I wanted to watch the Olympic Delivery Authority' s John Armitt (chair) and David Higgins (chief executive) being quizzed by the Assembly today, but couldn't be in two places at once. The Standard was there though. The news on costs is not encouraging, it appears:
Games chiefs today admitted they may be forced to nationalise the £1 billion Olympic village amid the current economic turmoil. The Olympic Delivery Authority said their search for private funding for the village had "deteriorated" and taxpayers may have to foot the entire bill.
The ODA has budgeted £250 million for the complex in Stratford but a complete bail-out would require another £750 million from public funds. The authority today released images of how the village would look after the 2012 Games - when the Government hopes to recoup the cost of the project through a sell-off of its 2,800 flats.
Village developer Lendlease has struggled to raise capital and Olympics chiefs are expected to ask for a first tranche of contingency funds next week.
Crunch, crunch, crunch. Read on.
