Will the Olympic Park deliver the environmental legacy promised?

23 MAY 2011

After the competitors and spectators have left, the 2012 Games site will become the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. From 2013 onwards, this will become a new neighbourhood of more than 10,000 homes, with businesses providing up to 10,000 jobs, plus community and sporting facilities.  But how environmentally sustainable will the Park be?

The London Assembly’s Environment Committee has launched a new investigation into the environmental legacy of the Olympic Park.

In bidding for the 2012 Games, organisers promised the park would promote sustainable living[1], but how will this be achieved? What will be the environmental impacts of establishing the new neighbourhood on the site and how will these be managed?

Murad Qureshi, Chair of the Environment Committee said: “Bold promises were made about how environmentally-friendly the Stratford site will be. We want to investigate how these commitments on its legacy will be fulfilled once the excitement of the Games is over.

”The Olympic Park offers the potential to create a wonderful new area of the capital that promotes a more sustainable way of living.  We need to ensure this becomes a reality in order to secure a long-term legacy for London.”

The investigation aims to answer the following questions:  

  • What will be the environmental impacts and benefits of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park?
  • How will the promise to make the Olympic park a ‘blueprint for sustainable living’ be fulfilled?
  • What is the Olympic Delivery Agency doing to deliver a site suitable for a sustainable legacy?
  • What are the Olympic Park Legacy Company’s plans for the transition to, and operation of, a sustainable legacy?
  • How will sponsors, developers and other commercial partners be involved in delivering an environmentally-sustainable Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park? 

Notes for Editors:

  1. See the London 2012 Sustainability Plan, 2009, page 11
  2. The Chair of the Environment Committee, Murad Qureshi AM, is available for interview.  See contact details below.
  3. Read more about the investigation
  4. As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.

For media enquiries, please contact Lisa Moore or Julie Wheldon on 020 7983 4228/4283.  For out of hours media enquiries, call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the London Assembly duty press officer.  Non-media enquiries should be directed to the Public Liaison Unit on 020 7983 4100.