London 2012: Planning permission is granted for Eton Manor venue
10/30/2009
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has been granted planning permission for Eton Manor, where Olympic and Paralympic swimmers will train for events, and Paralympic athletes will compete in Wheelchair Tennis. In legacy the venue will be transformed into a hockey and tennis centre.
During the Olympic Games, Eton Manor will house three 50m swimming pools, one synchronised swimming pool and one water polo pool that will be used during the Games for training. During the Paralympic Games, Eton Manor will host Wheelchair Tennis.
In legacy, the sports and leisure facilities at Eton Manor will be owned, operated and funded by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA), which has vast experience of providing sporting and recreational venues for the region.
The venue has been designed with legacy at the forefront of the ODA’s plans, which means the facilities can be easily transformed after the Games.
The permanent elements at Eton Manor will include a hockey centre with two competition pitches, a tennis centre with four indoor and six outdoor courts and five-a-side football pitches. The mountain bike trails forming part of the VeloPark, will also extend onto Eton Manor. This will create a wide of mix of sporting facilities for the local and regional community as well as elite athletes.
ODA Chairman John Armitt said: “Eton Manor is steeped in sporting history. In the early 1900s it was a community sport sporting facility and later it became Eton Manor Boys’ Club and the Old Boys’ Club, and it quickly gained a reputation as an elite sporting association.
“We will be strengthening this sporting legacy and bringing it into the 21st Century by providing a unique mix of sports facilities for athletes and the local community.”
Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive of the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority said: “Eton Manor will be another outstanding venue for the people of London, the region and the whole country which Lee Valley Regional Park Authority will own, fund and manage in legacy, along with the VeloPark and the White Water Canoe Centre just north of the M25.
“We’ll ensure Eton Manor’s superb sports venues are used by a variety of target groups with extensive community use, outreach and sports development programmes. It will join the other regional sports venues the Authority owns to create a chain of sporting excellence along the 26 mile long Lee Valley Regional Park.”
Jayant Mistry, former Wheelchair Tennis player said: “Eton Manor is a very important venue as it is the only venue being constructed specifically to host a Paralympic sport. Its location – very close to the Olympic Village – is ideal for boosting participation in Wheelchair Tennis in the run up to 2012 and beyond.
“With 1,000 days to the start of the Paralympics in December, Wheelchair Tennis athletes are starting to get very excited about the London 2012 and can’t wait for Eton Manor to get underway.”
Sustainability is at the heart of London 2012 and the construction of the Olympic Park, and at Eton Manor the central facilities building will have a ‘brown’ roof. The design will also explore ways of conserving energy and reducing water consumption. The tennis court roof will have 35 bird boxes on for Starlings, Swifts, Redstarts and Sparrows.
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