At the forefront of the 15 volume, 10,000 page document are plans for new sporting venues, highways, bridges, river works, utilities, parks, open space, and their post-Games reconfiguration for legacy use.

 

The application covers a land area of 246 hectares (2.5 sq kilometres) and sets the vision for one of the largest urban parks to be built in Europe for 150 years.
 
As announced last year there have been changes to the masterplan since winning the bid and this new planning application now reflects these.

 

Changes include: better integrating the Olympic Village with the Stratford City Development; relocating the International Broadcast Centre and Main Press Centre to within the Park boundary and providing a more compact layout of venues and Park facilities for Games time and legacy use.

 

These improvements also maximise the legacy benefits of the Park, and place a greater focus on sustainable development, officials claim.

 

David Higgins, Chief Executive of the ODA, said: "The planning applications represent a significant moment in delivering our vision for the Olympic Park and creating a benchmark 21st Century urban environment. 

 

"The Games are the catalyst for much needed social, environmental and physical regeneration of a deprived area of East London – the Lower Lea Valley - and the sheer size and scope of the application reflects both the scale of the challenge as well as the enormous opportunity hosting the Games will bring to this area.

 

"We are ‘locking-in legacy’ at a very early stage – five and a half years before the Games begin – and we now move from the planning phase to the next stage of the Olympic Park project – what we are calling ‘Making the Park 3D – Demolition, Dig and Design’ which will take us to Beijing.”

 

Sebastian Coe, the chairman of London 2012, added:  "London 2012 will be a prime example of sport acting as a catalyst for regeneration, and the planning application we are submitting today clearly shows the transformational powers of the Games.

 

"This is one of the biggest and most complex planning applications ever prepared in this country, and is another key milestone for us on the road to 2012.”

 

The Olympic & Legacy Transformation Planning Applications’, is made up of two core elements:
The Site Preparation Planning Application which seeks permission for early works to allow the development of Olympic facilities and their legacy transformation, including:

 

* Remediation, demolition and earthworks to prepare the land for construction

 

* Extensive works to waterways, including the construction of new river walls and flood defence walls

 

* The construction of new highways and a continuous Loop Road surrounding the Olympic Park, to provide initial construction access, and give vehicles back-of-house venue access in Games mode

 

* The construction of an underground utilities corridor

 

* The Olympic and Legacy Transformation Planning Application, which seeks permission for the core construction work and post-Games reconfiguration of infrastructure for legacy use, including

 

* The construction of five permanent venues (Olympic Stadium, Aquatics Centre, Velopark, Handball Arena, Eton Manor) and three temporary sporting venues (Basketball Arena, Hockey Venue, Fencing Venue)

 

* The construction of an International Broadcast Centre / Main Press Centre

 

* Earthworks and extensive landscaping to create open space areas and achieve an Olympic Park that is accessible, usable and varied in its topography

 

* 11 permanent highway bridges and 13 permanent footbridges

 

* Above ground utilities, including: A Wind Turbine which will provide six per cent of the Olympic Site’s energy requirements and in legacy will provide energy for the local community; A Terminal Pumping Station with a capacity of 500 litres/s: A Primary Electricity Substation with a capacity of 132kV and the provision of a new site wide surface water drainage system, including five surface water pumping stations 

 

* Extensive post-Games legacy regeneration work including:  Partial deconstruction, demolition, dismantling and construction of venues to form legacy sports, leisure and entertainment venues
Earthworks and landscaping to provide permanent public open spaces and outdoor sports and changing facilities and the reconfiguration to form buildings for office and industrial use

 

* The transformation of the Olympic Loop Road and the construction of a new legacy road network

 

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.

 

This will enable key early works to proceed as soon as possible, allowing the momentum of work on the Olympic Park to continue.

 

Following approval, the Olympic and Legacy Transformation Applications are intended to establish the revised Masterplan and become the primary permissions to develop the Olympic and Paralympic facilities and their legacy transformation.

 

The Olympic & Legacy Transformation Planning Applications were submitted to the ODA’s Planning Decisions Team in Stratford yesterday.

 

The submission has been timed to coincide with the end of the statutory appeals phase of the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) of Olympic Park land.

 

This allows the planning process to proceed unhindered by any unresolved issues in the CPO process.
 
The Planning Application will now be subject to a statutory 28 day public consultation period to allow members of the public to give their comments.

 

The ODA’s Planning Decisions Team will then consider the document along with feedback received in the consultation period before making recommendations to the ODA’s planning committee.

 

A decision is expected later this year but timings will be influenced by the unprecedented size of the document.