By Keith Weir
LONDON, Aug 1 (Reuters) - East London's Stratford wants to ensure that its two weeks in the global spotlight as Olympic host translate into a brighter future for some of the poorest people in Britain.
Blighted by pollution from its past as a producer of paints and chemicals, Stratford was anonymous and neglected until the award of the Games to London seven years ago help put regeneration plans on fast forward.
Its appearance has been transformed by the building of the Olympic Park, bankrolled by nine billion pounds ($14.10 billion) of public funding, and the opening of Europe's largest urban shopping mall by Australian developer Westfield.
However, local politicians and developers know the hardest part is to come, ensuring that new communities and businesses flourish once Usain Bolt and co have left town.
"People move into the borough, get jobs and move out, leaving behind a welter of poverty," Robin Wales, mayor of the local Newham district, said on Wednesday.
"If we keep it going for the next decade, then we will see a change for our people and the Olympics and all the investment will have been worthwhile," he added in a presentation attended by media from around the globe.
Wales, who despite his name is a fast-talking Scotsman, says the borough is the second most deprived in Britain and life expectancy is several years lower than in wealthier central London.
ONCE IN A LIFETIME
Describing the Games as the "opportunity of a lifetime", Wales says an area a third the size of Manhattan is available for development in a corner of the city where a youthful population is desperate for work.
Stratford has benefited from 12.5 billion pounds of investment, on top of what has been spent on the Olympic Park, and sees a future as a centre for technology companies and a base for university campuses.
The fate of the Olympic Stadium is still to be decided, with local Premier League soccer club West Ham among four bidders who want to move in after the Games.
The blocks of flats where athletes are housed and which are currently draped with national flags will provide 2,800 new homes from next year in a development named "East Village".
Qatari Diar, owned by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, and property company Delancey spent 557 million pounds to buy more than half of the flats.
"We are going to be setting out to make the flats available on a long-term rental basis," said Stuart Corbyn, Chairman of Qatari Diar Delancey. That is unusual for Britain where people normally aspire to buy their own homes.
Corbyn praises the area's transport links - a high speed train taking only seven minutes to central London is a revelation even for people living in the capital.
Eurostar trains heading to Paris and Brussels whistle through Stratford International without stopping but local politicians want the stop to be added to the network.
The Westfield shopping centre, built at a cost of 1.5 billion pounds on the edge of the Olympic Park, is bustling during the Games. Its owners say it is attracting 800,000 visitors each week.
With its up-market shops, restaurants and casino, Westfield is a clear statement of the intent to make Stratford part of mainstream London.
Across the road from Westfield stands a 1970s shopping centre which is struggling to avoid being eclipsed by its plush new neighbour.
"It's better here, but is it better for the locals or for people moving in?" said Keith Lee, who has been selling flowers in the Stratford Centre since it opened almost four decades ago.
Lee, who is 71, says developers needed to be mindful of the local living standards.
"As long as it's not too expensive, that is important. Things have to be reasonable for people around here."
($1 = 0.6382 British pounds)
(Editing by Ed Osmond, for all the latest Olympic news go to
((keith.weir@thomsonreuters.com)(020 7542 8022)(Reuters Messaging: keith.weir.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: OLY STRATFORD DEVELOPMENT DAY5/
