Aerial footage shows Olympic Park clean-up is quick out of the blocks

The aerial footage shows the amount of land clearance already completed but also underlines the scale of the challenge. It shows the ODA are firmly on track to have the majority of the Olympic Park cleared and cleaned by Beijing 2008 – one of ten key 'Milestones to Beijing' announced last month.

The ODA is demolishing buildings, removing invasive vegetation and cleaning up the land as it gains possession of each part of the site and in total 24% of the entire Olympic Park has now been cleared.

Clearance and demolition has already started on key parts of the site, including Eton Manor in the north and the Aquatics Centre site in the south. So far over 95 per cent of demolition material is being recycled or reused, beating the 90 per cent target set out in the ODA's Sustainable Development Strategy earlier this year.

Site investigation work on the Olympic Park, including surface and deep level soil testing, is also making significant progress with three-quarters of the site now assessed. Site investigation will be completed when the ODA gains full possession of the whole Olympic Park site in July.

The full possession of the site will also mark the next phase of demolition on site. During a nine month programme 256 buildings will be demolished, most of them industrial, and again, wherever possible, materials will be reused or recycled.

ODA Director of Infrastructure and Utilities Simon Wright said:

"This new aerial footage shows both the scale of the task ahead of us in clearing the Olympic Park but also the excellent progress we have made so far.

"We have been quick out of the blocks in clearing the Olympic Park and with nearly a quarter of the Park complete we are firmly on track to have most of the site cleared and cleaned by Beijing 2008. With 95% of demolition materials being recycled or reused we are also exceeding our targets for sustainability and are well on the way to ensuring London 2012 is the greenest Games in modern times."

Notes to Editors

• Aerial footage of the Olympic Park is available to broadcast media on request
• On April 4 2007 the ODA published its Milestones to Beijing which included the aim of clearing and cleaning the majority of the Olympic Park by summer 2008. Download the 'Demolish, Dig, Design' Milestones to Beijing document from the publications page
• In January 2007 the ODA published its Sustainability Development Strategy which set out a number of commitments including reusing or recycling at least 90 per cent, by weight, of the demolition material. Buildings to be demolished are being recorded and photographed with an overall 'materials register' being created. Designers will be able to look at the register to identify which materials they can reuse in the design. In this way the ODA not only helps to avoid any material needlessly ending up in a landfill site, but also creates a link between 'old' and 'new' within the Park.

Media Enquiries

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