𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

East London’s Docklands looks very different today than it did only decades ago. Canary Wharf – which is named after the quay where fruit and veg from the Mediterranean and Canary Islands were once unloaded – is a jewel in the crown of the UK’s financial sector, and the surrounding area has seen much regeneration. The heyday of the capital’s maritime trading sector passed, and loading areas and warehouses lay empty in an industrial wasteland, which formed the backdrop to the BBC’s detective drama Ashes to Ashes. The London Docklands Corporation was set up in 1981 to transform the area into a major financial and residential hub. That it did.

One of Europe’s tallest buildings, One Canada Square, was the tallest building in the UK for more than 20 years after being opened in August 1991. One thing has been done very well, which Andy Burnham can learn from and apply to other parts of Britain, it has been suggested.

The improvement of districts oftentimes focuses just on the construction of buildings, but the spaces between them are just as important, The Financial Times emphasised today.

A healthy mix of jobs, good homes, culture and leisure activities should be applied to other towns and cities, the newspaper suggested, as this makes sure people want to live, work and visit. Canary Wharf now sees 80million visitors a year.

In 2022, 54million people dropped by.

The Financial Times added: “The UK needs the same approach: multiple growth engines across sectors and geographies with places that bring industries together by offering the right workspaces, access to talent and well-connected infrastructure.”

Mr Burnham is “seeking growth, productivity and renewal”, it said, and so “the message is clear: growth follows people, and people want to live and work in great places”.

“Britain often debates growth and quality of life as though they were competing objectives,” the outlet added. “They are not. People choose places for how they feel. The most successful locations are the ones that recognise that.”