Olympic proposals are probably the UK's biggest ever planning application

What is thought to be the UK's biggest planning application – the detailed proposals for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - has been prepared and submitted by the Olympic Development Authority.

Because the ODA is the planning authority for the Olympics it has, in effect, submitted the 10,000 page document to itself.

The application has been separated into two core elements to allow planning permission for site preparation works to be prioritised and approved in advance of the application for venue construction and legacy transformation. The latter is a hybrid application as it seeks both outline planning permission and full planning permission.

The proposals establish the revised masterplan and outline a commitment to prepare a Legacy Masterplan Framework which will focus on the post-Olympic delivery of residential, commercial and community use and the development of legacy communities. This will be a separate document, subject to a separate planning application

The application includes plans for all the new sporting venues, highways, bridges, parks and open space and the post-Games reconfiguration for legacy use. The documents relate to a land area of 246 hectares and set out proposals for one of the largest urban parks to be built in Europe for 150 years.

Initially, there will be a standard 28-day period for public consultation before the proposals are considered by the ODA's planning decisions team which includes representatives from all the London boroughs affected by the plans. The ODA expects a final decision by late summer.

The submission was timed to coincide with the end of the statutory appeal phase of the compulsory purchase order (CPO) for the land needed for the Olympic Park.

Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 Organizing Committee said: "London 2012 will be a prime example of sport acting as a catalyst for regeneration, and the planning application clearly shows the transformational powers of the Games."

In a related development, the National Audit Office has published its first assessment of the preparations for London 2012 and highlighted uncertainty over the event's budget and legacy issues as two of the six "main risk areas" which could adversely affect the Games.

Visit the London 2012 website

Read the report "Preparations for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games - Risk assessment and management" from the National Audit Office

Roger Milne

9 February 2007