Did we mention that the cost of the Olympic Aquatic Centre had quadrupled while its size had halved. Has anyone forgotten that increasing numbers of councils are paying companies to run the leisure centres that Londoners built and paid for and continue to maintain. Within these they can run highly profitable / surplus-creating (delete where applicable) businesses and we the owners and voters have no idea what the business arrangement is - how much is recouped if the centre, state of the art new construction, is a runaway success.

Recently we drew readers attention to these statistics on free swimming around the country.

"PENSIONERS in Haringey will no longer have free entry to borough leisure centres and disabled people will have to pay more in a council overhaul of pricing."

(Via Hornsey Journal Pensioners to lose free entry to leisure centres: .)

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| London Borough of Harringay | 31 January 2008; 6:52:38 PM |# | | Discuss |

"The London 2012 Olympics aquatics centre is likely to cost nearly three times as much as the £75m originally estimated, BBC London has learned.

A scaled-down version of the original wave-shaped building, which will be the gateway to the Olympic park in east London, could cost £215m.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell sent the architect "back to the drawing board" in 2006 because of spiralling costs.

The venue is now due for completion in 2011, two years later than planned."

(Via BBC NEWS | England | London | Olympic pool costs set to triple: .)

and ...

Building Design has a lot to say about the all glass centre in a culturally mixed community and how the panicky politicians worried about headlines are trying to do world class architecture on a shoestring to keep the daily papers happy.

(Via Bellyflop: Zaha Hadid's reworked Aquatic Centre disappoints - images - Building Design: .)

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| olympic news | 31 January 2008; 10:58:34 AM |# | | Discuss |