London 2012 blog

Last week I joined my parliamentary colleagues on the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) for a tour of the Olympic Park site. The PAC will play a key role in the next few years examining the way public money is being spent to deliver the 2012 Games. We all want to make sure that the Games is a fantastic national event but we also want to ensure that the public money going into the Games is spent efficiently, effectively, and in a way that achieves best value for money for the public. With such a high profile like 2012, I have no doubt the PAC will play an important role over the coming years.

For many of my colleagues it was their first visit to the Park and ODA Chairman, John Armitt, updated us on the progress to date and the next key milestones in their delivery process. It was a good opportunity for members to discuss and raise questions with John in a relatively informal atmosphere and away from the sometimes formal nature of an evidence session in Westminster.

Unlike my colleagues I have visited the site on several occasions over the last five years. My previous ministerial responsibilities in London and with the housing brief saw me involved with the plans for long term regeneration of the Thames Gateway. What was evident at an early stage was the potential for the 2012 Games to be catalyst for the long term regeneration of this area.

The site I remember from previous visits was characterised by a lack of connectivity and physical neglect. What struck me was how dramatically the site was changing, and will continue to change. You cannot underestimate the importance of the powerlines project and the fact that very soon the electricity pylons that have blighted this area for years will finally be removed and the power switched to the new underground tunnels. Also the investment in the Greenway will encourage people to walk and cycle through the site and beyond. 

What I saw gave me optimism for the regeneration potential of this part of London. Clearly there is a lot of work to do and ODA and partners will have to continue to work hard to deliver this challenging project. The profile of their work will grow and my colleagues on the PAC will continue to play a role in reviewing progress. However, leaving the site I was struck by the scale of possibility in this area and how this could permeate throughout the wider region.