APPENDIX 25
Memorandum submitted by New Lammas Lands
Defence Committee
OLYMPIC GAMES PROPOSALS IN THE LEA VALLEY
1. We are appalled by the current possibility that
the Government might support a bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games
in the Hackney Marshes area of the Lee Valley, East London's precious
'green lung'.
2. Most of the Valley is a Regional Park containing
large amounts of green open space (much of it common land), as
well as several nature reserves, bird sanctuaries and SSSIs. It
is a pleasant and tranquil place much used for formal and informal
recreation, once described as a 'playground for Londoners'.
3. We are very concerned that much of this welcome
green haven in our overcrowded city could be destroyed and concreted
over, simply for the sake of less than three weeks of Olympic
sport and athletics activities. No amount of temporary jobs could
compensate for the complete destruction of this much-loved area
and the detrimental effects on the quality of life of East Londoners.
4. We enclose a copy of a letter that we have written
to the Minister for Sport requesting that if a bid is to be made
for Britain to host the Olympics then more suitable (possibly
brownfield or derelict) sites should be sought elsewhere.
5. Rather than wasting public money making the proposed
bid, surely tourism to the existing attractions of the Lee Valley
could be more certainly enhanced if the Government were to spend
more on improving Hackney's public transport links (there is still
no tube service!) or cleaning up and regenerating the Hackney
Wick area and its under-utilised waterways?
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