Planning for the London 2012 Olympic Games is seeing a vast amount of construction work taking place.

London 2012 Olympics: what's the hidden cost to green spaces and wildlife habitats?

Tom Antebi

16th March,2011

Already hit by rows over radioactive waste and airport expansion, the London 2012 Olympic Games are accused of degrading green land vital to local communities and wildlife. Tom Antebi reports

When London won the bid to host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic games it was, according to its advocates, intended to set a bench-mark in large-scale environmentally-friendly and sustainable sporting events, as well as acting as a significant hub for regeneration in North East London.

The development of sports facilities, the influx of money during the Games themselves, as well as significant investment in the five Olympic boroughs: Hackney, Waltham Forest, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Greenwich; were all put forward as examples of this underlying commitment to a ‘greener’ Games.

In a statement on sustainability, the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) maintains that 'London is the first summer host city to embed sustainability in its planning from the start...we want to use the Games as a catalyst for change, for the regeneration of and improvement of quality of life in East London.'

But already blighted by rows over radioactive waste and concerns over airport expansion, a number of further allegations surrounding the nature of the...

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