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London Docklands Case Study

London Docklands is an example of how urban change has created employment opportunities. This is one of a collection of four case studies covering social, economic and environmental opportunities resulting from urban change in London .

Case Study – Docklands, London

Why did the docks in london decline.

London’s history as a port city dates back to Roman times. Later, the construction of docks facilitated the handling of the large quantities of goods and raw materials that arrived in London by ship. Industries such as sugar refineries, flour mills, and timber yards developed near the docks to process these materials. However, with the advent of container ships in the 1970s, the docks gradually became inadequate, leading to their closure by 1980, along with many of the industries that relied on them.

Docklands in 1965 – Source: https://islandhistory.wordpress.com/2020/09/15/the-view-from-above-in-1965/

Why have new industries grown?

To address this situation, the government established the London Docklands Development Corporation (LDDC) in 1981 to revitalise the area around the docks by attracting private investment. This initiative became a model for similar regeneration projects throughout the UK. One of the key features of the revitalised Docklands area is Canary Wharf, which now boasts high-rise office buildings housing international banks. With over 100,000 people employed there, and in conjunction with the City of London, Docklands has helped make London a major global financial centre.

Canary Warf in London’s Docklands

What employment opportunities does London offer?

Since 1994, London has experienced almost continuous job growth, with the number of jobs rising despite the recession that followed in 2007. Most new jobs have been in the service sector, particularly in “Professional, real estate and business services,” which encompasses various professions such as management consulting, law and accounting, real estate agents, advertising, and market research. Conversely, there has been a decline in manufacturing jobs, with few factories remaining in London.

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Inner city regeneration - Case study: London Docklands

• Electronics

6.3.2 Traffic management - Case study: London

6.4.1 development of squatter settlements, reasons for decline.

• It was bombed heavily during the Second World War and when rebuilt, it was not modernised
• The UK experienced a decline in physical trade
• Containerisation, the development of cargo transport, meant that the river at the Docklands was unable to accommodate the larger ships and trade moved to areas further downstream
• This all caused a negative multiplier effect

Redevelopment

• A new CBD was established by building new shopping centres & offices in the area
• 22 thousand new homes were built and many old buildings were gentrified
• £100 million spent on health, education, job training and so on
• 2700 businesses began trading in the area
• £7.7 billion was invested into the private sector
• The City airport was build in the area
• The Docklands Light Railway was open in 1987
• New major roads were built that linked to the A1
• A network of pedestrian & cycle routes was built
• 150 hectares of open spaces were created
• 200 trees were planted and 17 conservation areas were built
• Unemployment fell from 14% to 7.4%

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London Docklands Regeneration

Description.

• london dockland
• changing places
• human geography

Resource summary

• The governments response to the severe economic, physical and social damage caused by the closing of the docks
• Bringing land and buildings into effective use
• Encouraging development of industry and commerce
• To encourage people to live and work in the area
• Land aquisition
• Power to give planning permission
• Power to renew infrastructure
• Channel for central government resources
• Funded by a central government grant and the sales of land
• Chose not to fill in the docks
• Selling the area
• Building the Dockland Light Railway (DLR)
• Starting an infrastructure programme
• Establishing a private housing market
• Clinching Canary Wharf
• Tense relationship with Boroughs
• Increased spending on social housing, health, education and training
• Increased community staff
• Increased support for community organisations
• Improved relationship with Boroughs
• Continued spending on infrastructure programme
• Property market falls into recession- less private investment
• Substantial community programme (8000 homes refurbed)
• Property market recovers
• Schemes for the Royals (place) launched
• Progressive withdrawal from 1994
• £1.86 billion invested by the public sector
• £7.7 billion invested by the private sector
• 144km of new and improved roads
• 25 million sq feet of commercial/industrial floorspace built
• 1884 acres of derelict land reclaimed
• 24,000 houses built
• 2,700 businesses trading
• Contributions to 5 new health centres
• Funding towards 16 schools of various ages
• 85,000 now work there
• More different ways to pay for housing
• Substantial benefits for local communities and residents
• Created an additional 23,000 jobs
• Extending the London Underground- the Jubiliee Line
• Developing the Docklands Light Railway
• New road links
• London City Airport provides easy access to the city from European cities
• Clearance of slums and bomb damaged areas after WW2
• People moved out of London to take advantage of cheaper house prices, but still commute to London for work
• Became detached from the rest of London due to no transport network
• In the 1980s goods produced by UK industries were more expensive than overseas making British products expensive
• Rotterdam took over as Europe's largest port
• Government encouraged a post-industrial economy - under Margaret Thatcher
• Ships increased in size so other docks with larger water were better
• Container ships and computerisation replaced the need for people to load/unload ships by hand
• Economic decline caused population decline as people left to find work elsewhere
• 12,000 jobs lost between 1978 and 1983
• More high skilled jobs with higher income
• Improving trade links
• 3 CBDs attracting investment and tourism
• More money in the area
• Longer working hours give higher wages
• Same amount of jobs lost were regained when new businesses moved in
• Improved transport links making it easier for people to get around
• Dramatically improved infrastructure in the environment
• Increasing the environmental quality
• Surrounding areas haven't been helped economically (no spillovers)
• Gentrification pushed locals out of the area
• House prices too high for average income earners to afford
• Life expectancy drop by 9 years due to poor air quality
• Drove a social wedge between Londoners due to inequalities in the distribution of income and wealth
• Jobs are too high skilled so locals struggled to find new jobs
• No open spaces for people to enjoy
• Poor air quality due to construction
• Surrounding towns like 'Canning Town' were left derelict

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London Docklands Case Study.

Parijat Kumar Page  of

London Docklands Case Study

The industrial revolution was in conduction when the London docklands was at its first highpoint, so trade had increased and therefore more space for ships were needed. As the space was running out, new ports were needed, so the Royal Docks were built further downstream to the first ports. Thousands of people worked in the docks by now. But this work was often dangerous and very badly paid. In the 1960’s, workers complained because of this and demanded more pay, so the docklands became more expensive to run. So instead of the workers, containers, which were more efficient and cheap, were invented so workers were laid off. But still the rivers were not big enough to accommodate these ships who took the containers, so problems began again, and because of this, in the 1970’s Docklands were closed. These were the reasons of decline. There was a sharp loss of workers in the Docklands, there was not enough space for many ships, many ports had to move to other parts of London, and also The Docklands closed because of this. This led to decline as businesses set up elsewhere; most of docklands became derelict land. The land was not used for a purpose anymore.

Also the houses that were built there, were built quickly and the areas were set up very rapidly too, this meant that environmental quality and house quality was very bad and people did not want to live there any more. People started to go and live somewhere else in London and other areas.  

These declines were mainly caused by problems in the area and with the structure of the whole area.

Problems included mainly the factors of money, land, space and work force.  

One of the main problems was space. The Dockland’s were not designed to support huge ships, by their thousands at one time. They were also not deep enough to allow for the new bigger ships, which reached down a great amount. Container ships could not be sufficed, so other ports started to open, namely Tilbury and Antwerp, which could support the new bigger ships. As well as not having enough space now, the Dockland’s were in constant battle with other ports to get business and investors. Soon they could not handle it, with the growing expense of running the whole port, so they closed. The amount of space and the size of the ports were a big problem.

Another problem was the fact that there were so many job losses, because of these new containers and in the end; they could not fit inside anyway. Also workers who lived there were very limited with their skills and could not handle the new technology.

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Because of the closing down of the docks now, the areas became run down. This was problem, as no-one would want to live there let alone set up a business there, 40% of land was derelict now. There was a lot of derelict land now with a lot of street thugs and crime and graffiti.

Another Problem was that the land was owned by a council who did not have the will to redevelop the land. The derelict land in some places was very run-down, and so it would be very expensive to clear and redevelop. If redevelopment did not happen, investors and entrepreneurs would not even consider entering the area.

There was also a problem with routes to other areas of London. The roads did not clearly link to London main areas. This meant that it would be expensive to trade and communicate with other parts of London. There were no airports for transport to other countries or other places in England. Neither were there proper fast and hard wearing trains or train stations. The main transport was by ships, and this was very slow, not to mention the docks were also packed.

This also meant that the docklands could in no way keep up with the latest technology, which is so valuable when you want to lure investors your way.

Housing in the area was also a problem. There were terraced housing in most places of the London Docklands. This meant there was not much lure for normal families to come there and also the workers would not have liked it. The houses were built fairly fast in the past, so they were not very hard wearing at all. These needed to be replaced.

Even when the Docklands were a good market place, their image was of a run-down town. What the whole area needed was a nicer image as an attractive place to come and work and live with your family. Entertainment and activity centres were needed to put this image on to appeal to the families of workers to come there to live and also work, and educate their young.

So the government decided to form a cooperation, which would invest in the redevelopment of the docklands, the investment was roughly £2 billion.

Transport was the main investment, where nearly half of the money went. The Docklands Light Railway was improved and extended to go into other parts of London. It was also made more reliable so that it could carry more passengers. Five new stations were also developed. 72 miles of new roads were also built in the Docklands leading into other parts of the London, and some roads were improved. The new train system also is extended to go to the London City airport, so there is access between countries.

The Government also invested 159 million pounds into utilities in the Docklands. These included drainage and electrical supply for houses and other buildings. There was not much of this before, so this is a sufficient.

The Government also refurbished the Docks to better quality opening them up to the public - 3.7 miles (6 km) of waterfront accessible in 1981, 31 miles (50 km) in 1998 – with lots of bridges. Water sports facilities have been or are being provided in every dock. An ecology park was created at Bow Creek and a wildfowl sanctuary at East India Dock Basin. To ignite the need of a more attractive environment, 160,000 trees have been planted in various places. 483 acres of Enterprise zone were build near the isle of Dogs. This helped the business development. Canary Wharf now holds the title of C.B.D. This was mainly because the land here is cheap and easy to relocate many businesses to. When built properly, the whole place will hold space for 70,000 new workers.

The Thames barrier was also built in the Docklands to stop the flooding. This controls the height of the river with gates that can change size and open or close.

Housing in the area was also helped. Stock of Dwelling in 1981 was 15,000. In 1998, the area had a record to 38,000. Of these some 17,700 were for owner occupation, 5,300 for housing associations and nearly 1,000 for local authorities. The proportion of home ownership has leapt from 5% to 45%.

7% of the budget was spent on community infrastructure and activities, which help the environmental quality, get better. Tower Hamlets college was built, Bacons college was built, 12 new primary schools were built, 17 schools were extended, IT equipment was given, 5.2 million was given to the Royal Docks community school, The Butler’s Wharf Chef School was built and 5 new health centers, 6 refurbished health centers, social care facilities and 3 children day care centers were built. Other activity centres included East Beckton District Centre, Surrey Docks Watersports Centre, and many more were built.

There has also been building of more private investments, which include hotels, restaurants, shops, factories, print works, offices and leisure facilities. Five hotels and a youth hostel have been built.  

In 1981 the population was 39,400, in 1998 83,000. In 2001, it was 98,500.

It took many years, starting off in 1981 and finishing in 1999. Many projects have taken place. Now I am going to review them to see if the overall project was successful.

The Docklands started as a rundown piece of land, which became overcrowded with ships on its ports. As competition started with bigger ports, these ships went to those ports, taking the investors with them, and therefore leaving behind them, a big piece of derelict land. The whole place was not just a rundown area and so people started to move away to other parts of London, where there were better aspects of Health, Activities, Homes, Transport and Jobs. Jobs were the main aspect, many people moved because there were not many jobs in the area. Businesses moved, and not many people were left. Counter-Urbanization was taking place.

Then when the redevelopment started, the land was converted back from being a run-down town, to a good clean town which was rather attractive. It also became a multi functional place, where it attracted new industry such as newspapers, and banks. New housing was built to replace the old terraced housing. The new housing is now bigger, and a lot more attractive to new families thinking of working and living in the area. Even if they did not want to and wanted to be a commuter, the people could come through new improved transport. The new train goes to many new places now. There are also links to the airport through the train station now. And also there are plans of building the Docklands own Airport. To make the whole area seem a little more attractive and better to the wildlife, parks were put in place, with many new trees planted.        

 Since 1981, the number of employers has more than doubled from 1021 to 2690. Employment has grown to 85,000 from 27,200 in 1981. So the employment rate has doubled and more because of this.

In 1981 there were 3,533 unemployed residents out of 19,788. In December 1997 there were 2,883 unemployed residents out of 40,077. The respective unemployment rates were 17.8% in 1981 and 7.2% in December 1997.

With the growth in employment has come a doubling in the population. In 1981 the population was 39,400, in 1998 83,000.

From this evidence I can conclude that the whole project was very successful in spite of the winners and losers. The once rundown area of London Docklands was converted into a successful area which satisfied most family and tourist needs. The population increased, also with the employment rate, and the unemployment rate decreased considerably.

Document Details

• Word Count 1795
• Page Count 5
• Level AS and A Level
• Subject Geography

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