Baroness Ford
Main Page: Baroness Ford (Crossbench - Life peer)
Baroness Ford
My Lords, it is a real pleasure to take part in the debate today. Before I begin, I convey to the House apologies from the noble Lord, Lord Mawson, who would normally be here to participate but has been held up on business in the north of England. Noble Lords know what a great champion he is for the legacy and regeneration of east London, and I am sure that he will continue to be every bit as diligent over the next two years and thereafter.
The Government inherit the preparations for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in excellent shape. I have no doubt that the Minister will find many challenges in his new post but I suspect that none will be so satisfying or so enjoyable as the 2012 brief. I wish him well in continuing the successful work done to date.
I am looking forward to hearing from my noble friend Lady Morgan, who, I am sure, will tell us about the great work being done by the Olympic Delivery Authority on constructing the venues and facilities for 2012. I had the pleasure of taking visitors around the Olympic Park, which is absolutely amazing. It is difficult to convey in words without going there what an immense achievement and complex project it has been. I urge any noble Lords who have not recently been on a visit to the park to do so. It is a marvellous tribute to British construction and project management expertise.
I am disappointed that the noble Lord, Lord Coe, is not in his place today, but I know from my frequent discussions with him about the great progress being made to stage a spectacular and very British Games. He and his team deserve enormous credit for achieving such a positive level of sponsorship in trying economic circumstances. They have done an absolutely fantastic job there.
I very much look forward to hearing the maiden speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson, and the speech of the noble Baroness, Lady Campbell, about the preparations of our elite athletes. However, I do not want to let the moment pass without also paying tribute to my right honourable friend Tessa Jowell MP, whose vision, skill and tenacity have held this amazingly complex project together and handed to the new Government a very strong legacy, as well as an immense challenge for incoming Ministers. These are very big shoes to fill.
Of course, one of the great aspects of this project is its non-partisan nature. The new Olympics Minister, Hugh Robertson, was fully engaged, very knowledgeable and thoughtful in opposition and, for my part, hugely supportive of the legacy of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. I am sure that he will be a great champion in his new role.
My primary interest in the Games is in the legacy that endures in the Olympic Park and surrounding area. Uniquely among host cities, a dedicated company was set up to focus entirely on securing the strongest possible legacy from the Games. The Olympic Park Legacy Company, which I am privileged to chair, was set up almost 15 months ago, and I think that we have made a really good start.
We have completed the master plan that will guide the sustainable development of this park for the next 25 years. This is not a short-term project. In time, more than 10,000 new homes will be built in the park and the surrounding areas, as well as the marvellous legacy of beautiful open space to which the Minister referred, fantastic waterways and world-class sporting venues. It is important to us that we create a high-quality neighbourhood which provides much-needed family housing in this part of east London.
We will also create a super visitor attraction, helped by the sporting and leisure facilities on offer in the park and enhanced by the iconic ArcelorMittal Orbit. That magnificent structure—I know that there are different views about it, but I think that it is magnificent—was commissioned by the Mayor of London and will be a major addition to the London skyline and a magnet for visitors to the area in the years to come. I think that it will underline the park as a must-see, must-return destination for people who have been inspired by the Games and who want to return again and again to use the great facilities on offer there. Also in that mix, we will attract commercial activity to the park that complements and sustains the residential, sporting and leisure offer there.
What specifically do we have to show for 15 months’ preparation? We have a great working relationship with the five excellent Olympic host boroughs, which are doing tremendous work in preparing for the Games. I was so glad that the Minister mentioned that, because we should never forget that it will be the host boroughs that will inherit the legacy and live with the decisions that are taken. Working very closely with them, we have a new master plan with a sharpened focus on sustainability, on family housing, as I mentioned, and, of course, a sporting legacy.
Secondly, the process to create a final use for the Olympic stadium is also well under way. I am confident that we will soon be able to announce a commercially viable, sustainable use for this beautiful stadium that guarantees a top-class, long-term home for UK athletics. Thirdly, the process to determine operators for the remaining park venues is also well under way, and we have had tremendous interest in them. We have no intention of waiting until the Games are over, as other countries have done, to determine the use of those venues. Their future will be absolutely secure well in advance of the Games.
Fourthly, we have created a new approach with Olympic sponsors. I think that it is absolutely right and proper that in this, the first Games to be won explicitly on legacy, the sponsors widen their approach to ask not just how they support the Games but how they invest in and support the legacy. I am delighted to report to noble Lords that they have responded incredibly positively to that. Last month, we announced our first investment in the park. The excellent Field Studies Council, well known to many noble Lords, will work with us to create a residential centre in the park, the first ever urban field studies centre. I could not be more pleased that our first investment will be educationally led and will benefit young people locally in east London but also students from the rest of the United Kingdom. I hope that noble Lords will see that we are making tangible progress.
However, an important part of making all that work has been the need for the legacy company to have freehold control of the land in the park, unencumbered by debt. A deal to do that was struck earlier this year by the Mayor of London and the previous Government. That deal is now being re-examined as part of the overall Treasury review, despite the fact that the deal was fiscally neutral, so I ask the Minister to underline the importance of the deal for a successful legacy and press colleagues for an early endorsement of it.
Preparations for the Olympic and Paralympic Games are well advanced, although many, many challenges still lie ahead. The same is entirely true of legacy. However, everywhere I go, there is tremendous good will and a real passion for the legacy of the Games to be every bit as successful as the Games themselves. Working with the Mayor of London and the five host boroughs, I know that the legacy will be something of which we can all be immensely proud.