Stratford, Greater London, England, United Kingdom

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Stratford is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Newham. Part of the Lower Lea Valley, Stratford is situated 6 miles east-northeast of Charing Cross, and includes the localities of Maryland, East Village, Mill Meads and Stratford City. It was originally a ward in the parish of West Ham, hundred of Becontree, and part of the historic county of Essex. Since 1965, Stratford has been a major part of the London Borough of Newham, a local government district of Greater London. The town forms the majority of the London E15 postcode district.

Stratford grew rapidly in the 19th century following the introduction of the railway to the area in 1839, forming part of the conurbation of London, similar to much of south-west Essex. The late 20th century was a period of severe economic decline in the area, eventually reversed by ongoing regeneration associated with the 2012 Summer Olympics, for which Stratford's Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, part of the large, multi-purpose Stratford City development, was the principal venue. The Westfield Stratford City shopping centre, one of the largest urban shopping centres in Europe, opened in 2011. Stratford, Ilford and Romford are east London's primary retail, cultural and leisure centres. Stratford has also become the second most significant business location in east London after Canary Wharf.

Economy Both of Stratford's shopping centres: The Stratford Centre and Westfield Stratford City are on either side of Stratford station. Westfield Stratford City, home to 350 stores, is one of the largest shopping centres in Europe. The older centre has a range of accessibly-priced stores, its indoor and outdoor market stalls, and the 'inshops' network of small retail outlets. The centre occupies much of the 'island site' created in the 1960s by the surrounding gyratory traffic system.

Regeneration Stratford has been a focus of regeneration for some years as the local economy has grown, and is the location of a number of major projects. • Westfield Stratford City is a multibillion-pound scheme to regenerate the 73-hectare brownfield railway lands to the north of the existing town centre. The vast shopping centre reported to be bigger in size than Bluewater was opened in September 2011. It has anchor stores for John Lewis, Waitrose and Marks and Spencer, in addition to other household names like Apple and Primark. The centre boasts a range of restaurant outlets, a cinema and casino, making it a leisure destination in itself, as well as its shopping facilities. Nearby will be a new purpose-built community of 5,000 homes, offices, schools, public spaces, municipal and other facilities destined to become a major metropolitan centre for East London, all to coincide with the opening of the Olympics in July 2012. • The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games had their main base at the Olympic Park, which contained a significant number of venues including the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, and London Velopark. What was the athletes' Olympic Village is to be restructured as the new East Village development, providing 3,500 homes, half affordable and half private. The post-Olympics legacy plans include the largest new urban park in Europe for over a century, and the new Chobham Academy. • Improving Stratford station with new platforms, walkways and entrances. • Rebuilding of Pudding Mill Lane DLR station as part of the Crossrail project • 150 High Street, Stratford, a 41-storey 133 m (436 ft) high residential tower. Olympic Park developments: • Construction of East Wick & Sweetwater neighbourhoods will see up to 1,500 homes built • Olympicopolis; A plan in the Olympic Park to see the Victoria & Albert Museum and University College London to have facilities by 2018. • International Quarter London; will see 13 office and 2 residential buildings as well as a hotel. Neighbouring developments: • A 26-acre development called Sugar House Island at Mill Meads is expected to see 2,500 jobs brought to the area, along with 1,200 homes (over 40% three bed or more), a new school, 350-bed hotel and new amenities for local people. This is a relatively low-rise scheme, with Dane's Yard, its first phase, regenerating a Conservation Area to form a new hub for creative businesses, by European developer Vastint. • Redevelopment of Morgan House and the southern end of the Stratford Centre into a new office, hotel, and 42- and 21-storey residential towers.