“Taking land compulsorily is not a decision that can be taken lightly, or in anything other than exceptional circumstances,” said Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games. “The Olympic and Paralympic Games are exceptional. They are fabulous sporting festivals of course, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. Everyone involved in organising the Games agrees that they must leave a sustainable and significant sporting, social and economic legacy." 

 

Organisers have got around 86 per cent of the land needed to build the facilities, including the Olympic Stadium and Aquatics centre, but dozens of businesses oppose £1.1 billion plan to evict them from East London’s Lower Lea Valley. The inquiry will hear complaints from businesses and residents about the compulsory purchase orders.

 

It will also hear arguments in favour of the scheme from the London Development Agency, which has the task of securing the 306-hectare site for the Games. Inspectors will consider the evidence before making a recommendation to Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Alistair Darling.

 

“The Lower Lea Valley was the only viable choice for a 2012 bid,” said Coe. “It has the sheer acreage and, as part of the Thames Gateway regeneration project, it is already a magnet for investment. Making facilities available to the public, creating thousands of jobs, improving public transport, and providing accommodation for key workers are all part of the central purpose of London being host city in 2012.

 

A London Development Agency spokesman said the body was striking deals “thick and fast” to drastically slash the number of objectors from 400, including with Lance Forman, owner of the world’s oldest salmon smokery and a vociferous opponent of the CPO. He is now likely to relocate to a new factory on a former housing association site in Fish Island.

 

Deals have also been reached with most of the 34 statutory bodies on the site, including Network Rail and British Waterways.

 

“By the end of the week we are likely to have between 30 to 40 people making meaningful objections,” said Gareth Blacker of the LDA. “There is one man who is claiming he has held the copyright for staging the Olympics in the Lower Lea Valley for the last 17 years.”

 

If the purchase orders are confirmed, the LDA will serve notice on all owners, leasees, tenants and occupiers, who will have to move by July 2007 so clearing work can begin.

 

The LDA says 206 businesses are already looking to relocate, of which 34 per cent have identified sites they are prepared to move to. These groups of businesses, which represent 70 per cent of jobs in the Olympic Park area, have signed provisional agreement terms to leave.