The London Assembly voted unanimously in favour of the creation of the MDC, which "sets a clear structure to deliver regeneration and places responsibility for it firmly in the hands of the Mayor", according to Assembly deputy chair, Dee Doocey.
“The Assembly has always believed that the most important benefit of hosting the 2012 Games is the opportunity to revitalise the East End of London," said Doocey. "The Assembly is determined to see that the MDC operates in an open and transparent fashion that enables local people within its boundaries to have a substantial input into the future of their neighbourhoods."
Plans will now be put before Parliament to formally establish the MDC. The MDC will come into existence from April 2012, and take over planning powers from the OLPC from October 2012.
The powers to create a mayoral development area stem from the Localism Act 2011 which provides that the Mayor of London may designate any area of land in Greater London as a mayoral development area. The London Assembly may reject such proposals by a two-thirds majority.
“The success of this MDC will be a blueprint for other MDCs being considered in London, though the challenge for other MDCs will be the relative lack of public sector investment," said planning law expert Richard Ford of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com "The legacy bequeathed by the Olympics is clearly a huge headstart for the Olympic Park MDC.”
