Shopping centre group Westfield has unveiled its vision for the 180-acre Stratford City development in east London, claiming the project will be underpinned by some of the most sustainable development standards ever applied to an urban development in the UK.

Shopping centre group Westfield has unveiled its vision for the 180-acre Stratford City development in east London, claiming the project will be underpinned by some of the most sustainable development standards ever applied to an urban development in the UK.

The retail centre, located in the city central district, will form the gateway to and Westfield's principal legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It will consist of 4.11 million m2 of new space providing 1.52 million m2 of commercial development, 1.52 million m2 of residential floorspace including 5,312 new homes, of which 3,000 initially used for the Olympic Games.

The company said it is looking for partners to carry out the rest of the project, with Lend Lease rumoured to be the front-runner, British retail sector newspaper Shopping Centre reported. The development will comprise 579,120 m2 of retail and leisure space, anchored by the John Lewis department store.

Westfield's development director John Burton, said 'the plans we have submitted and their implementation will create a new standard for major development projects.'

The Westfield Group is the largest retail property group in the world by equity market capitalisation and the sixth largest entity listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. It owns an investment portfolio of 121 shopping centres valued in excess of EUR 34 bn spread across Australia, the US, New Zealand and the UK.