Developer Galliard Group will buy Upton Park in East London once the Premier League club relocate.

They plan to transform the site into a residential and retail village.

West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady said Galliard was chosen based on it being a "local London developer and employer with origins in East London".

She added: "In addition, and most importantly for us, we can see that Galliard are passionate about working with West Ham United to engage their supporters to help deliver a fitting legacy that will honour the tradition of the famous ground.

"We are confident that West Ham United fans will be excited about their vision and the way they plan to respect more than 100 years of West Ham history at Upton Park."

West Ham are due move to the London 2012 Olympic Stadium for the start of the 2016-2017 football season.

The Stadium will keep its running track, with retractable seating seeing the capacity reduce from 80,000 during the Games, to 60,000.

It will host matches at the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and the International Association of Athletics Federations Wrld Championships in 2017.

Stephen Conway, chairman and chief executive of Galliard Group, said it would now begin an "extensive" consultation with residents, businesses and the West Ham United Supporter Advisory Board about its plans.

London Olympic Stadium will be West Ham's new home in 2016 ©Getty Images



Sir Robin Wales, Mayor of Newham, said: "We have always maintained that West Ham United's relocation to Stratford had the potential to deliver an Olympic Legacy beyond Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park as a key part of the comprehensive regeneration of Green Street and Upton Park.

"The prospect of much needed homes, jobs and community spaces for this area is an exciting one."

Galliard is also planning to discuss with the family of West Ham legend Bobby Moore - who captained England to the football World Cup in 1966 - about the proposed development of a central landscaped garden, which would be named the Bobby Moore Memorial Garden.

The new village, which will have a construction programme of around 30 months, has a completion date of late 2018.

West Ham were awarded the anchor tenancy of the Stadium in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park by the London Legacy Development Corporation in March last year, having beaten a bid from AEG and Tottenham Hotspur.

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