Property speculation

Labour MP Clive Betts has highlighted the need for transparency in public private sector deals for delivery of the Olympic developments and has called for parliamentary scrutiny of such arrangements. Deals were being discussed with Stratford City Developments ahead of consent for the Olympic bill to ensure conversion of flats into housing for 4,500 athletes (R. Booth, The Guardian, July 29, 2005). In 2003, the consortium Stratford City Developments and the LDA agreed not to frustrate the other's planning applications. The Guardian article notes: "A director of the consortium, Sir Stuart Lipton, was also a senior government advisor on the Olympics plans at the time of the co operation agreement. He was later forced to resign from his post as chairman of the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment following accusations of conflict of interest between his role as government adviser and a leading private developer".

The £550 million funding for the London Olympics will initially come from London council tax payers, £1.5 billion from the National Lottery, followed by a further £75 million from council tax, and £250 million from the London Development Authority (LDA). The International Olympic Committee (IOC) insists that host cities underwrite all liabilities. £15 million was spent on the London bid alone (Blowe, 2004; 2005).