Olympic Games and Paralympic Games 2012

Baroness Morgan of Huyton Excerpts

Monday 14th June 2010 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Morgan of Huyton]

My Lords, it is an honour to speak in today's debate after the noble Baroness, Lady Grey-Thompson. I congratulate her on her maiden speech, which demonstrated how significant her contribution will be in this House. She is not only one of the great figures of British sport in the past 20 years, with an astonishing 11 Paralympic gold medals and six London Marathon victories, but has done much to promote sport in this country through a wide range of community and voluntary-sector initiatives, as we have heard a little about today. Her significant expertise and experience on Olympic and Paralympic issues will be a tremendous asset to the House. Many of us have watched her feats with open mouths over the years. It is indeed a pleasure now to be able to gain from that experience in our debates.

The last time we discussed the Olympics was on a spectacularly snowy evening, as I recall. Many people disappeared into the blizzard to try to get home, so it is good that it is an altogether brighter spectacle today. As usual, I declare an interest as a board member of the Olympic Delivery Authority. The broad support for the project from all sides of the House evident in the debate earlier this year shows the strength of the political consensus that exists around the successful delivery of the Games in 2012. The very fact that 2012 was barely mentioned as an issue during the general election is testament to that. Therefore, despite what the noble Lord, Lord Patten, said, I am reasonably optimistic that even the 2012 mayoral elections will stay as one on the Olympics.

I should like, first, to acknowledge the strength of the relationships across the key the 2012 delivery agencies. I pay testament to the work of noble Lord, Lord Coe, and his team at LOCOG; the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan, and his team at BOA; and the noble Baroness, Lady Ford, and her team at the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

Our success to date has been built on partnership and I like to think that the whole 2012 project in all its enormity has been a coalition project before coalitions became so fashionable. We are now approaching two years to go before the Olympic and Paralympic Games begin in 2012, and there is growing interest and scrutiny of the Games’ delivery plans. I welcome today’s debate as an opportunity to give the House a progress report on the 2012 construction programme, for which the ODA is responsible.

I am pleased to tell the House that the ODA remains on time and within budget to deliver its construction programme, with more than 65 per cent of the venues and infrastructure for 2012 now complete. Personally, I remain hugely impressed by David Higgins, chief executive of the ODA, and his team. It is almost impossible not to underestimate the enormity of the task that they have undertaken. They have been utterly focused, resilient and effective since they began in 2006. As a board member, I have found it remarkable to come across so many impressive people, all working with the same commitment—whether they are engineers, the team working with local communities or logistics, or so many others. The enthusiasm is tangible.

Of course, it is the measure of their success that the media have got pretty bored. After all, where is the fun in on-time and on-budget? The continuing support of the public has been crucial in preventing the expected dip in decent and fair coverage. The detailed scrutiny in Parliament has also been a vital part of this. That is not to say that it is all done and dusted. We are 65 per cent there, but some of the most difficult parts of the construction remain. However, it is going well. It is important to remember that our target date for completion for the majority of the programme is the summer of 2011 in order that venues can be handed over for testing.

In the six months since 2012 was last debated in this House there has been significant change in the park. For example, the 14 lighting towers on the Olympic stadium have been lifted into place. The roof is going on and seats will shortly be installed. The three swimming pools in the aquatics centre have been completed and tested.

Construction is well under way across the Olympic village site, including the academy, the new world-class education campus being built within the village. The transformation from a brownfield site to a new park in London is under way, with planting starting next week in the north of the park. The work on the Olympic park is more than just another construction project; it is something that encapsulates the very best of the UK. I take this opportunity to talk briefly about one specific venue, the velopark, which epitomises that. It contains the five characteristics which are integral to and which are reflected across the whole park: notably, the commitment to regeneration and legacy; excellence in design; sustainability; accessibility; and engineering and project delivery.

The site of the velopark in the north of the Olympic site has a historic relationship with cycling. It was the home of the Eastway Cycle Circuit, a course formerly used by Olympians such as Bradley Wiggins, and now relocated to another part of east London. It was also the most contaminated part of the site as it had been a post-war tip. The 6,000-seat velodrome will host the Olympic and Paralympic indoor track cycling events in 2012, alongside the BMX circuit. After the Games, these facilities will be joined by a road-cycle circuit and a 7.5-kilometre mountain-bike course. Furthermore, you will be able to hire a cycle and bike around the park, so it will be accessible to everyone.

The legacy velopark will be unique worldwide in combining all cycling disciplines in one cycling hub, and its legacy has been developed in consultation with the cycling governing bodies and the community users. The 2012 velodrome has a perfect success model to follow in Manchester, which has become the busiest velodrome in the world, with an oversubscribed track programme, producing 40,000 rides per year for all riders—novice to elite, from 9 to 79 years old. Following the success in Beijing, cycling is one of the fastest growth sports in the UK. With a legacy operator secured—the Lea Valley Regional Park Authority—the facilities will be available for both elite and community use for generations to come.

The design team for the velopark was chosen following a lengthy competition. The shortlisted teams were assessed by a jury which featured leading names from the design world and Olympic champion Chris Hoy. This ensured that the track was designed around the needs of the athletes. Design, innovation, and creativity lie at the heart of this project and the innovative design of the velodrome has challenged the notion that velodromes have to be functional, dark, unremarkable buildings. The ODA wanted to create something special and if you drive along the A12 you will see that the velodrome dominates the skyline with its iconic roof designed to reflect the geometry of the cycling track.

We also want to make this the fastest track in the world, so the designers and contractors have procured hard-grown pine from Siberia, which will then be planed in Germany, and brought to the site in the coming months to help to create a record-breaking track. The facility is a beacon to sustainability and it has a unique cable-net roof which weighs roughly half that of any similar building, helping to create a highly efficient building. It will include the use of daylight through roof lights and external glazing which reduces the need for artificial lighting and allows natural ventilation. Also, water-saving fittings built into the design allow the collection of rainwater for reuse in the building, helping to reduce water consumption.

Ensuring accessibility to the venue presented real challenges for the design team. Most other indoor cycle tracks offer only limited accessibility as a result of the complexity of accessing all areas around the track. Our design overcomes this by adding two ramps beneath the track area which access the infield. The 6,000 seats are split above and below a fully accessible public concourse that runs around the perimeter of the trackside seating, allowing wheelchair access to the best viewing points in the venue.

The velodrome will showcase the best of UK engineering and construction with companies from across the UK coming together to build the venue. It is on time and within budget and will be the first venue on the park to be completed next year. It is being constructed by a British company, ISG, which was also responsible for replacing the track at the Manchester Velodrome. Suppliers from across the country are also involved, with the steel coming from Bolton, for example, which is providing jobs in difficult times. We are the best in the world at track cycling and we want to give our Olympians and Paralympians the best chance of success in 2012. Testing the venue for a year and training inside it will be an important part of that, so it has to be finished on time.

In conclusion, the project remains on track and within budget. It will create a park that showcases the best of UK plc in all our venues. I think we would all agree that the economic, sporting and social benefits of 2012 are already showing. When you look at the effect that the World Cup has had on South Africa, you start to grasp the effect that will be created here in 2012. The spirit of the Olympic and Paralympic Games speaks to the whole country, young and old, and is especially vital in tough times.

Finally, as my noble friend Lady Ford said earlier, I would be extremely happy to arrange visits to the site in east London for fellow Peers who have not visited the park. By seeing the construction at this stage, rather than when it is finished, you start to understand the scale of the work that has been undertaken.