Olympic Delivery Authority
Encyclopedia
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) is the statutory corporation
responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic
and Paralympic Games
in London
. Along with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the ODA is one of the two main agencies organising the London Olympic Games.
The ODA was established by the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006
and is the responsibility of the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
In advance of the formal establishment of the ODA, the London Development Agency
(LDA) and Transport for London
(TfL) were asked to undertake the development work necessary for the Olympic Park and the transport infrastructure which will service the Games, and to build up an interim team.
The ODA is based alongside LOCOG at One Churchill Place
in Canary Wharf
. The ODA has appointed a delivery company, CLM, to manage the delivery of the Olympic Park and its associated infrastructure. CLM is a consortium of CH2M Hill
, Laing O'Rourke
and Mace
. CLM's organisation includes teams responsible for the design and construction of the venues, structures bridges and highways as well as logistics and security.
as the Chief Executive in February 2011.
Godric Smith, former Official Spokesman for the Prime Minister
, is Director of Communications, and Julie King is Head of External Relations. Tom Curry is Head of Media.
, who ran the Anglo-French group that designed and built the £8bn Channel Tunnel
, was appointed Chairman of the ODA in 2005 but resigned on 18 October 2006.
In May 2007, Culture Secretary
, Tessa Jowell
, announced John Armitt
's appointment as Chairman, the appointment commenced on 1 September 2007, with Acting Chairman Sir Roy McNulty resuming his post of Deputy Chairman.
that his departure seemed necessary because political infighting and the unwillingness of government ministers to face up to construction challenges threatened the project and his reputation.
"There was a huge amount of local politics," he stated, "Those are the kind of things that confuse and frustrate the process."
Later he insisted that Culture Minister Tessa Jowell
and London Mayor Ken Livingstone
ignored warnings that the project budget was spiraling out of control, refused to accept that chemical contamination of Olympic sites presented unexpectedly large challenges, hid additional expenses such as VAT costs, and refused to confront the reality that the Olympics may have to be scaled back to keep within costs.
Predicting "exponential" cost increases, Lemley maintained that "all they wanted to hear was good news" and that cost estimates for site preparation were, from the beginning, unrealistic: "A blind man could see there was a huge environmental problem. I thought it was highly likely they underestimated [the costs]."
Following these revelations, government figures disputed Lemley’s version, criticizing him for breaking confidentiality and suggesting that due to health concerns Lemley was not fully aware of work and plans for the Olympic site. Mayor Ken Livingstone roundly criticized Lemley and suggested he had been treated more than fairly when asked to resign, being allowed a dignified departure due to his past services to the nation on the Channel Tunnel project and a generous compensation package. With the reputations of leading politicians and industry figures at stake, as well as billions of pounds in the balance, the charges and counter charges left the planning for the Olympics under a public cloud of criticism.
Lemley’s departure opened the Olympic project to a stormy public reassessment and admissions of cost overruns and technical difficulties. These are being dealt with by the new chief of the ODA, John Armitt, in the light of unprecedented public scrutiny. Despite the controversy, public and government support have continued to grow in the run up to the Games as new expertise has been directed to solving the challenges the project faces.
The ODA has responsibility for:
The LDA
will continue to lead on the acquisition of land in the Olympic Park site, and TfL
will continue to deliver many of the major transport projects on which London 2012 will depend.
in 2003. However, in October 2006, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell
announced that this could rise to over £4 billion. In March 2007 she announced a new funding package for the ODA, increasing its budget to £5.3 billion.
The government had expected to take advantage of the UK's increasing property prices, and developers, including Lend Lease
and Igloo, were expected to fund construction of parts of the Olympic village and media centre. However, as a result of the recession and fall in property prices since 2008, additional funding is being requested from a contingency fund set up by the government.
Statutory Corporation
A statutory corporation or public body is a corporation created by statute. While artificial legal personality is almost always the result of statutory intervention, a statutory corporation does not include corporations owned by shareholders whose legal personality derives from being registered...
responsible for ensuring delivery of venues, infrastructure and legacy for the 2012 Summer Olympic
2012 Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
and Paralympic Games
Paralympic Games
The Paralympic Games are a major international multi-sport event where athletes with a physical disability compete; this includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and Cerebral Palsy. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which are held immediately following their...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Along with the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG), the ODA is one of the two main agencies organising the London Olympic Games.
The ODA was established by the London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006
London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006
The London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act 2006 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was passed following the decision of the International Olympic Committee to stage the 2012 Olympic Games in London...
and is the responsibility of the Department for Culture Media and Sport.
In advance of the formal establishment of the ODA, the London Development Agency
London Development Agency
The London Development Agency is the Regional Development Agency for Greater London, England. It is a functional body of the Greater London Authority...
(LDA) and Transport for London
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
(TfL) were asked to undertake the development work necessary for the Olympic Park and the transport infrastructure which will service the Games, and to build up an interim team.
The ODA is based alongside LOCOG at One Churchill Place
One Churchill Place
One Churchill Place is a 156 m tall skyscraper with 32 floors, serving as the headquarters of Barclays Bank. It is in the Docklands area of London in Canary Wharf...
in Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is a major business district located in London, United Kingdom. It is one of London's two main financial centres, alongside the traditional City of London, and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest , One Canada Square...
. The ODA has appointed a delivery company, CLM, to manage the delivery of the Olympic Park and its associated infrastructure. CLM is a consortium of CH2M Hill
CH2M Hill
CH2M Hill is an American-based global provider of engineering, construction, and operations services for corporations, nonprofits, and federal, state, and local governments. The firm is headquartered in Meridian, an unincorporated area of Douglas County, Colorado in the Denver-Aurora Metropolitan...
, Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke
Laing O'Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1978....
and Mace
Mace (company)
Mace Group Ltd, commonly known as Mace, is a global consultancy and construction firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has operations across 49 countries, offering a variety of services that span the entire property life cycle, from fund monitoring, cost consultancy, design management,...
. CLM's organisation includes teams responsible for the design and construction of the venues, structures bridges and highways as well as logistics and security.
Staff
Dennis Hone, previously Director of Finance, succeeded Australian David HigginsDavid Higgins (businessman)
Sir David Hartmann Higgins , is an Australian businessman, the Chief Executive of Network Rail and the former Chief Executive of the London 2012 Summer Olympics Delivery Authority....
as the Chief Executive in February 2011.
Godric Smith, former Official Spokesman for the Prime Minister
Prime Minister's Official Spokesman
The Prime Minister's Spokesman is a position in the United Kingdom Civil Service, located in the Prime Minister's Office in 10 Downing Street and utilised by the British Prime Minister...
, is Director of Communications, and Julie King is Head of External Relations. Tom Curry is Head of Media.
Chairman
American Jack LemleyJack Lemley
Jack K Lemley CBE was the Chairman of the United Kingdom Olympic Delivery Authority, which is responsible for delivering the infrastructure for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, until his sudden resignation on October 18, 2006 ....
, who ran the Anglo-French group that designed and built the £8bn Channel Tunnel
Channel Tunnel
The Channel Tunnel is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point, it is deep...
, was appointed Chairman of the ODA in 2005 but resigned on 18 October 2006.
In May 2007, Culture Secretary
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport is a United Kingdom cabinet position with responsibility for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The role was created in 1992 by John Major as Secretary of State for National Heritage...
, Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
, announced John Armitt
John Armitt
John Alexander Armitt, CBE FREng , is the Chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, the body charged with building the venues, facilities and infrastructure for the 2012 Olympic Games. The appointment commenced on 1 September 2007.He is also Chairman of the Engineering and Physical Sciences...
's appointment as Chairman, the appointment commenced on 1 September 2007, with Acting Chairman Sir Roy McNulty resuming his post of Deputy Chairman.
Resignation of Lemley
Lemley's tenure as Chairman of the ODA and subsequent resignation in October 2006 has been surrounded by controversy and recrimination. Originally claiming his resignation was due to pressing commitments in his international construction business, Lemley International, he later asserted to the Idaho StatesmanIdaho Statesman
The Idaho Statesman is a U.S. daily newspaper serving the Boise, Idaho metropolitan area. The paper has a circulation of 61,000 daily, 83,038 Sunday, and employs about 300 people. It is owned by The McClatchy Company....
that his departure seemed necessary because political infighting and the unwillingness of government ministers to face up to construction challenges threatened the project and his reputation.
"There was a huge amount of local politics," he stated, "Those are the kind of things that confuse and frustrate the process."
Later he insisted that Culture Minister Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
and London Mayor Ken Livingstone
Ken Livingstone
Kenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
ignored warnings that the project budget was spiraling out of control, refused to accept that chemical contamination of Olympic sites presented unexpectedly large challenges, hid additional expenses such as VAT costs, and refused to confront the reality that the Olympics may have to be scaled back to keep within costs.
Predicting "exponential" cost increases, Lemley maintained that "all they wanted to hear was good news" and that cost estimates for site preparation were, from the beginning, unrealistic: "A blind man could see there was a huge environmental problem. I thought it was highly likely they underestimated [the costs]."
Following these revelations, government figures disputed Lemley’s version, criticizing him for breaking confidentiality and suggesting that due to health concerns Lemley was not fully aware of work and plans for the Olympic site. Mayor Ken Livingstone roundly criticized Lemley and suggested he had been treated more than fairly when asked to resign, being allowed a dignified departure due to his past services to the nation on the Channel Tunnel project and a generous compensation package. With the reputations of leading politicians and industry figures at stake, as well as billions of pounds in the balance, the charges and counter charges left the planning for the Olympics under a public cloud of criticism.
Lemley’s departure opened the Olympic project to a stormy public reassessment and admissions of cost overruns and technical difficulties. These are being dealt with by the new chief of the ODA, John Armitt, in the light of unprecedented public scrutiny. Despite the controversy, public and government support have continued to grow in the run up to the Games as new expertise has been directed to solving the challenges the project faces.
Board members
- Deputy Chairman: Sir Roy McNultyCounty DonegalCounty Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, chairman of the Civil Aviation AuthorityUnited Kingdom Civil Aviation AuthorityThe Civil Aviation Authority is the public corporation which oversees and regulates all aspects of aviation in the United Kingdom. The CAA head office is located in the CAA House on Kingsway in Holborn, London Borough of Camden... - Lorraine Baldry, chair of the London Thames Gateway Development CorporationLondon Thames Gateway Development CorporationThe London Thames Gateway Development Corporation is a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, with directors appointed by the Secretary of State, including some democratically elected councillors...
- Tony BallTony BallTony Ball is a British television executive, chairman of Kabel Deutschland and former CEO of BSkyB.-Career:Ball joined Thames Television on graduation as a broadcasting engineer. he was later a founding director of Champion TV, which launched the UK's first dedicated sports channel, The Sports...
, former chief executive and managing director of British Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky BroadcastingBritish Sky Broadcasting Group plc is a satellite broadcasting, broadband and telephony services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, with operations in the United Kingdom and the Ireland.... - Sir Howard Bernstein, chief executive of Manchester City CouncilManchester City CouncilManchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by...
- Barry Camfield, assistant general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union
- Neale Coleman, policy director to the Mayor of London
- Stephen Duckworth, doctor, academic and entrepreneur
- Christopher GarnettChristopher GarnettChristopher Garnett is a member of the Board of the Olympic Delivery Authority, and was until recently the Chief Executive Officer of Great North Eastern Railway and simultaneously Senior Vice President and Chief Executive of the Rail Division of Sea Containers, GNER's parent company.Before this,...
, former chairman and chief executive of Great North Eastern RailwayGreat North Eastern RailwayGreat North Eastern Railway was a British train operating company, owned by Sea Containers Ltd. It operated high-speed express train services on the East Coast Main Line from 1996 until 9 December 2007 when the franchise was taken over by National Express East Coast.GNER's primary service routes... - Baroness MorganSally Morgan, Baroness Morgan of HuytonSally Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Huyton is a British Labour Party politician.Morgan was educated at Belvedere School for Girls, Liverpool, and at Durham University, where she graduated in 1980 with a B.A. in geography. After taking a Postgraduate Certificate in Education at King's College London...
, former Cabinet OfficeCabinet OfficeThe Cabinet Office is a department of the Government of the United Kingdom responsible for supporting the Prime Minister and Cabinet of the United Kingdom....
minister - Kumar Muthalagappan, managing director of Paramount Hotel Collection
- Sir Nicholas SerotaNicholas SerotaSir Nicholas Andrew Serota is a British art curator. Serota was director of the Whitechapel Gallery, London, and The Museum of Modern Art, Oxford, before becoming director of the Tate, the United Kingdom's national gallery of modern and British art in 1988. He was awarded a knighthood in 1999. He...
, director of TateTate-Places:*Tate, Georgia, a town in the United States*Tate County, Mississippi, a county in the United States*Táté, the Hungarian name for Totoi village, Sântimbru Commune, Alba County, Romania*Tate, Filipino word for States... - David Taylor, chairman of Silvertown Quays Limited
Responsibilities
Along with LOCOG, the ODA has taken over the responsibilities of the London 2012 organisation. LOCOG describes the different responsibilities of the two organisations as: The ODA is building the theatre, while LOCOG is putting on the show.The ODA has responsibility for:
- All Olympic Park infrastructure and site preparation
- Delivery of permanent competition venues
- Building the Olympic Village and the International Broadcast CentreInternational Broadcast CentreThe International Broadcast Centre is a temporary hub for broadcasters during major sport events.-FIFA World Cup:During the 2006 FIFA World Cup, in Germany, the IBC in Munich was host to journalists from around 190 countries. The centre was based at the Munich Fair, in what was formally Munich...
and Main Press Centre - The building of relocatable arenas
- Olympic transport projects
- Permanent works to existing sports venues
- Olympic Park venue legacy conversion
The LDA
London Development Agency
The London Development Agency is the Regional Development Agency for Greater London, England. It is a functional body of the Greater London Authority...
will continue to lead on the acquisition of land in the Olympic Park site, and TfL
Transport for London
Transport for London is the local government body responsible for most aspects of the transport system in Greater London in England. Its role is to implement the transport strategy and to manage transport services across London...
will continue to deliver many of the major transport projects on which London 2012 will depend.
Finance
The ODA's original budget was £2.375 billion, provided by a public sector funding package agreed between Government and the Mayor of LondonMayor of London
The Mayor of London is an elected politician who, along with the London Assembly of 25 members, is accountable for the strategic government of Greater London. Conservative Boris Johnson has held the position since 4 May 2008...
in 2003. However, in October 2006, Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell
Tessa Jowell is a British Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Dulwich and West Norwood since 1992. Formerly a member of both the Blair and Brown Cabinets, she is currently the Shadow Minister for the Olympics and Shadow Minister for London.-Early life:Tessa Jane...
announced that this could rise to over £4 billion. In March 2007 she announced a new funding package for the ODA, increasing its budget to £5.3 billion.
The government had expected to take advantage of the UK's increasing property prices, and developers, including Lend Lease
Lend Lease Corporation
Lend Lease Group is a global property and infrastructure company headquartered in Sydney, Australia...
and Igloo, were expected to fund construction of parts of the Olympic village and media centre. However, as a result of the recession and fall in property prices since 2008, additional funding is being requested from a contingency fund set up by the government.
See also
- 2012 Summer Olympic development2012 Summer Olympic developmentThe 2012 Summer Olympic development is a process running from 2005 to 2012, following the successful London bid for the 2012 Summer Olympics. While many of the plans were included in the bid portfolio, which gained the favour of the International Olympic Committee over the four other bids on 6...
- International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
- 2012 Summer Paralympics2012 Summer ParalympicsThe 2012 Summer Paralympic Games will be the fourteenth Paralympics and will take place between 29 August and 9 September 2012. The Games will be held in London, United Kingdom after the city was successful with its bid for the Paralympics and Summer Olympic Games.Even though 2012 will be London's...
- London Organising Committee for the Olympic GamesLondon Organising Committee for the Olympic GamesThe London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games is a limited company, owned by the Government of the United Kingdom, that will oversee the planning and development of the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. After the successful London 2012 Olympic bid, LOCOG was...
- 2012 Summer Olympics2012 Summer OlympicsThe 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
- Legacy Trust UKLegacy Trust UKLegacy Trust UK is a charitable trust in the United Kingdom, established in 2007 to support a range of cultural and sporting activities in connection with the 2012 Summer Olympics and 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, with the aim of creating a lasting cultural and sporting legacy from the Games...