Su, Nov 20, 2005Optimistic Council defies inflation!
Guardian Unlimited - Olympic costs set to double:
The cost of staging the London Olympic Games in 2012 is set to double. Senior officials organising the Games say construction costs have been seriously underestimated by Tessa Jowell's Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
A rise in costs could spell financial disaster for Londoners. The Observer has learnt that the government has in recent days appointed consultancy KPMG to begin a reappraisal of its Olympic costs. These have surged because original projections allowed for inflation at 3 per cent, but inflation in the construction sector is now over 7 per cent, as the price of raw materials, particularly oil and steel, has soared.
And wages in the construction sector are expected to rise substantially as London readies itself for a building boom. Improvements are being made to the underground system, and new Docklands Light Railway and East London lines are planned, as is a new Thames Gateway Bridge.
A senior figure involved in preparing for the London Olympics said:
'This has the makings of another [Millennium] Dome. Not factoring in construction inflation was a massive oversight.'...
(Via The Guardian.)
Not factoring in construction inflation might be considered a massive oversight in Hackney and Greenwich, but here we're in Lewisham.
Those fundamental laws of economics that so much worry the olympic accountants are not so much of a problem here.
They have been tamed by the willpower of our mighty leadership.
Steve Bullock is optimistic!
The Mayor has promised to build a "flagship state-of-the-art wet and dry" sport and leisure centre during the same timeframe of the Olympic works.
Unfortunately, all the Council has managed to identify as capital funding available is £7 million, and that amount covers only about a third of the cost of a facility of that description at today's costs.
But ask the Mayor if there are any problems about his "flagship state-of-the-art wet and dry" promise and all you'll here is a stern belief in the Council's capacity to deliver.
Here's an example from a question put to the Council at last meeting:
...read more...Question
On the 6th April at the Mayor and Cabinet Meeting a council officer reported that the new pool would now be opening in 2012.
In the recent Lewisham Life magazine it was reported that the pool will be open in 2010.
Can you explain the discrepancy between the two dates?
Reply
The two dates arise from the different approaches that could be taken in the way the Sundermead development could be phased.
The earlier date reflects the Council’s desire for the leisure centre to be built earlier rather than later in the development.