Call to keep £1bn Lottery funding for East London

Almost one billion pounds of Lottery funding for the 2012 Olympics should be ploughed in to the regeneration of East London after the Games, instead of being returned to good causes, according to one of the councils affected.

Councillor Guy Nicholson, regeneration cabinet member at Hackney council, told a fringe event at the Labour Conference that the plan to return money to the National Lottery and London Development Agency when the land is sold off after the Games will have a profound effect on whether long-lasting regeneration can be achieved around the Olympic Park.

The deal to return the money to the lottery was made as more money was taken from good causes to fund increased cost of the games above the original £2.375bn estimate.

The question is do we go for short-term returns from the Lottery or investing in the long-term for the UK

Councillor Nicholson

Cllr Nicholson said: "This £1bn will have a significant impact on what will happen post-2012. The Lottery shouldn't get it back, it should be re-invested in East London. The question is do we go for short-term returns from the Lottery or investing in the long-term for the UK."

Nicholson is one of a number of councillors sitting on the 2012 legacy steering group, which is guiding the creation of the regeneration framework for the area after 2012.