Olympics win legal fight for land
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/england/london/6195027.stm Version 0 of 1. Organisers of the London 2012 Olympics have won a legal battle allowing them to purchase land for the site. It means some businesses in east London will be forced to vacate their premises so that venues and other facilities for the games can be built. The Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) were confirmed by Industry Secretary Alistair Darling. The Olympics already has negotiated the use of 93% of the land needed for the 2012 games. But some business and residents are still opposed to the plans and have said they want better deals. 'Complex project' Manny Lewis, Chief Executive of the London Development Agency (LDA), said: "Whilst we have been granted the CPO powers, we will continue to negotiate with landowners in an effort to reach agreements. "We have already managed to secure 93% of the land through negotiation and the LDA is on course to deliver an incredibly complex project on time." Some businesses had at first fought the relocation programme, saying they were unhappy with the deals they were offered, but have now signed up. Stratford business owner Lance Forman said: "It hasn't been plain sailing. It's taken us three years to move 150 metres. I hope our athletes will be able to do better than that." Two Gypsy sites on land the Olympics organisers have earmarked said they were unhappy with the way they are being treated. Waterden Crescent resident Mena Mongan told BBC London: "They're talking about putting us into temporary accommodation, but people don't want to move... we want to be settled once and for all in the small groups that we want to go in." The LDA admitted about 70 businesses may have trouble moving and some jobs may be lost, but the Olympics would lead to an extra 11,000 jobs in the area. |