The masterplan for Westfield's Stratford town centre project, which is next to the London 2012 Olympic site, has been approved by the Olympic Delivery Authority and Newham Council.

The main elements of the development comprise some 175,000 square metres of retail and leisure activities, 106,000 square metres of office floor space, 34,800 square metres of hotel space and 1,224 flats.

The retail space will be anchored by a John Lewis department store and supermarket developer Waitrose.

Westfield has insisted that the project will be sustainable. Initially the new development will have carbon emissions 25 per cent lower than existing building regulation requirements. By 2020 the scheme's emissions will be 50 per cent better and subsequently, by 2050, 80 per cent better than current requirements.

John Burton, development director at Westfield, said: "The resolution for the masterplan for Zone 1 and overall site strategies are important milestones in Stratford City's development. We now move to the next stage of development of the planning process with planners and stakeholders about the detailed design of all the proposed buildings for Zone 1."

Work on the scheme, one of the largest regeneration projects in the capital, is due to start next year and to be open for business by 2011.