Newham council say that the roof of the Olympic aquatics centre would have to be removed and replaced to avoid becoming a huge financial burden after the Games.
Controversial aquatics centre roof causing problems with legacy
Newham council say that the roof of the Olympic aquatics centre would have to be removed and replaced to avoid becoming a huge financial burden after the Games.
Mayor of Newham Sir Robin Wales says the controversial wooden roof that covers the aquatics centre would need replacing, or maintenance subsidised by central government, in order to make it a viable option.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) need interest in the venue to be expressed by March 23, but Newham are balking at the prospect of having to pay for the upkeep of the roof.
Architect Zaha Hadid's creation has seen the cost of the aquatics venue more than double to £248million, and now it seems the roof is preventing interest in running it after the Olympics.
The wave-shaped roof is still causing a huge stir, with Wales insisting something would need to be done for them to consider using the facility as a community venue.
Terrified
"A wooden roof above a chlorinated pool terrifies the life out of us," said Wales.
"If we are involved we would be expecting maintenance problems to be dealt with by other people. It would be about how do we use it for the community as well as recognising that they will want to use it for professional swimming."
Newham have already secured the Olympic Stadium with their joint bid alongside West Ham, but chief executive Kim Bromley-Derry also added that the aquatics roof was looking like a prohibitive factor for them.
"We may well put in a bid but we think that the wooden roof is the biggest challenge in maintenance terms. The Government made a decision about that and creating a revenue flow for the maintenance on that roof is absolutely impossible.
"That would need to be written off somehow. We are probably going to submit a bid. We think that we could animate that area.
"We are looking at both options: what would we do if the roof stayed, and we think that would require central Government money. The other one is removing the roof and then it's a different ball game."
Another factor is the roof's sloping design, which would make it impossible for Newham to put the likes of water slides in for a community leisure pool.
The Olympic Stadium is still the prized asset though, and Wales insisted that it would continue to be a multi-sport facility.
"The lease is for 250 years and we want to create a multi-sport stadium with football, athletics and cricket all there," he said.
"We want India to play Pakistan in a Test match in the Olympic Stadium and we are sure we can get 74,000 people in to watch it."
