Culture, Media and Sport CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Thank you for your letter dated 31 January requesting follow-up information following my appearance in front of your Committee in connection with the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The answers to your questions are as follows:
Q393—Please indicate the proportion of the Olympic Park’s energy that will derive from renewable sources
Under the previous administration/Government, an ambition to achieve a 50% reduction in carbon emissions from the built environment of the Olympic Park by 2013 was set and this was to be achieved through a number of initiatives including a target to install and use new on-site renewable energy sources to reduce the call on conventional energy sources by 20% (and not 80% as Hansard reports Mr Saunders as saying).
In June 2010, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) announced that it was no longer feasible to install a 120-metre wind turbine on the Olympic Park, thereby making an already challenging renewables target even more difficult to achieve. The ODA has identified additional on-Park locations to install more photovoltaic (PV) cells than originally proposed but it is not expected that the overall reduction in call on conventional energy sources will be greater than 10% (against a revised planning condition of 9%).
The ODA made the announcement about further PV cells on 8 April 2011 and, at the same time, announced that it would be investing over £1 million in a new project, based on the Mayor’s RE:NEW energy efficiency scheme, to provide carbon reduction measures to local housing and schools in four of the Olympic Park Host Boroughs, including draught proofing, low energy lighting, insulation and standby switches.
This energy efficiency retro-fitting project, and all the other carbon reduction measures employed by the ODA including the use of PV cells; low carbon venue design; reuse of materials; use of concrete with high percentage of recycled aggregates; and transporting materials by rail or water rather than by road, mean that we are on target to reduce carbon emissions due to the built environment by 59%, by 2013.
In addition to the ODA’s measures, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) plans to employ stringent energy conservation measures to achieve carbon savings equivalent to its original target of 20% of Games-time energy for the Olympic Park to be supplied by new on-site renewables, such as reducing non-essential air conditioning, and monitoring energy use in venues.
Q 408 and 411—Please confirm what access emergency vehicles will have to the Olympic Route Network: will they be able to use the venue lanes at any time, or only during an emergency?
Please provide some information on the steps that have been taken to ensure the safety of pedestrians across the Olympic Route Network
Emergency vehicles will only be able to use the temporary Games Lanes on the Olympic Route Network (ORN) if they are responding to an emergency.
In common with all other road users, emergency vehicles that are not on emergency callouts will be able to use two-thirds of the ORN. In London, the ORN covers just 1% of London’s road network—and only one third of that will have Games Lanes on it (and only where another lane remains for normal traffic).
It is essential that athletes, officials, media and others working at the Games (the Games Family) can be moved safely, quickly and reliably between the competition venues, accommodation and other key locations. It is imperative, therefore, that the temporary Games Lanes, which will operate on the busiest sections of the ORN at certain times be reserved for Games Family vehicles and blue-light emergency vehicles on call.
Safety of all road users is of paramount importance to TfL. TfL are undertaking extensive road safety audits on the ORN which will include assessment of pedestrian safety where ORN measures are in place. During the detailed design of the ORN, TfL reduced the number of closed pedestrian facilities after detailed analysis demonstrated that the journey time savings at these crossings would be negligible or minimal.
TfL will also be implementing a controlled “Central London Zone” which will implement temporary changes to enhance pedestrian safety such as closing traffic lanes to give more space to pedestrians; wider crossings; and restricting volume of traffic on certain roads.
I would also like to take this opportunity to further clarify a point I made during the session regarding the extra money provided towards the cost of the ceremonies for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The additional Government contribution of £41 million is made up of £34 million already allocated and a £7 million contingency held by Government and will be used across all of the four major ceremonies, not just the Olympic opening ceremony.
I would be grateful if you would pass this letter on to the rest of the Committee Members.
Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP
Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport
13 February 2012