At a meeting of the GLA Olympics Committee Anna Harding, chief executive of Space Studios, criticised the 2012 Media Centre as ‘a darned insult to Hackney’ and said it was outmoded. Regarding finding future occupants she said ‘You don’t need to go around the world looking for an anchor tenant. You can talk to the young people of Hackney.’

The East Marsh site, to be used as a temporary coach park during Games, also contains two feasible locations for a further turbine (only one turbine is possible due to limitations on turbine proximity with respect to other turbines), subject to flood risk assessment. Figure 2 shows a constraints diagram for this area produced by Ecotricity. BH/EDAW have identified two specific locations within this area which are suitable for wind turbines

Reproduced here is the letter sent to the Hackney Gazette from Hackney Marshes User Group. Please note that the final sentence was edited by the Gazette such that it's meaning was lost when published in the print edition of Thursday 5th November 2009.

Recent Freedom of Information responses from 2012 Olympics 'host boroughs' confirm the suspicion that local council funds and resources are being diverted into Olympics matters in ways that are not easily identifiable or accounted for. The lack of transparency and thorough accounting procedures make it almost impossible to calculate how much council tax payers are contributing to the 2012 Olympics as a whole, over and above the highly publicised £9.3billion budget.

Despite calls from MPs and the Environmental Industries Commission the ODA has said it will not fit polluting non road mobile machinery (NRMM) with exhaust after treatment as required by Best Practice Guidance (BPG). In January 2009, as reported on Games Monitor, a group of MPs put down an Early Day Motion calling on construction projects, in particular the Olympics, to ensure that the most polluting plant be fitted with suitable pollution control technology. This criticism of the ODA was supported by the Environmental Industries Commission. EIC Policy Director, Danny Stevens, said “London is supposed to be a showcase for the world - demonstrating that it can put on the greenest Olympic games to date, yet a commitment to tackle harmful emissions from the construction machinery used on site is being ignored.”

In July 2008, at an ODA open meeting a Leabank Square resident, Sona Abantu-Choudhury, was told that the only convenient location for a soil washing machine was opposite his estate and that it was essential this machine worked late into the night. At that time the machine was washing away until 10pm! Residents were complaining about the disturbance this machine was causing them and Mr Abantu-Choudhury pointed this out to the ODA representatives at the meeting. Far from showing sympathy they insisted this was the only option. Later, after a further meeting the ODA agreed to reduce the wash cycle to 8pm, although residents were told this alteration meant the machine would have to continue in operation for several more months.

By Sam Urquhart

A Freedom of Information Act request submitted by gamesmonitor.org - a group which diligently scrutinizes the preparations for the 2012 Olympics - has unearthed a fascinating tale of official cowardice, quasi-censorship and pandering to corporate, not civic, priorities.

After writing about the new and reduced park I found myself involved in an email discussion about replacement funding. At the risk of repeating myself I thought part of it deserved a little airing. Below is part of an email from a Hackney Councillor, Christine Boyd, in response to a discussion about REAP funding which was meant to compensate local communities, notably at Hackney Wick, for loss of open space.