Olympic chiefs threaten to sue over 'noise and dirt' blog

Residents in the shadow of the Olympic park construction site have been threatened with legal action after criticising the Olympic Development Authority in a blog.

Members of the Leabank Square Residents' Association accused senior officials of lying about their efforts to reduce noise and air pollution at the development.

They claimed their homes, in Hackney Wick, were being caked with dust, despite the ODA's promise it would prevent this with water bowsers and foam cannon.

Days after venting their anger on their community website, its moderator, Sona Abantu-Choudhury, received a letter from the ODA threatening court action if he did not remove the "libellous" comments. The ODA claimed some of the comments were "personal and threatening" to an individual.

The posts were removed, but the drastic threat of legal action has left residents angry. Mr Abantu-Choudhury, the estate's Olympic liaison officer, said: "The letter was a complete overreaction. We were promised that the dust roads would be sprayed with water several times a day and the dust mounds would be sprayed with foam to stop it blowing over our way. However, we did not see any of this happen. We live here and see every move the construction workers make.

"This angered some of the residents and they accused the ODA of lying to us on the website. I suppose emotions just got high. No one knew or thought it would be libellous."

The letter from the ODA general counsel read: "Free speech is only informative if accurate. I must make you aware that if you do not take immediate steps to remove the libellous postings from your blog I will be referring the matter to our solicitors.

"They have advised that you are liable for the publication and that your continuing refusal to remove them from the blogsite will aggravate any damage claim that may be brought."

About 400 residents have been at war with Olympic officials since construction work started on the 2012 village, complaining about the "unimaginable noise, dust and irritation".

"We've had it rough," said Mr Abantu-Choudhury. "The dust gets everywhere - in the house and the garden. When the weather is hot it is absolutely unbearable - you can taste it in your mouth. There are lorries constantly kicking up dust. It is a living hell."

An ODA spokesman said: "We place a strong importance on being a good neighbour around the Olympic park site. While an open dialogue is an important part of this work, we also have a duty of care to our employees.

"We did not want to get to this point but after several informal requests were ignored for the removal of what were very personal and threatening comments on a website about an individual employee, a formal letter was sent to those involved.

"We value the relationship we have with our local communities and hope that we are able to continue a positive dialogue."