area. At the heart of the East Thames
Gateway area, the Dome and the Peninsula could be a catalyst for
developing a network of knowledge based businesses using the new
technologies of Internet, communications and e-commerce, along
the Canary Wharf/North Greenwich/Stratford axis. Support from
the Universities, including Greenwich University and such as the
University of East London's Knowledge Dock, can help deliver a
fruitful collaboration between business, the Small Business Service
and Local Learning and Skills Council.
20. Finally, the GWDP would draw the Committee's
attention to our belief that diversity is a hallmark and strength
of Greenwich. The winning idea should embrace and build upon this,
recognising the diverse colour, vitality and aspirations of Greenwich's
many communities.
The economic and community impact of the Dome
21. The development of the Dome and adjoining
land has been part of a Waterfront Strategy to capture and optimise
social and economic benefits through the development of flagship
sites. At a Waterfront wide level the impact of regeneration has
been enormous, transforming an area characterised by dereliction
and decay, creating 12,000 new jobs, renewing manufacturing capacity,
securing over £10 million worth of contracts to local companies,
building 6,000 new homes and improving 5,000 homes, providing
two new key transport links (Jubilee Line and DLR) with three
new stations, 100 acres of parkland and 8 miles of riverside walk.
Partners clearly view the Dome as being one of the most significant
aspects of the Waterfront wide regeneration programme; having
major direct impact on the above achievements and as acting as
a catalyst for the huge amounts of public and private investment
in the area and for the development of surrounding land.
22. Partners look forward to formal findings
of specific studies into the impact of the Dome, including that
of the independent economic impact study commissioned by the Council,
English Partnerships and NMEC. Such studies will be a useful basis
for discussion at Partnership level and for securing benefits
from the Dome—this year and as part of the wider legacy.
In the interim there are a number of useful and constructive perceptions
and experiences within business and resident communities focusing
in particular on transport and residential amenity and local business
opportunities. The Committee's attention is also drawn to the
issues set out above and highlighted as part of the legacy competition
process; these are rooted in business and community partners'
perceptions and experiences of the Dome and its economic and community
impact. These perceptions and experiences of course need to be
set within the context of partners' appreciation of the benefits
of Waterfront wide regeneration, of which the Dome is a key part,
and partners' recognition of the scale and complexity of the project
and unique timescales within which the Dome and its infrastructure
were completed.
23. The potential negative impact of an
influx of large numbers of visitors, in particular road congestion
and effect on residential amenity, does not appear to have been
realised. Traffic congestion and impact on residential amenity
has so far been generally minimal. As set out above, the effects
of parking and traffic control matters have been of some concern
to some partners, particularly to some sections of the business
community, and partners are working together to address these.
24. Clearly the economic impact of the Dome
is huge and is one of the most significant aspects of the Dome.
The outcomes of full research into jobs, training and local business
opportunities is awaited but indications of preliminary findings
and outputs from Greenwich Local Labour and Business (GLLaB),
are to be commended. GLLaB has clearly proved to be a sophisticated
and highly successful local labour and business opportunity scheme,
channelling huge benefits to local companies. However, there are
some perceptions specific to the Dome which point towards lessons
for the future. There is some sense that opportunities for local
contracts might have been further maximised. Some local businesses
perceive expectations of winning contracts at the Dome to have
been raised unrealistically given that the majority of contracts
were too large for the many specialist small local companies.
This experience has created in some sectors a negative perception
and dampened business enthusiasm of how they might benefit from
any future use of the Dome. Clearly efforts need to be focused
on facilitating local access to contracts and particular consideration
might be afforded to how larger contracts can be broken down so
as to be accessible to local companies (see para. 18 above). There
might also be a focus on ensuring prompt payments to businesses;
delays in payment terms have obvious implications for cash flow.
25. Finally there is a sense that historic
maritime Greenwich and the Millennium Experience, are, in effect,
competing one day visits rather than complementary. Related to
this there is a perception within some sectors that the expected
spin off benefits from the Dome to local retailers have not materialised
and indeed, whilst some local retailers have prospered others
express concern about a reduced turn-over in recent months. Clearly
this is an area for further research and discussion within the
partnership but particular consideration might be afforded to
how two major cultural attractions can be developed into "city
break" tourism.
Lessons of the project for the management of major
events and similar projects within the public sector.
26. The general transparency of the process
so far, commitment to local partnerships and business and community
involvement are to be applauded. It illustrates the importance
and validity of partnership working throughout the project process,
in particular the early involvement of partners. Similarly the
understanding and focus on the significance in regeneration terms
of such a project at both a local and strategic level has been
welcomed. The initial perceptions of local businesses around failures
to fully maximise local business opportunities is one lesson that
might be highlighted. However, findings of studies into the Dome's
impact need to feedback to partners as early as possible so as
to generate more detailed discussion amongst community and business
partners, clear lessons for the future and appropriate actions
by partners, both separately and at a partnership level.
27. The GWDP has welcomed the constructive
and critical interest shown by the Select Committee and shares
the aspirations of the Select Committee for the project to secure
a fitting and long term legacy and contribution to the sustainable
regeneration of the area.
June 2000
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