APPENDIX 4: NOTE OF COMMITTEE VISIT
TO THE OLYMPIC PARK AND HOST BOROUGHS: THURSDAY 12 SEPTEMBER
As a part of its inquiry, the Committee visited the
Olympic Park, the Peacock Gym and St Luke's Community Centre (both
in Canning Town) and Gainsborough Primary School in Hackney Wick.
The following members took part in the visit:
Lord Addington
The Earl of Arran
Lord Bates
Lord Best
Lord Faulkner of Worcester
Lord Harris of Haringey (Chairman)
Baroness King of Bow
Lord Stoneham of Droxford
Baroness Wheatcroft
Lord Wigley
They were accompanied by the following House of Lords
staff: Clare Ramsaran (press and publicity officer)Duncan Sagar
(clerk)Matthew Smith (policy analyst)
The Olympic Park
The Committee were taken around the Olympic Park
by representatives of the Mayor's London Legacy Development Corporation
(LLDC), including Dennis Hone (Chief Executive) and Paul Brickell
(Executive Director, Regeneration and Community Partnerships).
The visit started at the Copper Box where the Committee
were given a short presentation by a representative of Greenwich
Leisure Limited (GLL), which has a 10 year contract with LLDC
to run the Copper Box and the Aquatic Centre. LLDC explained that
the Copper Box was more profitable than the Aquatic Centre and
would therefore provide a cross-subsidy if they were operated
by the same company. We were told about GLL's "school's forum"
programme, whereby children from local primary schools are invited
to use the Copper Box as an initial experience of high level facilities,
with those demonstrating enthusiasm or aptitude for a sport are
put on a pathway in that sport with the eventual aim of integrating
the children in local sports clubs. Twenty schools from the surrounding
boroughs were currently participating in this scheme and GLL hoped
to grow the scheme further. The Copper Box would serve as host
to a number of events over the coming year, working with boxing
promoter Frank Warren to hold six bouts, hosting basketball games
and a badminton grand prix, as well as hosting home fixtures for
local handball and netball teams. Most of the Copper Box's income
came from hosting such events, but their intention was to increase
the income from community use, which should expand over time.
During the week, the Copper Box was dedicated to PE teaching for
local schools from 09.00 to 16.00 and from 16.00 onwards was available
for sports clubs. A new gymnasium onsite was also open to the
public. LLDC stressed their ongoing work to improve pedestrian
routes into the park from nearby stations, which would help groups
of children to access the Copper Box.
The Committee moved on to iCity, and was given a
tour of BT Sport's facilities. Jamie Hindhaugh, BT Sport's Chief
Operating Officer, explained that four factors had attracted BT
Sport to iCity:
· The transport links, particularly significant
to a company seeking to operate over 24 hours;
· Access to talent, which he felt gave London
a comparative advantage over other locations in the UK;
· The dimensions of the building, with 33
feet ceilings and few support posts offering ample studio space;
and
· The 2012 Games' legacy, which was attractive
to BT Sport as a large sponsor of the Games themselves.
BT Sport had moved in more quickly than anticipated,
driven by the deadline of needing to be operational by the start
of the English Premier League season in August 2013. Its studio
facilities had been built from scratch in 21 weeks. BT Sports
created a number of additional jobs, using Hackney's 'Way to Work
Scheme'. Many of the graphics and production teams had relocated
to iCity from the more traditional media base in West London.
The Committee heard details of BT Sport's partnership with Loughborough
University, and the utilisation of LED studio lights which would
make the studios particularly energy efficient.
The Committee transferred to the Peacock Gym in Canning
Town. The Gym had received no funding from the Games, but served
as a designated training centre for Olympic boxers, wrestlers
and martial artists. The Committee heard that the presence of
these elite athletes had generated "a real buzz" for
local members of the Gym. The Committee met mentors involved in
the Gym's academy scheme, in which 72 local young people had enrolled.
The scheme sought to use boxing and box-fit programmes to develop
self-esteem and to tackle drug and gang-related problems in the
community. Although the majority of users of the Gym were male,
the academy had a broadly even gender balance.
At the Canning Town and Custom House Renewal Project,
also in Canning Town, the Committee met a range of local people
and discussed the impact of the Games on the lives and prospects
of people in the area. Although some of the people present had
directly benefited by employment at the new Westfield shopping
centre, the majority view was that employment opportunities in
retail and construction had gone to people from outside the area
and a perception that the jobs which had be created were fewer
in number and worse paid than had been expected. There seemed
to be a low level of awareness of how to apply for employment
opportunities and a sense that the Local Authorities could do
more. Residents had been discomfited during the run-up to the
Games by traffic disruption caused by the construction of the
Olympic Park. Those who had been involved in the Olympic and Paralympic
Games in some way were very positive about the opportunity it
afforded to "shake hands with the world" but felt that
the communities were left "fractured" in the wake of
the Games. The "dead area" between the overground railway
tracks to Stratford and Canning Town itself was a concern, as
was the accessibility of the facilities in the Park for those
with groups of children. Others were positive about the future,
describing the Games' legacy as being "all about what happens
next"; Newham would eventually see financial benefits in
the long-run from the ownership of the Olympic Stadium and in
the mean time local school children would benefit free tickets
to Premier League Games during West Ham United's tenancy.
The Committee concluded its visit by meeting children,
parents and teachers at Gainsborough Primary School in Hackney
Wick. The children, aged nine and ten years, had taken part in
the opening ceremony at the Olympic Stadium in July 2012. The
children's perception was that sport had played a greater role
in their education since the Games, and a number told the Committee
of their ambition, inspired by the Games, to become athletes in
sports ranging from track athletics to taekwondo. The children
were having more of their P.E. delivered offsite, using the facilities
at the Park. Children and parents had suffered disruption as a
result of the building work, but there was evident pride in East
London for having hosted the Games and enthusiasm for future events
to be hosted, albeit in a different part of the country. The head-teacher
described the current arrangements for the teaching of P.E., which
was outsourced to a specialist. Teachers were very willing to
play a greater role, but would need further training first.
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