London 2012

[London Calling]

Just to post to myself....

news release
Office hours: 020 7983 4070
Out of hours and weekends: 020 7983 4000
www.london.gov.uk

GLA/2005/078

Tuesday 15th February 2005 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE



Plans for new London ‘VeloPark’ announced

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone today announced that a funding package has been agreed which will see the development of a state-of-the-art VeloPark built in the Lower Lee Valley regardless of the outcome of the London 2012 Olympic bid.

The £22 million cycling complex will be funded by Sport England - £10.5 million, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) - £6 million, the Mayor’s London Development Agency (LDA) and Transport for London (TfL) - £3 million and £2.5 million respectively.

The VeloPark will be a unique regional cycling centre serving London and the South East which will be accessible to a whole range of users, from those learning to cycle through to international cyclists and clubs, schools, family groups – of all ages and all abilities.

The 34 hectare site located on the northern end of the proposed Olympic park next to the A12 will include an indoor 1500 seat velodrome (which could be upgraded to seat 6,000 in an Olympic Games scenario), an outdoor cycle speedway circuit, a 1.6km road racing circuit, an international competition BMX course, a BMX freestyle park, a cyclo-cross/cross-country course mountain bike course.

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said:

‘The UK has some great cycling talent as our exceptional performances at the Athens Olympic Games show. These new facilities will nurture our current and future UK cycling stars and the wide range of facilities mean they will also provide wonderful leisure facilities for the whole of London. The VeloPark will be built whether or not we get the Games and will be a major step forward in the regeneration of the Lower Lee Valley, bringing jobs and investment to the area.’

The development will be situated in a traffic free environment and will be linked to the existing National Cycle Network. It will embrace the growing popularity of cycling as a pastime and alternative mode of transport.

The Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) has been working with British Cycling for over two years to develop proposals for a regional cycling centre. This funding commitment will now turn this project into a reality and sends a strong and credible message that the London 2012 bid is legacy led’.



Lord Carter of Coles, Chair of Sport England said:

‘Having conducted some preparatory work with our partners, we recognise that the site at Lee Valley would provide a fantastic location for the Velodrome and Velopark. One that would not only benefit our London Olympic bid but would also be valued by the local community for many years to come.’

Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of LVRPA said:



“We are delighted funding has been agreed for the VeloPark as a planned facility. The park will be the first of its kind and will be a unique, world class venue for all disciplines and levels of cycling. This is an exciting project which is fully supported by British Cycling.

“LVRPA is providing the land required and has agreed total revenue funding. We are also making a major capital contribution as part of a funding package in partnership with the LDA, Transport for London and Sport England.

“The VeloPark will be accessible to all and bring substantial environmental and regeneration benefits to the region. We are totally committed to making this vision a reality.”

Sebastian Coe, Chairman of London 2012, said:

‘Delivery is crucial to the International Olympic Committee. Many people don’t realise that we already have 60 per cent of our venues for 2012 in place. We have begun work on the Aquatic Centre and will now begin work on the Velopark which will be ready four years before the Games. This is a great example of delivery and puts real momentum behind our legacy plans. There is nothing better to demonstrate London is serious about sport and about winning these Games.’

Tony Winterbottom, Executive Director of Regeneration and Development at the LDA, said:

‘This is fantastic news for London’s growing cycling population, but the impact on the area as a whole – particularly neighbouring communities – will be even more impressive. The investment in world-class sporting facilities in the Lower Lee Valley will kick-start the regeneration of this area and help to set the benchmark for quality development throughout the Thames Gateway.’

British Cycling's Chief Executive, Peter King said:

’The VeloPark is only the second piece of "pre-build" for 2012 to be announced. That, and the timing of the announcement, just before the IOC's crucial visit to London, are both significant and point to cycling's current status within the sporting hierarchy. British Cycling has shown itself to be a reliable deliverer of Olympic success, but it has also used its existing facilities wisely and this has assisted in the sport by securing this excellent new facility. I think I am speaking for the nation's cyclists, when I say that I hope it will be a cornerstone of a hugely successful Olympic bid by London.’

Notes to editors



1. The site is 34 hectares in size and is wholly owned by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and set within the 4,000ha Lee Valley Park which stretches 40 KM from the north of London down to the river Thames. The planned facilities will be situated at the northern end of the proposed Olympic zone and on either side of the A12 at the current Lee Valley (Eastway) cycle circuit and sports centre. To the north of the A12 is the old sports centre site and to the south is the Eastway Cycle Circuit.

The existing Eastway Cycle Circuit is a 30 year old road track facility which attracted nearly 22,000 users in 2004 and held 130 competitive events. Top cyclists Bradley Wiggens and Tour de France legend, Eddie Merckx are just two of the champions who have trained and competed on the site. It is estimated that the Velopark will attract up to 88,000 users a year and will encourage cycling as a recreational sport and as a recreational activity improving the health and quality of life for residents of the Lower Lee Valley.

2. The VP concept has been inspired by the Olympic masterplanning process and will be a major contributor to the regeneration of the Lower Lee Valley. The development of a velodrome in London, an objective in British Cycling’s National Strategy, will complement the national centre in Manchester and the other regional centre in Newport.



LC

 

[Falmer Flutter ©]

Personally I think it'd be great if London gets it, just if it means sticking one up the French and Yanks.
Thing that pissed me off on the news last night was all the whinging antis – including, if I wasn't very much mistaken, some daft bint from the Friends of Hackney Marshes banging on about potential damage to the environment, blah, blah. Seemed remarkedly similar to a situation slightly closer to all our hearts and a good enough reason why we should be backing the bid.

 

[London Calling]

Personally I think it'd be great if London gets it, just if it means sticking one up the French and Yanks.
Thing that pissed me off on the news last night was all the whinging antis – including, if I wasn't very much mistaken, some daft bint from the Friends of Hackney Marshes banging on about potential damage to the environment, blah, blah. Seemed remarkedly similar to a situation slightly closer to all our hearts and a good enough reason why we should be backing the bid.

Damage to Hackney Marshes he he he.

All non industrial Hackney Marsh has the same protection as a National Park.


The industrial part has pollution, chemicals, oils refineries, gas works, power lines to embarrass Teeside.

That's the bit the Olympics will be built on.

I am Green but that woman is a minority of 1.

LC

 

[Brixtaan]

Plans for new London ‘VeloPark’ announced

LC

Why the fig are they shutting Herne Hill velodrome then?


As for the Olympics i'd like to see 20/20 cricket if we get it (alas i don't think we will)

 

[London Calling]

Why the fig are they shutting Herne Hill velodrome then?


As for the Olympics i'd like to see 20/20 cricket if we get it (alas i don't think we will)

i assume you mean this sad story....................

Sad plight of the Olympic venue that time - and 2012 - forgot

London will get a new velodrome whatever the upshot of this week's 'synchronised crawling'

Richard Williams
Wednesday February 16, 2005
The Guardian

A bright winter sun was shining on the banked track at Herne Hill velodrome yesterday morning, but the only thing moving was a lone magpie hopping across the infield. Signs announcing the indefinite closure of the place, effective from 4pm on the last day of January, flanked the padlocked front gate. It required a detour along the railway arches and between luxuriant bramble patches for a persistent visitor to get a closer look at the old track, which first opened for racing in 1891.

It was on this patch of south London, during the 1948 Olympic Games, that the great Reg Harris won a silver medal in the 1,000 metres matched sprint, forced to give best in the final to Mario Ghella, a 20-year-old student from Turin. Yet had the British cycling authorities not been shouted down, Harris might never have been there at all. After insisting on training at home in Manchester rather than with the rest of the squad, he was expelled from the team. A public outcry forced his readmission, which will surprise those unaware that, in the post-war hierarchy of English sports stars, Harris ranked not far behind Denis Compton and Stan Matthews.

Herne Hill is a part of British sporting history, and a small but passionate band of enthusiasts is striving to save it for the nation. Yesterday, however, the shadow over its survival appeared to be intensified by the announcement that an Olympic-standard velodrome will be built in the lower Lee Valley as part of the London 2012 bid.

The new £22m VeloPark centre - incorporating an indoor banked track with seating for 1,500 spectators, a one-mile road-racing circuit and mountain bike and BMX courses - will be funded by the local authority, the London Development Agency, Transport for London and Sport England, the body that paid for the last resurfacing of the Herne Hill track, a dozen years ago.

Advertiser links
Visit Dell for Gifts
Great savings. Get 10% off selected laser printers, up to...

dell.co.uk

Exciting Gifts at Thruxton Motorsport
Great gifts at Thruxton. Drive Ferrari, Porsche, Lotus,...

thruxtonracing.co.uk

Send a Tree - the Gift for All Occasions
Huge range of Scottish-grown trees for delivery as gifts...

treesbypost.co.uk
According to Sebastian Coe, the bid chairman, the VeloPark will be built, like the aquatic centre, irrespective of the success or failure of the bid. Which means, presumably, that someone has found evidence to contradict the belief, firmly stated at the time Manchester built its velodrome a few years ago, that the country could support only one such facility.

Good. Very, very good, in fact. In Sydney and Athens the track cyclists were among the brightest stars of the British Olympic team, and last week they learnt that their reward would be an increase in funding for their preparations for Beijing in 2008. The creation of a new centre in London ought to do nothing but help increase the popularity of a terrific sport that has always enjoyed a dedicated following in some of the less fashionable areas of Britain.

Herne Hill, however, deserves better than to suffer from the good fortune visited on another part of the capital, and its loss would be a grievous one. Among the victims would be those families who took the opportunity to cycle around a circuit which, at 450m in circumference, is longer and gentler in the rake of its bankings than a modern Olympic-specification 250m track. Bradley Wiggins, for example, first rode on this track at the age of eight.

"That's what has always made Herne Hill an ideal entry-level venue," Graeme Geddes, chair of the London Velodrome Trust, told me yesterday. "Not only can families ride together at Herne Hill, they can do so shoulder to shoulder with elite athletes. None of that would be possible at a modern Olympic track."

The trust is attempting to work with the local authority and the owners of the freehold on a solution to the problem of keeping cycling at Herne Hill. Dulwich Estates, a charitable trust set up 400 years ago by the actor and impresario Edward Alleyne to fund three private schools in the area, owns a 1,500-acre parcel of land in the area, and the old track is part of it. It padlocked the gates two weeks ago, having refused to allow Southwark Council a further extension to a leasehold for which they had been paying £5,000 a year.

A spokesperson for Dulwich Estates told me yesterday that although the council had offered to triple its annual payment, it had been unable to come up with the £7m necessary to fund regeneration plans that include a roof for the track and a set of floodlights, to ensure that use could be made of the venue outside the summer months and after dark. Dulwich Estates is now negotiating with an outside company to expand the use of the site, which is zoned for leisure use, but a successful outcome depends on the granting of planning permission for, most probably, a health club and fitness centre. Owners of the houses surrounding the site, which were not built when the first cinder track was laid down, are said to be keen to keep the historic link with cycling but worried about the extra traffic that a more attractive facility might attract.

Yet the bulldozers are unlikely to make their way into this particular bit of London SE24, and the Estates' spokesperson seemed keen to emphasise that the most satisfactory outcome would incorporate a continuation of the track's use, perhaps supervised by the London Velodrome Trust. "We hope to have something formally in place by the end of spring," he said, "and I hope we'll be able to look at other meetings as the summer goes along."

In the short term, the good news is that the track will be reopened at the end of March for the traditional Good Friday meeting. This event has a history stretching back more than 100 years, including the day in 1958 when the 39-year-old Fausto Coppi raced in front of 12,000 admiring spectators, two years before his death.

"Just as Wimbledon and Twickenham are associated in people's minds with tennis and rugby union," Geddes concluded, "so the name of this place should be associated with cycling. The Lee Valley velodrome is brilliant news, but let's hope that the commitment to cycling extends just a little bit to Herne Hill."

The brambles are climbing over the old ticket office, the clubhouse is falling apart, and someone will need to scrape the winter's deposit of slimy algae off the track before the first riders assemble at the white-painted start line on Good Friday. But in the mind's eye, whole gaggles of little Bradley Wigginses are fizzing round a lovingly restored bowl. While the future must be the priority, the past should be allowed to play its part.

 

[keaton]

Back it you w***kers.

Events will be held around the country.

Althelics will initially be based around the UK USING LOCAL FACILITIES.

Football venues will host football events. The biggest outside the World Cup.

Other events will be national wide.

It will be the biggest ever local Investment in local sporting facilities.

My local hospital in Hackney (2nd most deprived area in the Country) the Homerton will be the Olympic Hospital, investment in facilities will follow.


Believe or not London does have one if not the best public transport system in the world. In size and in concentration it dwarf's New York, Paris and Madrid.

The Olympic Zone will have 10 different lines running through, greater than most other cities in the world total railway nerwork .

308 stations in the UK will be able to deliver passengers directly into the Zone.


Beat that!!

What is the Government for, if it isn't about investing into our culture.

I don't know any Londoners who don't want the games. Often the people who are interviewed are commuters from outside.
Yes it doesn't help the Governmnet saying Londoners should pay more. Especially since Londoners already pay more taxes than anyone else.

But the Lee Valley is a dump. It needs investmnet, this is a one off opportunity to turn the area around and turn the axis of London away from west London.

Plus, 12,000 jobs will be created.

80 hectates of land alone will be released by burying the greatest concentration of power lines in the country.

London will have an Olympic size swimming pool. Isn't it a disgrace that our capital city don't have one! Whilst for French cities it is the norm.

We will have state of the art Cycling facilities, BMX, Basket ball.

For cricket lovers Lords will be used.

50% of All accomodation built for the games will go to local residents/students.







Support the bid or always be a w***ker.


LC-

The Athens olympics , officially the most succesful games ever, has not helped Athens at all just created vast long-term debts in exchange for very small short-term profits. London transport is awful and if the government has money to invest in it it should do it irregardless of whether or not they get the Olympics. London will feel no benefit from building unused sports centres aeverywhere that will be too expensive for schools and local groups to use. London needs more affordable housing , the Olympics is merely a vote-winning tactic by politicians.

 

[virgirlo]

The Athens olympics , officially the most succesful games ever, has not helped Athens at all just created vast long-term debts in exchange for very small short-term profits. London transport is awful and if the government has money to invest in it it should do it irregardless of whether or not they get the Olympics. London will feel no benefit from building unused sports centres aeverywhere that will be too expensive for schools and local groups to use. London needs more affordable housing , the Olympics is merely a vote-winning tactic by politicians.

Have to disagree!

London does need extra sports centres, pools etc. I work in Waltham Forest in sports development and we are lacking major facilities everywhere. Once again. London transport is far better than any other of the bidding countries. Pull your head of your arse and check out the stats!!!

 

[London Calling]

The Athens olympics , officially the most succesful games ever, has not helped Athens at all just created vast long-term debts in exchange for very small short-term profits. London transport is awful and if the government has money to invest in it it should do it irregardless of whether or not they get the Olympics. London will feel no benefit from building unused sports centres aeverywhere that will be too expensive for schools and local groups to use. London needs more affordable housing , the Olympics is merely a vote-winning tactic by politicians.

THe public infrastructure that the Games will exploit will be built anyway and be ready before 2012 eg Channel Tunnel Rail Link, Hub at Stratford, KIngs Cross redevlopment, East London line extension. The stations in the Olympic Zone and surrounding area will get the refurb that they seriously need.

As I said earlier 10 separate stations and lines will operate in the Zone alone. Does Madrid have that many stations in its whole City?

East London will get London's first Olympic size swimming pool that will be ready before the 2009 World Swimming Tournament. IN an area deprived of modern swimming facilities.

Paris was meant to host this event but have pulled out! They won't be able to get a pool ready in time.




London will now get a Olympic standard velodrome- for the first time.

Hackney will get a Basket ball arena.

AS it happens Withdean will probably host a nations Althetics team, watch out for more investment down there!

61% of the facilities already exist in Paris it less than 25%. MMMM if cocks ups are going to happen it will be in Paris!

LOndon is presently building two stadiums Aresenal and Wembley that already rival anything in the world both are within budget and on time!



Facilities will only be too expensive if they make them too expensive. That has nothing to do with the Olympics.

The four Boroughs that cover the Olympics Zone has a total population around 900,000 the sports facilities in the area would be beaten by an average small bit town. REmove West Ham Football Ground from the equation and Brighton has more extensive and modern sports facilities.

Infrastructure is a disgrace in London, especially East London.

Well the Olympics can do something about it as well as Strategically plan the redevelopment of the Lower Lee Valley that will provide 12,000 new jobs and 9,000 new houses.

Not bad statistics unless of course you are a w*****.

 

[keaton]

I'm not arguing that London isn't better equipped to host the event i'm arguing that we need transport improvement and sports facilities geared to the communities not for holding olympic events and looking good on the telly.

Also why is anyone who questions the value of London holding the Olympics who worthy of abuse.
Are your arguments that weak that you have to say "You either agree with or you're a wanker"?

That just makes you look thick

 

[CHAPPERS]

Manchester would be far better equipped as a base, would it not?

Anyhoo, I would like the Olympics to come to London. It would be FUN.

 

[Eastleigh Seagull]

How can the Olympics be a vote winning tactic for politicians - the decision will be made long after the election you cyncial and, may i add slightly ignorant, person.

 

[looney]

Another New Labour ego trip, dont think we'll get it. what about the gun ban?Is it OK for foreigners to shoot at things but not us?

The Dome II.

 

[virgirlo]

I'm not arguing that London isn't better equipped to host the event i'm arguing that we need transport improvement and sports facilities geared to the communities not for holding olympic events and looking good on the telly.

Also why is anyone who questions the value of London holding the Olympics who worthy of abuse.
Are your arguments that weak that you have to say "You either agree with or you're a wanker"?

That just makes you look thick

Everyone is entitled to their opinion.
But you have to understand that the transport being improved is not specifically for the Olympics. It has been an ongoing project for years. And the Sporting facilities that are needed in London should be of Olympic Standards. How else will we be able to develop our athletes if there are no olympic size pools, cycling arenas, running tracks etc. It all makes sense and we desperately need these facilities on this scale.

 

[Simster]

I must admit that I'm finding LC's enthusiasm quite inspiring. It's a shame the London Bid Olympic committee has done such a shit job rallying Londoners because we could be favourites by now instead of Paris.

Paris transport is GASH. Awful traffic on the roads, and a metro which is confusing to read and a fraction of the size of London's. However, they do have their national stadium already built.

 

[London Calling]

I'm not arguing that London isn't better equipped to host the event i'm arguing that we need transport improvement and sports facilities geared to the communities not for holding olympic events and looking good on the telly.

Also why is anyone who questions the value of London holding the Olympics who worthy of abuse.
Are your arguments that weak that you have to say "You either agree with or you're a wanker"?

That just makes you look thick

As highlighted above the facilities are being designed to be used by local communities. The 61% are already in use such as Lords, the Wembley, Wimbledon and sports ground around the country already meet "community" need. The Pool at Stratford to be completed in 2008 meets a major deficit in that area. There is huge demand in East and north London for basket ball facilities and guess what we will get a arena at Hackney.

There is already a national cycling track at Leyton but its outdated. Leyton will now get the best in the world.



If you live and breath in East London its a no-brainer. Over 80% of residents here want it and so do 80 % of east London businesses.


East LOndon will see the investment it needs.

Why should that investment be denied by the people who whinged and moan about everything.

To be honest I doubt that the size of money that will be spent in the area - regardless of the games - would have been allocated.

But the Government agencies are now focussing their attention on the area and the Lower Lee Valley will be stragically planned for its first and hopefully last time.

iF THE OLYMPICS HAS TO BE THE CATALYST THEN SO BE IT!To be against such regeneration, to be against improving the lives and communities of people residing in the three most deprived local authority areas in the Country. Gets my contempt.


LC

 

[London Calling]

I must admit that I'm finding LC's enthusiasm quite inspiring. It's a shame the London Bid Olympic committee has done such a shit job rallying Londoners because we could be favourites by now instead of Paris.

Paris transport is GASH. Awful traffic on the roads, and a metro which is confusing to read and a fraction of the size of London's. However, they do have their national stadium already built.

Cheers mate.

And Paris Olympic show will be housed over two sites on opposite sides of town.

Whilst the Olympic Zone in LOndon will be within a ring of steel and house all of the main events.


Bye all.
LC

 

[keaton]

How can the Olympics be a vote winning tactic for politicians - the decision will be made long after the election you cyncial and, may i add slightly ignorant, person.

How can you start a sentence with the word 'How' and then not end it with a question mark? That's 'ignorant'.

Because if London gets it will pretty much guarantee Livingstone gets re-elected as mayor. The people in charge at the moment are leading the bid. They are saying 'isn't London and the UK great, look at the money we'll spend on facilities, transport, etc. You need to supoort the bid (and therefore us)'

 

[London Calling]

How can you start a sentence with the word 'How' and then not end it with a question mark? That's 'ignorant'.

Because if London gets it will pretty much guarantee Livingstone gets re-elected as mayor. The people in charge at the moment are leading the bid. They are saying 'isn't London and the UK great, look at the money we'll spend on facilities, transport, etc. You need to supoort the bid (and therefore us)'

From your location description, I assume mate that you are also living in London?

LC

 

[Storer68]

Athens now tring to work out what do with an unused canoe slalom course made out of concrete.................

 

[London Calling]

Transport is one of the key strengths of London’s Olympic Bid

Transport is one of the real strengths of London’s bid for the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games. The Olympic Park will be the most accessible in the history of the Games with the jewel in the crown of transport plans undoubtedly being the Olympic Javelin.

The Olympic Transport team at Transport for London have been working for two years to give London a strong plan that will deliver excellent Olympic transport.

Speaking to the IOC Evaluation Commission today about the Bid’s transport plans Hugh Sumner, Director Olympic Transport at Transport for London said;

“Olympic transport is always a challenge but we are confident, though not complacent, that London can deliver a spectacular Games.

“Every day 12 million journeys are made on London’s public transport network. Daily spectator demand during the Games will be around 5% of this level at a time of year when 20% of commuters are on holiday. The net result is that London will have an effective 15% spare capacity for the Games.”

“London’s unique public transport culture will not only allow, but also encourage every spectator to either use London’s public transport system, walk or cycle to the Games.”

The site of the Olympic Park at Stratford is one of the best connected public transport centres in the world. It currently has nine separate railways lines that serve the Olympic Park and the tenth – the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL) – is already undergoing construction and due for completion in 2007. At Games time it will deliver 240,000 passengers an hour with a train arriving every 15 seconds.

The 12-carriage Olympic Javelin, which can travel at up to 225km/hr, will link the Olympic Park with King’s Cross/St Pancras in the heart of London in just seven minutes. The shuttle will also connect the Olympic Park with Kent in 10 minutes. A train will arrive every three minutes from either Kent or the centre of London. However, the Javelin is just a small part of what’s happening in transport across London.

London’s transport infrastructure is undergoing major improvements. A total of $30 billion is committed to be spent on transport in the capital between now and the Games.

Tony McNulty, Transport Minister: “The money that will be spent on improving and operating London’s public transport infrastructure is not dependent on winning the bid but is almost entirely already planned and committed. In addition to the £17 billion to be invested between now and 2012 a further £4.5 billion is being invested in over 2000 new carriages on regional rail services into London. As a combined package, this represents one of the largest transport investment programmes in the world.”

Investment has already provided new buses, new or refurbished tube trains and the extensive Docklands Light Railway. Almost all the transport infrastructure related to the Games is underway and will be completed by mid 2010. This includes;

Upgrading the DLR with trains being lengthened by 50% and the service extended to City Airport
The Jubilee Line, London’s most modern Underground will have its capacity increased by 45%
Extension of the East London Line
- ENDS -