If You Build it, They Will Come: The Role of Individuals in the Emergence of Canary Wharf, 1985–1987

TY - JOUR

T1 - If You Build it, They Will Come

T2 - The Role of Individuals in the Emergence of Canary Wharf, 1985–1987

AU - Brown, Jack

PY - 2017/3

Y1 - 2017/3

N2 - Canary Wharf is now arguably Britain's premier banking centre, employing over 100,000 people. However, this is a relatively new phenomenon. A declining area until the mid-1980s, London's increasingly derelict Docklands had been haemorrhaging jobs and people since the mid-1960s. The arrival of the Canary Wharf development between 1985 and 1987 was pivotal in reversing this decline, as well as having wider national and international effects. This article examines the significance of the role of individual actors in the emergence of East London's Canary Wharf as a global financial centre in the years 1985–1987. In combining oral and archival sources, the difficult, challenging and at times fractious process of meetings, negotiations, bluffs and double bluffs that took the Canary Wharf development from conception to construction can be uncovered to an extent not previously attempted. This article examines the work of a small group of key individuals, forgotten or ignored in contemporary analysis, who pioneered and developed the concept over a 2-year period. The article argues that the emergence of Canary Wharf was far from inevitable; in fact, it seemed almost inconceivable in the buildup to its announcement. Proving the downfall of both its pioneers and its eventual builders, making Canary Wharf a reality required incredible ambition, risk, and even bankruptcy. It shocked the City of London into changing its planning policies, allowing for expansion at just the right moment, and changed the face not only of London but also of the UK.

AB - Canary Wharf is now arguably Britain's premier banking centre, employing over 100,000 people. However, this is a relatively new phenomenon. A declining area until the mid-1980s, London's increasingly derelict Docklands had been haemorrhaging jobs and people since the mid-1960s. The arrival of the Canary Wharf development between 1985 and 1987 was pivotal in reversing this decline, as well as having wider national and international effects. This article examines the significance of the role of individual actors in the emergence of East London's Canary Wharf as a global financial centre in the years 1985–1987. In combining oral and archival sources, the difficult, challenging and at times fractious process of meetings, negotiations, bluffs and double bluffs that took the Canary Wharf development from conception to construction can be uncovered to an extent not previously attempted. This article examines the work of a small group of key individuals, forgotten or ignored in contemporary analysis, who pioneered and developed the concept over a 2-year period. The article argues that the emergence of Canary Wharf was far from inevitable; in fact, it seemed almost inconceivable in the buildup to its announcement. Proving the downfall of both its pioneers and its eventual builders, making Canary Wharf a reality required incredible ambition, risk, and even bankruptcy. It shocked the City of London into changing its planning policies, allowing for expansion at just the right moment, and changed the face not only of London but also of the UK.

KW - Banking and Finance

KW - Canary Wharf

KW - City of London

KW - Docklands

KW - East London

KW - London Docklands Development Corporation

KW - Regeneration

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85000716620&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/03058034.2016.1260878

DO - 10.1080/03058034.2016.1260878

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85000716620

SN - 0305-8034

VL - 41

SP - 1

EP - 23

JO - The London Journal

JF - The London Journal

IS - 1

ER -