London 2012 bid given boost

London's bid for the 2012 Olympics received a big lift today when plans for new top-class swimming and athletics facilities in the capital took a major step forward.

A day before the International Olympic Committee decides whether London will go forward to next year's 2012 vote, Standard Sport has learned that planning permission has been given for a major new athletics training centre at Picketts Lock in Enfield.

Officials have also revealed that the London Development Agency has given the go-ahead for the first new Olympic facility with the launch of a design competition for an Aquatic Centre in east London.

Work will begin in the next few months to clear the derelict site near Stratford Station of existing deserted buildings. The indoor and outdoor training centre at Picketts Lock is a significant development since Britain's image in the athletics world was badly damaged when London pulled out of hosting the 2005 world championships because of a row over building a stadium on the same site.

Now London 2012 officials can tell key Olympic figures like Lamine Diack, the President of the world governing body of athletics (IAAF), that something positive has come out of the embarrassing withdrawal.

The development of the Aquatic Centre at the heart of the proposed Olympic complex is also important since it shows London is serious about building sports facilities even if the city fails to get the Games.