By Denise Marray/Gulf Times Correspondent/London


Qatari Diar-Delancey-owned East Village is usually described as part of the “legacy” of the 2012 London Olympics. Gulf Times paid a visit to London’s new neighbourhood to find out how the people living there view the place and see first-hand how the “vision” has translated into reality.
The first thing to say is that the random, on-the-spot interviews conducted with residents were all very upbeat. The words “peaceful”, “safe”, “green”, “good transport links” and “good value” came up repeatedly. Considering that these are tenants with no vested interest in talking up their homes or area, this was a good sign.
In fact, it’s very hard not to feel positive about East Village, which comprises 2,800 homes, including affordable homes for the less well-off. Half of the village is managed by Triathlon, a joint venture between the private and public sector, while the 1,400 homes for private rent are owned by Qatari Diar-Delancey.
At the entrance is a big sign saying “A Place Beyond Belief” and cheerful posters declaiming “Get Living London!”. Despite the fact that this estate is a “work in progress”, the general sentiment seems very optimistic.
Recent graduate Josie Prina, who works for Disney, shares a two-bedroom apartment with three friends. The flatmates split the £1,774  monthly rent between them.
“I think the standard of the flats inside is amazing for London because you always worry about what kind of places you are going to get here. I definitely feel it is value for money,” she said.
She appreciates the relative tranquility and convenience of the location.
“It’s quiet and peaceful and it takes me just 15 minutes to get to my job in Central London. My favourite thing is the parks and being around green – I am originally from the countryside, so I wanted a peaceful place. As a young girl I also appreciate feeling safe.”
Neil Young, CEO of Get Living London, the new residential owner and rental management company established by Qatari Diar and Delancey, gave an overview of the estate.
“At the moment, East Village is about 70 acres, just over 2,800 homes of which Qatari Diar-Delancey own just over 1,400. They are actively being rented at the moment; we are about 60% occupied and they are proving very popular. We have detailed planning for about another 2,000 homes and they will start to be constructed later this year.
“This is a bit of a one-off, not just because of the history, but because of what is being offered here. Normally, when you look at other areas, you might be looking at one or two buildings, which might have a few hundred homes – here we have almost 3,000 homes at the moment. It is very different to what is being offered elsewhere.”
He explained that the first tenants moved into their homes in December 2013. “We are very happy with how it is progressing and are slightly ahead of where we expected to be at this stage,” he said.
Over 80 nationalities live in East Village, including people from the Gulf. It’s proving attractive to workers from nearby Canary Wharf and the City of London. The view from some of the apartments takes in a whole sweep of the city, including The Shard, St Paul’s and Alexandra Palace.
Young explained, “When we first looked at this and who should be our target market, we realised it had a very wide appeal. It’s had a good uptake from families to young renters and couples – all across the spectrum. It’s a good legacy in terms of the fact that a lot of people from East London are renting here alongside people from across London and also from outside London and the UK. We have a real cosmopolitan mix, which is representative of London residents.”
He ran through some of the main attractions: “Transportation is excellent in terms of both getting into and out of London, and you have the whole legacy from the Olympics – the nearby Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home to sporting venues, 35km of paths and nature trails and 25 acres of green space, and Westfield, Europe’s biggest urban shopping centre. Also, we have about 30 retailers coming this year; predominantly small, independent retailers from across London but with a leaning towards East London.”
There is a feeling of a community being built; important elements are the school, Chobham Academy, catering for 1,800 students from age three to 18, and the Sir Ludwig Guttmann Health and Wellbeing Centre, offering GP and dentist services. A nice touch is the Little Free Library boxes situated in the parks and gardens where residents place books they have read for others to share.
The show flat shown to Gulf Times was a three-bedroom apartment renting for £670 per week. The feel was spacious and airy with good storage space and hyperoptic broadband direct to the home. The view from the balcony was stunning with panoramic views across the city.
We bumped into Davida Phillips, pushing her young child in a buggy. She gave us her opinion of East Village.
“We have one child and another on the way and we wanted a place that was easy to live where we didn’t have to travel miles just to get to a bit of open space. We are very happy. We have lived here since May. The other nice thing is that we have met lots of people, and people seem to want to meet each other.
“We have lived in about six different areas now and this has been the best overall – it matches all of our criteria.”
Resident Chi-hee Lenz added, “There is so much space here, which is very good for us as a family.”