• Real stories behind the 2012 Olympic Games

  • Images © London Development Agency

    Posted: Wed Nov 7 2007

  • Our garrulous Mayor, Ken Livingstone, was finally stumped for words last week – after being quizzed by three 14-year-olds. The teenagers, all cyclists and members of the national Olympic Talent Team asked Livingstone at the Mayor's Question Time exactly when they would get the cycle circuit they need for training, following the closure of the Eastway track in Stratford for the Olympic development

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    No cycle track - until all the newts are found

    Ken tried to brush the kids off with a quip about the need to protect the newts on the site, but was unable to answer further comments by Lib Dem London Assembly member Dee Doocey, who told him, 'Stop this nonsense about newts. It's not a joke. Things aren't moving fast enough.'

    So what on earth is going on with the cyclists – and the newts? Time Out has followed the sorry tale from the start: in November 2006 cyclists surrendered the Eastway cycle track, their home for 30 years, to allow the area to be bulldozed for the Olympics. The riders were promised an interim track, as well as an assurance they could return to the original site after the Games.

    Firstly, they were offered an interim location at the Royal Docks. It never materialised. Then, after a fierce fight with the LDA, they were given a relocation site at Hog Hill in Hainault. Feature continues

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    Then came the newts. Protected by law and close to the heart of King Newt, as Boris Johnson has dubbed Ken Livingstone, the need to carry out a survey of Hog Hill's newt population has left the club in limbo for almost a year.

    A 11.jpgHog Hill should have been opened in April 2007. Then it was put back to November. Last month, the LDA said the site would be ready early next year. Most recently, ODA chief executive Manny Lewis said that March 2008 would be the opening date. To add insult to injury, the promised Games 'legacy', the Velopark, will now be under half the size of the original Eastway site, and with fewer facilities

    When we spoke to the LDA, it was unembarrassed about the delays and said it was 'working for what was best for the site'. However, due to recent cold weather, there are concerns that not all the newts will be caught before they go into hibernation. It is likely that half the site will open with a 1km track in March, while the hunt for the remaining newts continues. In a strange déjà vu, there are also plans to use Royal Docks if Hog Hill partially opens in the spring.

    What a mess. With the closure of Eastway, the progress of young athletes into the sport has been massively disrupted. And if something as simple as providing a cycle facility can't be achieved to any reasonable timescale, what hope for the rest of London 2012?

    If only the Olympic authorities took as much trouble with their athletes as they did with their newts.

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