The area in and around the Olympic Park is a site of huge potential. It has a young, diverse community but is also home to significant areas that would benefit from redevelopment.

Much of the site itself is contaminated, derelict and abandoned. The waterways in the area have suffered from years of neglect: water quality is poor, river walls are in a bad condition and the landscape is scarred with rubbish strewn along the river channels.

The 2012 Games will help to revitalise this part of London and open the east of the capital to development opportunities. The new shopping area at Stratford City will be an important part of this growth.

The creation of one of the largest new urban parks in Europe in 150 years will bring new homes for Londoners, vastly improved transport links and world-class sports facilities available for the local community.

The development of the Olympic Park will deliver numerous benefits.

• Significant employment and business opportunities, with jobs being created in the construction and operation of the Olympic Park and development after the Games.
• Over 4,000 new homes will be built for the Olympic Village; these will be converted post-Games to form newly created neighbourhoods with new local schools, community and health facilities, as well as appropriate utilities, roads, and transport infrastructure. Significant amounts of additional housing will also be developed on and around the Games site as a result of the positive impact of this investment in social and physical infrastructure.
• The parklands will restore and enhance the recreational and ecological role of this important river valley. It will become part of London’s famed network of green spaces – connecting the 26km of the Lea Valley Regional Park in the north to the canal networks and river corridors that connect with the River Thames in the south.
• The Park will also host a mix of world-class sports venues and training facilities. It will also be a place for recreational cycling, walking, bird watching, fishing, wetland and outdoor classrooms.
• New roads, bridges, footpaths and cycleways will help bring together the communities around the Park.