ODA final site map completed

The Olympic Delivery Authority has revamped the final masterplan for the London Olympic Park in east London. The changes aim to shore up sustainable use of the sports facilities after 2012.

The new design retains the Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre and Olympic Village venues. The facilities for hockey, cycling and tennis will form a major new sports and leisure hub for the local communities after the Games.

Volleyball will be relocated out of the park. Subject to IOC approval, the sport will transfer to Earls Court.

This is aimed at freeing up space in the Olympic Park for athlete training areas close to the Olympic Village and improving access to the main press centre and the International Broadcast Centre within the Park.

More than 60 per cent of venues for the 2012 London Games already exist, including Lords, Horse Guards Parade, Wimbledon, Greenwich Park, ExCeL and Hyde Park. The new Wembley Stadium will also be used.

ODA Chief Executive David Higgins said: "It is a major prize for the Olympic project to have a final site map for London 2012 at this stage, less than a year since Singapore… We have hit a major milestone".

He added: "Detailed planning now is worth its weight in gold further down the track. This… allows us to move to the next stage of development - from site design to venue and infrastructure design alongside securing the necessary planning permissions."

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said: "As the world's stage for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games this careful reconfiguring of the Olympic Park to produce this final masterplan shows our commitment to organise the best ever Games for athletes and spectators alike. But it also shows how we are putting the lasting legacy for London and Londoners that the Games can deliver top of our agenda."