Sadiq Khan’s budget lays out path for East Bank development
City Hall yesterday confirmed its plans to spend £437.5m over the next five years to fund a new culture and education hub across the Stratford waterfront.
The £1.1bn East Bank development will be the home of a new Sadler’s Wells theatre, BBC music studios, a new Victoria and Albert Museum museum and campuses for University College London and University of the Arts London College of Fashion.
Plans for the site, being managed by Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, also include the construction of 600 new homes.
Khan’s budget, approved yesterday by the London Assembly, outlines plans to spend £195.3m on the project in 2020-21, £142.5m in 2021-22, £13.5m in 2022-23 and £2.5m in 2023-24.
That’s in addition to the £83.7m spent on the opening stages of the project in the last financial year, which broke ground last summer.
A spokesperson for the London Legacy Development Corporation said the project would attract 1.5 million visitors, creating 2,500 jobs and economic benefits of £1.5 billion when construction is finished.
“East Bank is a new centre for innovation, creativity and learning,” they said.
“It is a unique collaboration between world-leading universities, arts and culture institutions that will open up opportunities for everyone who visits, lives and works in east London.”