Olympian-scale new housing

Continuing his series of property articles, estate agent Trevor Cooper looks at the future of the Olympic Village

THE impressive stadia of London's Olympic Games will serve as state-of-the-art sports venues well into the future, but what will happen to the Olympic Village once the Paralympic Games close on 9 September?

The Village housed about 16,000 athletes during the Olympic Games and 6,200 athletes and team officials, referees and umpires will move in during the Paralympics.

Countless websites show how the Village is made up of 2,818 apartments spread across 11 residential sites providing over 250,000 square metres of accommodation.

The Village also features a 5,000-seat dining hall and advanced gym facilities. There are shops, restaurants, medical, media and leisure amenities and large areas of open space with water features accentuating the closeness of the River Lea.

Security is paramount within the Village and throughout the Olympic Games in general. It is 40 years ago, on 5 September 1972, that eight Palestinian terrorists broke into the Olympic Village at the Munich Games, killing two members of the Israeli team and taking nine hostages. All nine Israeli hostages were killed in the ensuing battle, as were five of the terrorists and one policeman.

The threat of terrorist attacks at the London Olympics necessitates airport-style security at the Games and the Village. The website www.bigbrotherwatch.org.uk claims there are 1,851 CCTV security cameras in place – more than the 1,728 cameras in Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester and Edinburgh combined.

No such precautions at the 1924 Olympic Games in Paris where the athletes were the first to be accommodated in an Olympic Village comprising of a group of rustic wood cabins.

No new buildings and certainly no Olympic Village were constructed when London hosted the 1948 Games – postponed from 1944 because of World War Two – so athletes stayed in existing accommodation including Royal Air Force camps.

Standards have improved such that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) says it has delivered 'gold medal standard' athlete accommodation.

Construction of the first apartment blocks in the Village began in May 2008 and from October 2011 a team of about 40 people worked for five months to furnish the apartments including full-length blackout curtains to ensure a good night's sleep under colourful London 2012 logo duvets. Contrary to some claims, extendable beds were provided for the taller athletes, such as basketball players like USA's Tyson Chandler who measures a towering 7ft 1in.

After the Games, the legacy of the Village will be the creation of a new community to be known as East Village. Temporary 'Games-time' fittings in the apartments will be removed and 'retro-fitting' will include new kitchens and carpets or timber flooring. The intention is to offer the best of city living with high-quality homes matched with newly-created parklands, public squares and some of the best transport connections in the capital.

Community facilities will include Chobham Academy – a new education campus with 1,800 places for students aged 3-19 – and a new health centre, which will provide medical facilities to existing local communities and the residents of East Village.

Of the homes in the Village, 1,379 have been purchased by Triathlon Homes in a joint venture to provide essential and affordable housing in East London. The remaining 1,439 properties will become private housing after being acquired by a consortium of UK developer Delancey and the Qatari Diar real estate investment company. The consortium has also secured six adjacent future development plots with the potential for 2,000 more homes.

But before all of that, it is important to note that the imminent Paralympic Games are coming home when they commence on 29 August.

The acknowledged 'founder' of the Games was Dr Ludwig Guttmann, a neurologist who worked with Second World War veterans with spinal injuries at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury. He began using sport as part of the rehabilitation programmes of his patients and he set up a competition with other hospitals to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics.

By 1960, the Olympic-style Games had become a major international festival, although the official title of Paralympic was not adopted until 1984. The event has grown from two countries competing in 1952 to 4,200 athletes from 170 National Paralympic Committees expected to compete in the London Paralympic Games. Further details can be found on www.london2012.com/paralympics.