Aiming for a GOL medal

London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games took the first hurdle on 15 January, when the competing cities submitted their initial plans to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

Key to London's bid has been GOL's role in addressing two key components of the plans – transport and planning.

The transport side of the bid is being handled by a team comprising Transport for London, the Strategic Rail Authority, London 2012 and GOL. GOL's role involves appraising proposed transport schemes to ensure that they give the best value for money, provide what the Games need and have legacy value for London.

When the final bid is made in November, GOL needs to have ensured that all transport proposals are affordable and that all alternatives have been considered.

Some of the key projects under discussion are the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which will see the introduction of a shuttle link between St Pancras and Stratford, park and ride facilities, and improvements to the road network.

The importance of thinking about transport systems before the Olympics cannot be underestimated. The planning that went on before the Sydney Games in 2000 enabled the event to be a great success.

The planning side of GOL's work on the bid involves the regeneration of the Lower Lea Valley, which covers parts of Hackney, Tower Hamlets, Newham and Waltham Forest, and is part of the Thames Gateway, one of four areas of major growth in London and the South East identified in the Sustainable Communities Plan.

A masterplan has been prepared for the Lower Lea, including an Olympic zone close to Stratford, where the main stadium and athletes' village would be located.  GOL is playing a leading role in ensuring that the planning process runs smoothly, and that outline planning consent is obtained for the Olympic zone by the time the full bid is submitted to the IOC in November.

It's not long until the shortlisting of candidate cities takes place in May, but GOL's work on transport and planning, which goes back to early 2003, means London will be in a strong position to compete with other front runners like Paris and New York.

More information

For more information please contact Suzanne Halls, 020 7217 3664.