01 June 2011 London gives the green light to 2012 eco makeover plans
London is aiming to transform its green credentials as everything from the London bus to Tower Bridge is given an eco makeover for the Olympics.
Mayor Boris Johnson today pledged that the capital will see hundreds of green projects come to fruition in time for the opening ceremony on July 27.
Mr Johnson said: "I am determined to maximise every opportunity for the Games to present our great city. From Barnet to Bromley, Havering to Hillingdon, people are witnessing real benefits. We have unprecedented investment in our transport network, thousands of jobs created, the transformation of our parks and public spaces and funding for hundreds of sports projects to get Londoners active for generations to come.
"Driving this multi-billion pound transformation is my goal to improve quality of life, support our economy, protect the environment and ensure London is the best big city in the world."
Across the capital major initiatives are already under way to bring low energy lights to London's most famous buildings, ensure homes in the Olympic boroughs are as eco-friendly as possible and even to ensure officials and athletes can travel using a fleet of electric cars.
London Councils, which represents all the capital's boroughs, says its members see 2012 as the ultimate shop window.
"All boroughs see 2012 as an opportunity to show their local area off to the world," said a spokesman. "From eco-schemes to park and street makeovers, 2012 has provided a useful goal for councils to work towards and deliver improvements that will last long after the Games have been and gone."
However, some experts say boroughs run the risk of just putting every scheme under the "2012 project" heading.
Simon Mills, head of sustainability at the City of London Corporation, said: "There is a danger with people simply labelling projects as being part of 2012 - we saw the same thing in 2000. These have to be legacy projects for London to bring us into the low-carbon economy. However, that said, there are a lot of excellent projects being proposed."
The Games have already begun to touch almost every aspect of life in London, including the city's road network - which is seeing dramatic changes being put in place in time for next summer.
The 225 million London's Great Outdoors project has already led to initiatives such as the diagonal pedestrian crossing at Oxford Circus and a redevelopment of Brixton town square. By 2012 Exhibition Road, Piccadilly and Pall Mall will see major changes to traffic flow.
However, the work has become a double-edged sword for Londoners as Thames Water increases its roadworks programme before the Games. Transport for London has pledged that, barring emergencies, the capital will remain roadworks-free during the games.
Even the capital's trees have been affected. The re:leaf project has 9,500 of the 10,000 new street trees it committed to plant by 2012.
Olympic Development Agency chairman John Armitt claims sustainability is key to the plans to build the Olympic Park as well.
"Our targets include reusing and recycling 90 per cent of waste, delivering over half the materials needed by sustainable transport, using natural remediation methods to clean soil, barges to take away segregated waste through newly dredged waterways and only legal and sustainable timber sourced through a supplier panel," he said.
"We wanted to lift the bar for the industry and set new sustainability standards, and our contractors and suppliers have more than risen to the challenge. We hope this project becomes a beacon for the planning, design and delivery of future large-scale projects."
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