Mayor’s Office Highlights London 2012 Issues

A review undertaken by the Mayor of London’s office of the preparations for London 2012 has highlighted three main areas for concern in a largely positive report.

Business tycoon David Ross, who was appointed by new Mayor Boris Johnson last month as his representative to sit on the organising committee for the London 2012 Olympics, has presented the results of his three-week review of the preparations.

The report highlighted the issue of security as an ongoing concern citing that the proposals were ‘significantly behind the rest of the planning’.

Additionally, it noted the impact the credit crunch had had on the construction contracts for the Olympic Village. Ross noted difficulties in securing finance for the Village and said work was ongoing with the developer, Lend Lease, and its banks to secure private equity and debt funding.

Thirdly the report raised the issue of legacy for a number of venues post London 2012 with Ross stating: ‘I am disappointed that we find ourselves at an advanced stage of the procurement process without clear and agreed plans for legacy for a number of important venues.’

The findings of the report revealed that the impact of these issues has pushed the estimated cost of the main stadium for the 2012 Games has to £525m – up £29m since November.

However it noted the increased costs had been offset by savings elsewhere, leaving an increase in projected costs of only £16m.

The report pointed to tighter controls on bank lending, falling house prices, increased oil and raw material costs and the threat of terrorism as factors which will add ‘significant pressure’ to the cost of the Olympics.