Olympics build on Leyton Marsh gets green light despite protest

Olympic bosses have won the right to build a giant basketball hall on Leyton Marshes despite widespread protest from park users and Upper Clapton residents.

Planning permission was granted for the temporary venue behind the ice rink on Lea Bridge Road at Waltham Forest Council on Tuesday February 7.

More than 1,250 people signed a petition against the proposals and a demonstration was held outside the meeting.

Hackney councillor Ian Rathbone said: “For us in this area it is the thin end of a wedge into building all over green space and putting up high rise blocks on both sides of Lea Bridge Road and the banks of the Lea.”

Supporters of the Olympic Delivery Authorities’ plans said the Games created special circumstances and the green space would returned to its original condition.

An ODA spokesman said it would work to keep any impact on the Marsh to “an absolute minimum” and “restore the land to public use as soon as possible after the Paralympic Games”.