Save Greenwich Park from Olympic Equestrian events in 2012 : Press/PR

Trees Equestrian perspective

Press/PR

23 March 2010 - letter from Dr David Starkey to The Times - Don't let Olympics ruin Greenwich: There will be no legacy for Greenwich apart from irreparable damage to the archaeology of the site and the long-term scarring of the landscape.: "Greenwich faces its gravest threat since the 19th century. Then it was proposed to drive a railway through the park; now, and scarcely less vandalistically, to make it the site of the 2012 Olympics equestrian events. To do so will require the lopping and pruning of trees, the removal and replacement of thousands of tons of topsoil, countless journeys by heavy lorries and soil-moving equipment, compaction of the soil by the feet of 75,000 spectators and the closure of sections of the park to the public for up to five years.

And for what? To provide a pretty TV backdrop for a few hours of an elitist minority sport - for which, incidentally, ample facilities in an equally beautiful setting already exist as near as Windsor. It will cost a fortune. And there will be no legacy whatever, apart from the likelihood of irreparable damage to the archaeology of the site and the long-term scarring of the landscape.

... a planning meeting of Greenwich council takes place tonight to consider the Olympic application. The council has the power to throw it out. And it has an absolute duty to do so as well, to make sure that future generations can enjoy this wonderful place in the condition that we have inherited it."; Read all of Dr Starkey's letter to The Times here.

20 March 2010 - Andrew Gilligan - Daily Telegraph (19 March 2010) - Our parks should be for quiet enjoyment: "Perhaps if the Queen still ran the parks, we might be better off ... Alas, their management was long ago outsourced to a quango called the Royal Parks Agency, which, in a dozen different ways, has shown its utter indifference to London's, and the nation's, patrimony. ... in Greenwich Park, the best of the lot, the Royal Parks Agency has given its near-unconditional backing to the most preposterous planning scheme since someone proposed to rebuild Buckingham Palace out of slices of processed cheese. ... The planning application for this disaster is before Greenwich Council on Tuesday. The fury and disbelief of the local community comes through clearly in the more than 2,000 objections submitted. Any park management worth its gardening shears would be lying down in front of the bulldozers. Instead, the Royal Parks Agency has been the supine adjunct of the Olympic wreckers.; The Royal Parks Agency is not a fit or proper owner of Greenwich Park, or any other park. And that is why I've been pushing a proposal which, I'm glad to see, the Tories seem to have adopted. They will scrap the agency and hand the parks to the Mayor of London. ... Even if we cannot get royalty back in charge, Boris is London's next closest thing. He's always wanted to be a landed gent. And unlike some quango, he will be democratically accountable for the use of the parks. So with any luck, in the Royal Parks, we'll soon have our last guitar solo of stadium rock, and we might even be able to hear the birds again." Read the whole article here.

5 March 2010 - Independent - Leading article: Farewell Vancouver, hello London - comments on lessons to be learnt from the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver:: "But it will do wonders for British confidence if we can run the Games with an efficiency in which we have long ceased to believe. (Although that will mean sorting out the glitches, such as ruining Greenwich Park for the equestrian events)" Read the full article here.; NOGOE comment: There would be no chance of Greenwich Park being restored to pre-Games condition if these events go ahead. There would be an outcry at home and criticism from abroad for taking risks, and caring so little for a World Heritage Site, that we would allow a temporary sporting event, however prestigious, to cause such disproportionate damage to Britain's cultural heritage.

26 February 2010 - Evening Standard (Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent) - Olympics face £160m raid on emergency fund:: The National Audit Office (NAO) "said there was a lack of clarity on 'budgetary responsibilities' between the Government and the 2012 organising committee Locog, which raises its £2 billion budget towards the cost of staging the Games from commercial revenues. The watchdog warned that although Locog was privately funded, the taxpayer was exposed to any debts it may incur."; "The NAO added: 'Plans for the delivery of the Games need to be fleshed out, making sure that Locog is on track at least to break even.'" Read the whole Evening Standard article here.; NOGOE comment: NOGOE has critised LOCOG's profligacy in choosing Greenwich Park for the 2012 equestrian events because, by our calculations, there are more cost-effective alternatives that would also leave a legacy in terms of infrastructure. LOCOG has hidden behind private company status and refused even to divulge comparative cost analyses on the basis of commercial sensitivity. NOGOE insists that taxpayers have an interest because they are underwriting losses.

21 February 2010: Racing Post, "Fly On The Wall" column: Put your money on Goodwood: "The Fly on the Wall reckons that racecourse officials in the south of England will be brushing up their knowledge of show-jumping, dressage and eventing terminology over the next couple of weeks, with an eye on pitching for the right to stage the 2012 London Olympic equestrian events.; Despite repeated reassurances from the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Greenwich is not yet past the post.; Greenwich council is due to hear a planning application on March 23, and the Fly's source in jodphurs and Puffa jacket reports that over 2,000 objections have been lodged to the proposal, which will put the local park beyond public use for months, if not years. Most direct neighbours have signed up for the opposition, along with such august bodies as the International Council for Monuments and Sites UK, the Garden History Society and the British Archaeological Trust.; LOCOG may yet be forced to find another venue, and with relatively little time to look around, southern racecourses could be in the best position to help. Sadly, the one venue that made an early bid, Great Leighs, is ruled out, which leaves very few options.; Windsor already has an Olympic link, having been booked for car parking, perhaps with rowing at Eton in mind. Its proximity to the Great Park, site of the annual horse show, might help further, but laying down an event course would cause similar size problems to those that have wrought criticism on Greenwich.; Ascot, Kempton and Lingfield would have similar difficulties. So, put your money on Goodwood, the Fly says. It has staged eventing and world championship dressage on the estate, and is on the official list as a pre-Olympic training camp."

18 February 2010 - Bexley Times: "Principal Director of South-East London Chamber of Commerce, Stephen Nelson, wants members of No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE) to drop their battle against Greenwich Park hosting equestrian and modern pentathlon events." Read the rest of the article here.; Or you could, for facts not scaremongering, read NOGOE's submission to the planning authorities here (the Economic Annex).

10 February 2010: London Evening Standard (9.2.2010), Sir Simon Jenkins: Boris Johnson is waging war on our city's subversive south: "The stately heights of Greenwich and Blackheath never receive the attention lavished on Hampstead or Highgate. The delights of Dulwich and its gallery receive few visitors from north of the river. Crystal Palace would have made an ideal Olympics athletics track - given it is needed for just two weeks. Instead Stratford gets the billions and the lovely greens and trees of Greenwich are raped by the Olympic equestrians." Read the whole article by Sir Simon Jenkins here.

21 January 2010: Daily Telegraph, Simon Hart, London 2012: corporate tickets 'a betrayal of promises made to Londoners over Games': "ordinary fans are relegated to the back of the queue for tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime sporting extravaganza.". Read the rest of this report at the Daily Telegraph

20 January 2010: Mercury, Mandy Little, Rivals argue over Olympics: Plans for Olympic events in Greenwich Park are not detailed enough, campaigners claim. Around 280 people attended the Save Greenwich Park meeting on Sunday at John Roan School in Maze Hill. The meeting discussed the planning application submitted to Greenwich council for the horse riding competitions in 2012 by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG). Read the whole article, on page 13, here

20 January 2010, News Shopper, COMMENT: Greenwich Time - 'self-serving propaganda sheet':: News Shopper editor Richard Firth, opposition councillors, local MPs and others have their say on Greenwich Council's 'Pravda propaganda sheet' newspaper Greenwich Time. Read the whole article, and comments, here

20 January 2010: News Shopper: GREENWICH - Park Olympics plans under scrutiny: HIGHLY controversial plans for Olympic horse-riding in a royal park have come under scrutiny ahead of a council decision. Read the whole article here

20 January 2010: Evening Standard, Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent: Date set for first 2012 Olympics ticket sales: Sports fans will be able to buy tickets for the Olympics from the start of next year, the Standard understands. ... Next year, the public will be able to apply for tickets through a ballot system which will account for up to 85 per cent of the 9.2 million tickets ... credit card purchases can only be made using Visa - the official Olympic credit card. In the ballot there will be no preferential treatment for Londoners, who will contribute an average £120 each in council tax to the Games budget. Read whole article here

15 January 2010: Horse and Hound: Protestors hope to derail Greenwich Olympic plan using Victorian law: "Campaigners opposed to the use of Greenwich Park during the 2012 Olympics claim to have found a law that renders the recent planning application for the park unlawful.; It refers to a piece of land - known as Circus Field - which borders the park and would be used for logistics during the Games.; Retired solicitor Lionel Lewis told H&H: 'The management scheme for Blackheath [dating from 1871] not only prohibits enclosure [of the heath] generally but limits enclosure by those managing the heath to the purpose only of repair of the grasses.'" Read the rest of the article in Horse and Hound

11 January 2010: Evening Standard, Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent: "London's Olympics chiefs have been accused of behaving like 'stormtroopers' towards small businesses.; Baroness Valentine, chief executive of London First, said companies were being targeted by aggressive 'brand police' in an overzealous crackdown by the 2012 organising committee, Locog, on unauthorised marketing.; Lady Valentine called on Locog to show more leniency to firms in the capital seeking to use Olympic promotions to help their businesses.; Locog is accused of stifling legitimate enterprise as it protects the marketing rights 'consisting of the Olympic rings and 2012 logo' of its tier-one sponsors such as BA, adidas, Lloyds Banking Group and BMW, who pay up to £80 million to become commercial partners. Olympic lawyers have the backing of the tough rules governing marketing under the 2005 London Olympic Act.; Speaking at a Lords Olympics debate, Lady Valentine said: 'Even mentioning London and 2012 in the same sentence can result in a shot across the bows from the brand police of Lord Coe. We should be building excitement. My worry is that the reputation earned by Locog's stormtroopers threatens to undermine the potential for London.'" Read whole article here. Keywords: small businesses, Olympic Act 2005

8 January 2010: LBC Radio, London's news station reported on the 1 o'clock news that residents in south London are threatening court action against Greenwich Council if a secure compound is built on Blackheath for the Olympics.: The action is based on the discovery by local solicitor, Lionel Lewis, of a Scheme to the Metropolitan Commons Supplemental Act of 1871. According to Lionel Lewis, "Not only does it say in the Scheme that the managers shall not permit any enclosure except for repair of grasses but also then for the shortest possible time". "If Greenwich Council want to go ahead to give planning permission for a purpose which is illegal then an application will be made to the High Court to have it quashed."; This could put the entire planning application for the Greenwich Park Olympics into disarray. Organiser LOCOG says their lawyers disagree.; NOGOE's Coordinator John Hine had this to say, "If it's established that LOCOG have no right to use Circus Field on Blackheath then it could affect their Olympic plans for Greenwich Park. If I were LOCOG I would regard this as a torpedo."; Greenwich Council is yet to respond.; UPDATED: Lionel Lewis, a local resident, managed to get several points across about the use of Blackheath and Greenwich Park. What came across clearly was: (a) the fact that a government organisation would be in breach of the law by enclosing Blackheath, a Metropolitan common - taking no notice, thinking the Olympics overrules everything ; and (b) the fact that the Department for Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) do not have the power to close a royal park that was designated to be open all year round for the benefit of the public. He asked,"Who are these people in Whitehall who can say: blow the public; we want to use Greenwich Park because it looks good on the telly - views incidentally that would be obscured by a high stadium?"; Lionel stressed that Greenwich Park, a World Heritage Site with 3000 trees, was unsuitable. And that it is too small, as LOCOG have now found out, and hence their desire to spill over to Blackheath. It was not designed for such a showbiz event.; "Is there any chance of success?" asked the presenter. Lionel replied, "Oh yes. Despite being up against the Panzer Division in Whitehall, there are laws to protect against enclosures in commons. You can't have the likes of Lord Coe and his 'coe-horts' saying we can have the Olympics wherever we want. They are not above the law, and they should go where they won't break the law". Keywords: Metropolitan commons, DCMS

8 January 2010 - Greenwich Park - Why take risks with Britain's Heritage?:: Holding the Equestrian Olympics in Greenwich Park is a bad idea, and it may never have got off the ground if the bid company: (a) had not over-estimated the size of the Park; (b) had carried out rudimentary environmental research; and (c) had done a cost-benefit analysis against comparative sites.; Having won the bid, the organiser, LOCOG, is determined to go through with its plans despite the problems posed by holding such a major event in a fragile World Heritage Site. Its determination is rooted in the fact that equestrian is in decline; an iconic setting in an urban location might help to promote it, and the International Equestrian Federation has made it clear that, if Greenwich Park is not used, then the prospects for the sport in future Olympics are in peril. Hence the pressure to take risks. Read more at the Games Monitor

17 December 2009: Scottish Farmer: Controversial Greenwich planning application unveiled: Details of how Greenwich Park will be transformed by the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG) into a top-class equestrian venue have been unveiled after the council submitted its planning application for the Grade 1-listed site, this week.; A decision will be expected on the plans by March, 2011, and if given the go ahead as plans stand, parts of the 180-acre park will be shut to the public for more than five years. ... However, local pressure group No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE) has also issued a further challenge to the plans. It claims LOCOG's use of nearby Blackheath (for additional stabling) contravenes the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866, which rules that Blackheath must be open to the public at all times. Read the whole article at Scottish Farmer.

13 December 2009, News Shopper, Mark Chandler: GREENWICH - 'Worst fears realised' over Greenwich Park Olympic plans: WORK to restore a royal park after it is used for Olympic horse-riding could go on until 2015, according to a planning application. ... But the planning application shows parts of the park will be closed off from April 2012, use of the Blackheath Circus Field as a compound will last until November and restoration of the park�s acid grassland could run on until 2015. ... The application predicts 6,420 lorry movements during setting up the event and taking it down, with a further 35,960 vehicle movements during the competition itself. There will also be 2.7m high perimeter fencing and CCTV cameras set up.

9 December 2009, Pippa Cuckson: What happens if Greenwich Park does not get planning permission?: Publication of the planning application for Greenwich Park's Olympic equestrian facilities finally reveals that a major hurdle remains to be jumped, despite the "final" endorsements of the site by KPMG et seq last year. Read the rest of Pippa Cuckson's article at Inside the Games.

9 December 2009, Daily Telegraph, London Editor.: "Parts of Greenwich park will be closed to the public for five and a half years as part of controversial works to stage Olympic horseriding events, it has emerged. The planning application, published yesterday, shows that closure of parts of the park will begin in "spring 2010," in around five months' time, and the grassland will not be fully restored and reopened until "November 2015.""

8 December 2009: Guardian: Greenwich fighting 2012: "The pressure group campaigning against the use of Greenwich Park as an Olympic equestrian venue is refusing to give up the fight, despite Locog's belief it is winning the battle for the hearts and minds of local residents. Neil Rhind, a local historian, and Lionel Lewis, a solicitor, have written to the London Borough of Greenwich's chief executive, Mary Ney, claiming that Locog's proposed use of 26 acres of Blackheath Common would be unlawful, as would any application for planning permission, because it is common land. Locog had hoped that its plans to use the heath for a 26-acre compound for keeping horses, stables and training facilities would help appease residents to the west of the park who were worried about the possible disruption. The planning process, seen as the last round in an increasingly bitter fight, will take until next spring."

8 December 2009, London 2012 planning application for Greenwich is illegal claim opponents: London 2012 planning application for Greenwich is illegal claim opponents. Read the rest of the report at Inside The Games

6 December 2009, The Mail on Sunday, on the Metropolitan Commons Act 1866

4 December 2009, greenwich.co.uk, open letter to MP Nick Raynsford: "Dear Nick, NOGOE very much regrets your uncritical cheer leading for LOCOG (most recently displayed in your interview with www.greenwich.co.uk). As a constituency MP, we feel that you should respect, even if you don't always agree with, the genuinely held views of all your constituents. I am therefore writing this open letter to you, which the blog site has agreed to publish." Read rest of John Hine's letter to Nick Raynsford and Raynsford's reply.

10 November 2009, Docklands24 "Park protestors take signatures to Downing Street": "Gordon Brown and Boris Johnson have both received boxes containing 13,000 signatures against the Olympic Games in Greenwich Park." Read the whole article here Keywords: 10 Downing Street, petition, 13,000 signatures.

21 October 2009, greenwich.co.uk & (20 October 2009) Daily Telegraph: "HIGHLY-controversial plans to hold the Olympic horse events in Greenwich Park are opposed by almost 70 per cent of local residents, the first full-scale survey has found. The survey, by the London Assembly, is a serious blow to the Olympic organisers" Read the whole article here. Keywords: survey, London Assembly, Gilligan.

20 October 2009, Daily Telegraph: " When my three Californian nieces came to London last summer, where did I take them for a grand day out? To Greenwich Park, of course, a place which is so steeped in history - as an important royal palace since the 14th century, birthplace of Henry VIII, Elizabeth I and Mary I - that even jaded Old Worlders must bow down in wonderment. From the vantage point of the Royal Observatory, one can spy a glistening ensemble of white neoclassical buildings - Inigo Jones's seminal Queen's House and Christopher Wren's magnificent Old Naval College - all held in the sylvan embrace of Greenwich Park, with the sparkling Thames flowing behind.

But now there are concerns that the fabric and integrity of Greenwich Park is threatened by plans to use it for the equestrian and pentathlon events in the 2012 London Olympics." Read the whole article here. Keywords: Gardening History Society, acid grassland, Grade I Listed park.

2 October 2009, "Piloti" column, Private Eye: "As the Olympic Games approach and the cost of this gratuitous nightmare for London rises, the mayor, to his credit, has said that: 'Too much attention is being paid to the will of international sports federations and not enough to the people of London'" Read/download the whole article (105kb). Keywords: Private Eye, Boris Johnson, olympic legacy, no public consultation.

6 October 2009, Evening Standard: "Coe is on record as saying that the Games will deliver 'a profit'. Perhaps his salary should come out of it. Any student of the Olympic Games knows that there is never a legacy. As Sydney and Athens showed, the Olympics never lead to a tourism surge. In 2012 Stratford, given its location, will be half empty and many London hotels unfilled. All London has is a 'legacy czar', imported from Pennsylvania at the exorbitant fee of £200,000 a year. His remit from the Government is, hilariously, 'to dampen expectation'. Read the whole article here. Keywords: legacy, Jenkins.