Sadiq Khan tears up a £1bn agreement with a Chinese firm due to a lack of progress with the scheme.
Only 10% of the derelict public land north of Royal Albert Dock has been built on so far
The first phase of the project in east London was not completed and building work ground to a halt in 2019. Critics have spoken of a "wasted decade".The developer has experienced financial difficulties, with the situation said to have been worsened by the impact of Covid-19. City Hall will leave what has been built so far in the hands of ABP, but the remaining five phases are to be entrusted to another developer.It's been a huge disappointment to local firms that hoped to benefit.
Last summer the mayor issued a final termination notice to ABP, calling for assurances that it had the finances to continue.In its latest accounts, ABP said it made a loss of £13m last year., saying the coronavirus pandemic had "adversely affected the market for sale and rental developments".Image caption,ABP has previously blamed Chinese restrictions on overseas investment and the impact of the pandemic, which deterred businesses from renting offices.
There have been newspaper accusations of favourable treatment for the company. At one stage it shared offices in Beijing with representatives of the mayor's overseas promotion agency, London & Partners. Eric Reynolds, from Docklands-based regeneration specialists Urban Space Management, said the development was poor and focused on "sterile" offices instead of a mixed community benefiting local people.
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