Redevelopment and Compulsory Purchase
The entire estate was the subject of a compulsory purchase order by the London Development Agency to make way for the athlete's village in the 2012 London Olympics site: indeed almost all the inhabitants cleared from the Olympic site were students at the adjacent UEL halls of residence or Clays Lane residents.
Residents were promised equivalent, if not better, housing. However it was reported that early movers found this was not the case, and some feared that dispersal to sites across East London would mean the end of the unusually close community links in the estate.
Many residents were extremely vocal in their opposition of the compulsory purchase order, and several protests were held in nearby Stratford. A group of tenants gained leave to hold a public inquiry into the decision to compulsorily purchase the estate, which was held in August 2006. This was, however, dismissed in a High Court ruling on on 30 May 2007. All 430 residents of the Clay’s Lane Housing Cooperative were issued with orders to leave by July 2007. The buildings were demolished starting in September 2007.
Read more about this topic: Clays Lane Estate
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