About us
London Legacy Development Corporation and Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is a functional body of the Greater London Authority (GLA). Established in April 2012 as the first ever Mayoral Development Corporation, under the Localism Act 2011, LLDC was created to use the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to develop Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a dynamic new heart for east London, creating opportunities for local people and driving innovation, and growth that is inclusive.
LLDC is directly accountable to east Londoners through the Mayor of London, whose significant investment has been instrumental in shaping the Park into the vibrant destination it is today. It is part of a rich place-based partnership, which includes the four neighbouring Growth Boroughs (London Boroughs of Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest), local residents, and the businesses, cultural, education, sporting and leisure organisations that have made – and are making – Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park their home.
LLDC operates within the overall legislative and governance framework provided by the GLA Act 1999 and 2007 and the Localism Act 2011. The Mayor of London appoints members to its Board and provides some of LLDC’s funding.
Mission and success to date
LLDC’s mission is to use the opportunity of the London 2012 Games and the creation of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to change the lives of people in east London and drive growth and investment in London and the UK, by developing an inspiring and innovative place where people want – and can afford – to live, work and visit.
LLDC works closely with the four Growth Boroughs and residents in neighbouring local communities, local organisations, businesses and regeneration agencies and national and international sporting, cultural and leisure organisations to deliver its strategic goals in a collaborative and integrated way.
LLDC plays a key role in the Park’s place-based partnership and in coordinating collaborative efforts to use the Park as a catalyst for driving transformational change across the east London sub-region. It works alongside the GLA and national government to ensure the Park plays its part in delivering regional and national growth.
Since its establishment, LLDC has overseen the physical transformation of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a major visitor destination for local, regional, national and international visitors. All the permanent venues from the Games are in successful operation, generating jobs and skills for local people, delivering over one hundred major sporting and cultural events, and attracting millions of visits per year. The Park is also home to a growing collection of business developments, with major tenants taking space at Stratford Cross, and a thriving business and innovation centre at Here East and into Hackney Wick and Fish Island.
Delivery of strategic plans for new homes, public space and social infrastructure is well underway, with more than 11,500 homes delivered across the Park and surrounding areas, towards a target of 33,000 homes. LLDC is leading on delivery of neighbourhoods on its own land, bringing affordable, mixed tenure and family homes, commercial space and social infrastructure.
LLDC has led the delivery of East Bank, a unique collaboration of world-renowned institutions at the heart of the Park. East Bank brings together the BBC Music Studios, UAL’s London College of Fashion, Sadler’s Wells East, UCL East, and V&A East (including V&A East Museum and V&A East Storehouse at Here East). More than just iconic buildings, it is a connected campus for culture, research, education, and public engagement. By its very design, accessible to all and rooted in east London communities.
With both universities, the V&A Storehouse and Sadler’s Wells East now open, BBC Music Studios nearing completion and V&A East due to open in 2026, East Bank represents a generational investment in London’s cultural, educational and innovation infrastructure, and is anticipated to drive a £1.5bn return to the UK economy.
Through its socio-economic programmes, LLDC continues to support significant and sustained job creation in and around Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, working closely with the four Growth Boroughs. To date, over 25,000 new jobs have been delivered towards a target of 40,000 by 2036. LLDC continues to ensure that local people and priority groups are supported to access these opportunities, as well as the wider benefits of East Bank, through targeted engagement and the creation of diverse employment pathways for the talented people in the surrounding areas of the Park and beyond.
Innovation has always had a home in east London – a part of the city that has long been a testing ground for new ideas. From the first plastics produced at Hackney Wick to the pioneering social innovation of the Matchgirls in Bow, east London has been a place where industry met ingenuity and communities adapted and built futures together. That same spirit lives on today in the Park’s transformation into one of London’s official Innovation Districts, recognised in the London Growth Plan as a strategic engine for inclusive, sustainable growth.
The Innovation District is Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, and the Park is the Innovation District. Together, they form a dynamic, interconnected hub – uniquely supported by Stratford’s outstanding connectivity, positioning the Park at the heart of key growth corridors across London and the wider South East of England. It demonstrates how cities can be greener, more connected and socially inclusive. This momentum is powered by deep partnerships spanning boroughs, businesses, research and cultural institutions, alongside the local communities who make this place flourish.
The Park also has the capacity to support efforts to establish a London Health Innovation Zone, with a unique human-centred design focus. With eight universities on site, the Park is a hub of research and innovation, offering opportunities to link health, education, and enterprise. Together with partner Innovation Districts at White City and King’s Cross, the Park can act as a catalyst for healthier lives locally, nationally, and globally.
LLDC has a successful youth programme, Elevate, made up of two diverse groups of 14 to 25 year olds from the Growth Boroughs, which regularly review and provide valuable input to our strategies, plans, design and development proposals. Elevate Board members currently serve as observers on the LLDC Board and Committees. A former Elevate Board member was appointed as an LLDC Board member in 2021.
A new era for inclusive growth
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and east London is now a critical economic sub-region for London and the UK, home to a wealth of talent, energy and enterprise.
The Park is a high-quality place, an innovation district home to an emerging cultural and educational quarter with both global relevance and local roots. East London’s burgeoning talent combines with the Park’s new neighbourhoods, cultural institutions, universities, technology assets, and creative economy to provide an exemplar of inclusive growth in London.
LLDC has worked closely with partners to consider the positioning and ambition for Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the next phase of its evolution, as the focus moves to the optimisation and activation of Park assets and the completion of development. There is a real opportunity to raise the profile of the Park and to:
- build on the inclusive growth and innovation model that LLDC has developed and to operate this at scale;
- help to deliver the diverse talent pipeline that London and the UK needs to meet its future growth requirements; and
- put it at the centre of sub-regional, regional and national growth plans, including exploring how the Park can help advance health and wellbeing priorities.
LLDC’s new Strategic Framework – is about activating and optimising the assets from the Park’s living legacy: the physical places and spaces, its international brand, the proven ability to innovate and the deep reservoirs of social capital to create opportunity and shared prosperity. The Park’s physical infrastructure and knowledge assets provide a platform to help deliver local, regional and national ambitions in a way that remains true to LLDC’s inclusive growth principles that reflect input from residents and industry via our co-design activity.
The Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy and the Mayor of London and London Councils’ London Growth Plan and Inclusive Talent Strategy will need innovation and collaboration between key players in the policy, funding and delivery systems. LLDC will curate that collaboration across sector clusters, academics, funders, industry leaders and communities as part of finding more and better ways to use all the Park’s assets to achieve economic growth and secure livelihoods for all.
The focus on inclusive growth will be powered by three mutually reinforcing themes: the ongoing stewardship of the Park ‘Habitat’; the scaling of ‘Inclusive Talent’ programmes; and an exploration of the role the Park could and should play in supporting the ‘Health and Wellbeing’ of east Londoners.
Values
LLDC is committed to working as one organisation and has developed a new set of values and behaviours, in consultation with staff, which help drive the internal culture and guide how the organisation interacts with its stakeholders and partners. These are:
- Courageous: we act with courage, uphold our commitments, and do what’s right even when it’s hard – our actions are guided by respect for each other and the communities we work with.
- Curious: we stay curious and ask bold questions to challenge assumptions, explore new ideas, and keep learning – driven by a desire to grow, improve, create impact and make things better.
- Collaborative: we work in trusted partnership – sharing ownership, listening deeply, and building solutions together
- Connected: we foster genuine connection and create space for everyone to feel seen, valued and connected – enabling a culture where people thrive.
Senior Leadership and Governance Structure of LLDC
The Senior Leadership Team are responsible and accountable for the delivery of LLDC’s day-to-day operations.
The Mayor of London appoints the members of the LLDC Board, including the Chair. The Chair may appoint a Deputy Chair from among the Board members. All Board members operate independently of LLDC’s executive management.
The Board plays a critical role in governance, including:
- Setting strategic direction and overall policy of the organisation.
- Approving the budget and business plan, as well as other major and strategic decisions.
- Providing leadership, oversight, and scrutiny of LLDC’s activities.
- Monitoring performance and ensuring robust corporate governance.
- Challenging and reviewing major capital and revenue budgets, which is a key aspect of its governance responsibilities.
Board and Committee meetings are held in public, in accordance with the Local Government Act 1972.
Board members may be appointed to one or more of LLDC’s committees, depending on their individual knowledge, skills, and experience.
The current committee structure includes:
- Audit Committee: ensures the efficient and effective discharge of the functions of the Legacy Corporation and entities and subsidiaries within its group, through the proper administration of LLDC’s financial affairs including but not limited to proper arrangements in place for securing value for money, the maintenance, preparation and audit of accounts, internal controls, risk management, and oversight of internal and external audits.
- Finance and Investment Committee: ensures the efficient and effective discharge of the LLDC’s functions, through investment of public funds and use of assets and resources.
- Inclusive Growth Committee: ensures the efficient and effective discharge of the LLDC’s functions, through: advising on LLDC’s strategic oversight and convening role for Inclusive Growth activity on the Park; advising on and reviewing the planning and implementation of the Inclusive Growth agenda with a particular focus on the effectiveness of LLDC & Growth Boroughs’ collaborative projects; and advising on, monitoring and championing the collective efforts of QEOP partners in the Inclusive Growth space.
The decision-making framework for LLDC is agreed by the LLDC Board and is documented in the Standing Orders and Scheme of Delegations.
Additional Documents:
Our Governance
https://www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/about-us/how-we-work/governance-documents