Games Monitor

'interested party' and Bubble Burster, these figures are genuine and carefully researched

BW were either incompetent or deliberately underestimated the cost in order to get backing for the Prescott aka 3 Mills Locks.

The project shows the classic Olympic symptoms of excessively optimistic early cost estimates combined with wildly exagerrated and misleading purported benefits. Having got the backing of the quangocrats and politicians, the cost then mysteriously rises while the claimed benefits gradually evaporate.

You don't have to believe me or Del Brenner, check the sources -

British Waterways Board Briefing Paper - Sep 2005
"Early indications are that the lock and structure would cost c£10.6m"

.

British Waterways "Olympic Waterways Opportunities" 15 Nov 2005
States a bargain-basement cost of £8.8m + contingency on P3.

(Also listed as a Disbenefit are "Loss of tidal influence and ‘flushing’ of the river system on Waterworks River". Such negative terms as 'Disbenefit' have of course never been heard since in relation to this project)

House of Commons Transport Committee "Going for Gold: Transport for London's 2012 Olympic Games" -
Third Report of Session 2005–06, published 16 Mar 2006
on P 50 "Impounding the river involves constructing a double lock which would cost between £10-13 million"

Daily Telegraph £15m sluice system is Prescott's watergate 8 Jul 2006
- it's now £15m .

British Waterways New Life for East End rivers" 28 February 2007
- Construction starts and it's £18.9m

British Waterways Milestone achieved at Prescott Lock July 2008
Tidal lockout and it's now a £20m project.

BW's Annual Report & Accounts 2008-9 Proclaims the "completion of the £23m Three Mills Lock and water control
structure on Prescott Channel"