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Monday, 07 November 2005 |
London's 2012 Olympic Games land dispute continues
An ongoing dispute over securing the ownership of land earmarked as the
site of London's 2012 Olympic Games is continuing and the London
Development Agency has been accused of jeopardising a £4bn plan to
regenerate Stratford in East London by issuing up a compulsory purchase
order. London and Continental Railways (LCR), which owns some of the
site says the LDA could "kill off" the development.
However, an LDA spokeswoman denied the claim and said: "We are
absolutely committed to the regeneration of this area," and she added
that the compulsory purchase order (CPO) had been issued only to
safeguard the land needed for its Olympic Park.
The LDA has been negotiating with LCR because some land currently under
the private consortium's control overlaps the Olympic site and
negotiations between the two sides are reported to have broken down
last week.
A statement to London's Evening Standard newspaper by LCR declared it
was "shocked, amazed and deeply disappointed at the (CPO) decision".
Some 81% of the land needed for the Olympic Park is already in public control.
The LDA spokeswoman said the order would not need to be enforced if
private deals went ahead instead and she stated that both the Stratford
City project and the Olympic Park "can be delivered and should be
delivered together".
Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: "The CPO is a failsafe
mechanism... However all parties are committed to reaching a negotiated
settlement.
"I am certain that we will reach successful conclusions to these
negotiations and that both the 2012 Olympic Games and the Stratford
City development will leave a positive and enduring legacy for east
London."
Construction on the Stratford City project is scheduled to start in
late 2006 or early 2007, with completion of the development due by
2020.
It plans for transformation of the 180-acre site of the former
Stratford Rail Lands into a mixed-use development, including 4,500 new
homes, office space, hotels and shops.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 07 November 2005 )
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