Observer interivew with Olympic chief David Higgins reveals that more spending will be required for infrastructure.
The budget for the Olympics must rise by £2bn, The Observer reported, following an interview with ODA chief executive David Higgins. The ex-English Partnerships head said 35,000 new homes will be built in the Lower Lea Valley as part of the legacy of the games. He indicated to The Observer that £3bn would be needed for the infrastructure for the games - an extra £2bn than the £1bn predicted.
The Sunday Telegraph secured an interview with Olympic Delivery Authority chairman Jack Lemley, who compared the construction schedule for the 2012 Games to a marathon that "we have to run in Olympic record time". Lemley skirted questions over the ongoing row between the Reuben brothers, Westfield and Stanhope over their Stratford City project. "I have no indication that there has been any bad faith on the part of any of the parties involved," he said.
The Sunday Times covered a Construction Products Association report that claims Britain's construction industry has enjoyed a strong bounce over the past three months. After a fall in construction output in 2005 -the first for 10 years -the CPA's quarterly barometer records a score of 59, above the "no-change" level of 50 for the first time in 12 months.
The Independent on Sunday reported that the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority is to give £18m to North Cumbria Primary Care Trust to save nine community hospitals from closing before in can open a new hospital in 2008. The newspaper also claimed that clean-up of Britain's current nuclear sites will cost about £160bn, more than twice the £70bn estimated by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority.
