Olympic Park regeneration 'may need �450m extra'

Additional funding of £450m may be needed to pay for the regeneration of the Olympic park, following the 2012 Games, it has been revealed.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), will oversee development of the park for 25 years following the Games.

The OPLC revealed the figure at a meeting at City Hall, in London.

If the funding shortfall is verified, the company may need to go to the government or Mayor of London's office for extra cash.

However, the OPLC said the £450m figure was based on estimates by other organisations such as the London Development Agency.

'Two shareholders'

The OPLC, which started looking into the costs of regeneration in October 2009, has not yet set a date for when it will publish a more accurate estimate.

Baroness Ford, Chair of the OPLC, said the figure had not been verified and the company "needed to go through the figures line by line".

The £450m figure is in addition to the £9.3bn Olympic Games budget.

Within the £9.3bn budget, £350m has been set aside for the Olympic Development Authority to spend on transforming venues after the Games.

The OPLC's budget will be spent on additional infrastructure to improve the park after the games including investing in roads, bridges and building park pavilions.

When asked where extra funding, if needed, would come from, Baroness Ford said: "We have our two shareholders."

The OPLC's founding members were the government and the Mayor of London's office.

Baroness Ford was also quizzed on figures by a Department for Culture, Media and Sport committee last week.

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