The Shoal, the Carpenters Estate and Newham's Olympic plans

Part of the idea no doubt is to distract visitors from Stratford shopping centre and the surrounding estate by enveloping it in a nice bit of modern design.
It's clearly a temporary measure as I had an interesting tour of the area with Tomasz Kozlowski, senior development manager, at Newham and he and his team are currently consulting on a host of options aimed at revitalising Stratford town centre.
The battle is truly on once more to persuade local residents and the development community that potentially remunerative development sites such as the Carpenters Estate and the Stratford Island site can be brought forward sensitively and successfully.
There is some particularly interesting consultation about the Carpenters Estate, where residents have spent years hearing about a dizzying number of masterplans that have never quite come to anything. Not that long ago the three towers at the estate that are now set to be demolished were the centrepiece of a now cancelled £800m Local Asset Backed Vehicle.
The current proposals are looking to link in such central sites to what is happening across the road at the Olympic Park - for instance proposed family neighbourhood developments at Chobham Farm and at what is being nattily called the Sugar Pudding Quarter - Sugar House Lane and Pudding Mill - would "supplement" an extensive makeover of the Carpenters Estate that would feel more like an extension of the town centre than previous proposals.
Consultation finishes in September before Newham planners go to Cabinet for approval and then work begins on a draft development framework. Any interested parties should visit www.newham.gov.uk