Question and Answer Session: London Legacy Development Corporation (Supplementary) [7]

Lyn Garner (Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation):  They are going quite well.  We mentioned this at the Budget [and Performance Committee] scrutiny.  Along with the rest of the group, we have submitted how much it will cost to get the Park to net zero.  We are confident that we can bring the Park to net zero by 2030, excepting the work that we need to do on the district heat network, which will potentially take a bit longer and is subject to feasibility studies at the moment.

We also have a little bit of nervousness around our residential development because there is some distance from some of our development agreement partners and we will need to drive that hard through the residential development, but we do have the right measures in place through the planning approvals to meet that.  We are reasonably confident that we can drive that forward for the Park.

On the London Stadium, there is a baseline study underway at the moment to have a look at exactly what the carbon emissions are and then a further study to look at what can be done to improve that.  You might have seen some publicity in the press around solar panel membranes that we are looking at for the roof, but that case is not proven yet.  We are still waiting for the robust results from the feasibility study.  Hopefully, we will be able to make some progress there.

Léonie Cooper AM:  Yes.  That was one of the things that I wanted to ask about because you have just mentioned the decarbonisation via the district heating network.  You have a baseline in for the Stadium but a feasibility [study] in progress for the district heating network.  These are, at the moment, unfunded and at the moment you are saying they are unscoped.  Would that be fair?

Lyn Garner (Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation):  If we start with the Stadium, they are unfunded, but the business case looks very robust.  The issue here is the weight of panels or membranes on the roof.  This is the feasibility.  It is an engineering feasibility that is underway at the moment.  If it was possible, then what we are seeing is that it will pay back over time and so it would be an invest-to-save initiative that would bring utility savings through the cost of electricity.  That would be self-financing over time, although it would need a capital sum up front.  It is in the order of £4 million in terms of the capital investment.  The GLA very helpfully is looking at invest-to-save pots to enable these kinds of projects to happen.  We are in close conversation with the team here at the GLA and they are helping us with the feasibility study as well.

As far as the district heat network is concerned, this year we will finalise some of those feasibilities and get into commercial discussions with the current provider, which is Equans, around how investment can happen.  The first stage of decarbonisation is underway.  It has agreed to fund heat pumps.  The first heat pump is going to go in very shortly at its cost, which will start us on the journey of decarbonising the network.

Léonie Cooper AM:  Is that air-source or ground-source?

Lyn Garner (Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation):  It is air-source.

Léonie Cooper AM:  All right.  Obviously, apart from heat pumps, which are low carbon rather than zero carbon, is looking at energy-efficient lighting to reduce the lighting consumption in the Aquatic Centre something that you are looking at as well?  Again, that pays for itself over time.  A lot of local authorities have gone down this road with all of their streetlamps and they clearly would not have put the capital investment in if the overall reduction in revenue spend was not there to back it up.

Lyn Garner (Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation):  Yes, we have already done it in the London Stadium for floodlights and for general lighting and we are introducing that lighting - this is at the Stadium - where it goes off when you are not moving in the areas because we did not have that previously.  That is really good.  I cannot remember what that is called.

We are looking at the Park, the lighting across the Park, lampposts and so on.  There is a business case already for that and that is underway.

The London Aquatic Centre I am not so familiar with.  I would need to have a look at that, but that would make perfect sense.  Huge amounts of energy are used in the Aquatic Centre to heat the pools and so on and so forth.  That is really critical.

Léonie Cooper AM:  Yes.  There has been quite a lot of discussion this week about solar and data centre heat off-take being used to heat swimming pools.  With all of the other developments, there might be something there for you to look at.

I just wanted finally to ask about vehicles onsite and whether or not you are able to move mobility towards being zero-carbon as well.

Lyn Garner (Chief Executive, London Legacy Development Corporation):  Yes, I am sure that is part of the plan, but I do not have the detail in my head.  Can I write to you on that, Léonie?

Léonie Cooper AM:  Absolutely.  That would be great.