Opening up the Olympic Park to Residents

Opening up the Olympic Park to Residents

Plans to open up Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to more local people have been put forward by Waltham Forest Council. Proposals see allotments set aside for private use on Eton Manor replaced with an urban meadow as well as a new pedestrian access point. The planning application has been submitted to the London Legacy Development Corporation as part of the Council’s bid to ensure that the Olympic Park is open to all, providing leisure and recreational facilities that create a world-class legacy. Currently the section of the Olympic Park within Waltham Forest – Eton Manor – is set to house allotment plots, meaning that large areas of the Park will be cordoned off for private use. The Council has consistently and whole-heartedly rejected these plans and is using the planning process to put forward a better future for the park. Leader of Waltham Forest Council, Chris Robbins, said: “It’s an absolute scandal that allotments are set to take pride of place in the country’s flagship sporting facility. “That is why we are proposing a better future for the Olympic Park. It will not only make the park more accessible to Waltham Forest residents and Londoners as a whole but it will build on its green credentials providing more open space in the capital.” At present the allotment holders have plots in the newly refurbished Leyton Jubilee Park. They were moved to Leyton from their original home in Newham to make way for the Olympic Park back in 2007. Legacy plans for the Park have earmarked a section of Eton Manor which is run by the Lee Valley Park Regional Authority (LVRPA) for the allotment holders. However the Council argues that they already have a good home and adequate provision at Pudding Mill Lane so there is no need for them to move to Eton Manor. The Council has met with the allotment holders to discuss the plans ahead of submission. The plans have the backing of England Hockey and the Tennis Foundation along with LVRPA who own the land. Shaun Dawson, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Chief Executive said: “Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will host community, club and elite programmes along with a range of events, providing opportunities for communities, both local and from across the region, to play, get involved with, or watch hockey or tennis at this world class venue”. “The venue will host major national and international events including the NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters taking place in 2014, 2015 and 2016, and the European Hockey Championships in 2015, with many other high profile events planned. “When consent was given in 2006 for the allotments to be incorporated into the Eton Manor legacy plan, the detailed operational plans for the site had not been developed. “It is clear to us now that combining a major sports venue with allotments, on what is a constrained site, is unviable and would create operational problems which will adversely impact on both the allotment holders and other site users” “Replacing the allotments at Eton Manor with an area of open space will in Lee Valley Regional Park Authority’s view provide a welcome area for informal recreation in the north of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, thereby creating greater benefit for the neighbouring communities.” The planning application was submitted this week and the Council expects to hear a decision early in the New Year. Local people will have the opportunity to comment on the plans by visiting the London Legacy Development Corporation Planning Register at  http://planningforms.newham.gov.uk/online-applications/ -ENDS-