Uncertainty continues over future of the 2012 Olympics Stadium

Paul Dancey on 30/08/2011

High Court judge, Mr Justice Collins, has granted permission for Tottenham Hotspur and Leyton Orient to seek a judicial review into the process by which West Ham United were chosen as the preferred bidder to takeover the Olympic Stadium at the end of the 2012 London games.

This latest legal challenge will be heard in the High Court on the 18th October, and the continuing uncertainty over the stadiums future will do little to help the UK's bid to host the World Athletics Championships in 2017. Especially as the International Association of Athletics Federations is due to meet less than a month after the High Court hearing to decide the venue for the championships.

A spokesman for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is reported as saying: "We have noted the judge's decision today. The matter is in the hands of our lawyers."

If the judicial review finds in Tottenham Hotspur's favour, it's thought likely that the Government will appeal, and even if the final outcome of the legal process is that the stadium bidding process has to be repeated, the OPLC are more than likely to insist that all bidders come forward with plans that include the retention of the running track. so this saga seems likely to run for some time yet. But at what cost.

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