While this may be the end of the line for the Capital’s MSG Sphere development, residents of Stratford are hesitant about the future of their area.
Ceren Sommez never thought she would be able to buy in London. The day she got the keys to her new flat in Stratford was a dream come true, at least it was until she found a flyer for a development across the road.
A year prior, the Madison Square Gardens Corporation (MSG) bought a plot of land known as Compound B, just 75m from Ceren’s front door, on Leyton Road. While they wouldn’t submit the plans for their architectural giant for another few months, MSG were preparing the locals for The Sphere: an LED-clad entertainment and leisure venue which would sit in the landscape like a 96.5m tall golf ball.
This design may sound familiar. In September 2023, a sister site was opened by U2 in Las Vegas. The venue became world-famous overnight, but for many residents of Stratford, it confirmed their fears of severe light pollution in the area.
Night 1 ✔️ pic.twitter.com/Vlu1pFAjSQ
— Sphere (@SphereVegas) September 30, 2023
Ceren had noticed the empty plot across the road when she first viewed the flat and said, “we always knew that something was going to be built there but we never could have dreamed it would be the b****y Sphere”.
After the initial plans for the Stratford Sphere were first proposed to the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC), a lengthy consultation process began. Both, local residents and councillors voiced their concerns.
The LLDC was created to deliver on commitments made during the 2012 London Olympics development, and acts as a unique planning body with specific powers.
Stop MSG Sphere London, a grassroots campaign group “Powered by tea and biscuits”, organised the opposition and pinpointed these issues:
- an influx of people in the area, potential for a rise in crime rates
- an already saturated market for entertainment venues
- light and sound pollution, overt advertising, and the environmental impact
- a need for social housing
This week, the Mayor of London refused the plans. His deciding three key factors being: light pollution, a “lack” of green credentials, and the potential electricity bill.
However, Sadiq Khan does not have the final say on the matter. Earlier this year, Communities Secretary Michael Gove enacted Article 31, which limits planning decision powers by local authorities, and reserves the right to approve the plans.
On Monday, a Sphere Entertainment spokesperson said, “While we are disappointed in London’s decision, there are many forward-thinking cities that are eager to bring this technology to their communities. We will concentrate on those.”
But ultimately, the developer can withdraw from the process, abandon the plans, and sell the land – which Executive Chairman and Chief Executive of MSG James Dolan indicated to the Evening Standard Tuesday, “It really is the end of the line for London”
Despite a call from the Mayor of Teeside to build a Sphere in the North East, MSG seem set on building Asia’s first Sphere in Hanam, South Korea.
Stop MSG Sphere London was “delighted” by the news this week but, in the wake of the celebration, questioned the site’s future.
Should the Stratford Sphere be scrapped, the LLDC will once again have a chance to approve or deny a new proposal, as this remains within their planning area.
Unelected planning committee members who pushed through the MSG Sphere despite its violation of planning policy and against the views of local residents and councillors, at an untold cost, should be considering their position.
Me in @insidehousing👇 https://t.co/M9Fyd3gw4w pic.twitter.com/kIFEpvWWLz
— Nate Higgins (@natehiggins) November 22, 2023
Labour Councillor for Stratford, Terry Paul, said, “the LLDC should have listened to local residents at their initial meeting”.
The LLDC said in a statement that while they understand the Mayor’s decision, they “felt that the benefits of the scheme were such that planning permission should be granted”.
Residents like Ceren believe LLDC has acted in an “encouraging” and “questionable” manner towards MSG, as revealed in Freedom of Information requests.
Pressure is now on the planning body to tackle “one of the biggest housing crises” in the country, according to Green Councillor Nate Higgins.
On social housing in their planning area, a spokesperson from the LLDC said, “The reason the affordable rates are low for completions to date is that most of those homes are in schemes consented by the former Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, who had different affordable housing policies to the current Mayor.”
When speaking about the LLDC’s decision making, Ceren explained, “I don’t trust the process and I don’t trust that everything was honest and in order from the beginning”.
The LLDC is set to return some powers to local councils at the end of 2024, and will undergo significant restructuring in 2025.
City News asked the LLDC about the potential of the site, should it become available again: “The use of the site will be dictated by what’s in the Local Plan and the planning authority would consider any application submitted in reference to the Local Plan and planning policies.”
The future of Compound B is yet to be determined, but the London Legacy Development Corporation, in one form or another, is here to stay.
