Olympics
The Olympic Stadium for the London 2012 Summer Olympics is constructed on former industrial land between the Lea Navigation to the west and the City Mill River to the east. The land was formerly bisected by the remains of the Pudding Mill River, but this was filled in to provide a site which was large enough. As part of the construction phase for the event, Three Mills Lock was constructed on the Prescott Channel. This consists of a barge lock, suitable for 350-tonne (344.5-long-ton; 385.8-short-ton) barges, and an adjacent sluice, which enables the water levels above the structure to be regulated, rather than navigation being subject to the tides. The lock was built to allow construction materials to be delivered to the site and spoil to be removed, and the final cost was £23 million, which included a sluice on the Three Mills Wall River. Work began in March 2007, and the project lasted for just over two years. Despite hopes that it would transport 1.75 million tonnes while the stadium was being built, very little commercial traffic used the new lock.
With water levels above the structure remaining fairly constant, £400,000 was spent on refurbishing City Mills Lock. Although some work had been carried out in 2006, including the fitting of new metal gates, it was not operational, and had not been used for around 40 years. The second phase of restoration included fitting the equipment to automate its operation. The first public use of the lock occurred on 31 July 2010. British Waterways hoped to restore the Carpenters Road Lock soon afterwards, but the project was postponed until after the completion of the Olympic games, as temporary 'Land Bridges' were erected over the site of the lock to enable pedestrians to reach the stadium, some of which will be removed after the event. Following the Olympic games, it is hoped the waterways will continue to be used by both commercial and leisure craft.
The Olympic Delivery Authority took the decision to culvert more of the Channelsea River, where it crossed the northern part of the site. It remains a designated main river, and so they had to liase with the Environment Agency on matters of flood-risk management, and a site was identified which would provide compensation for the loss of habitat caused by the culverting. Much of the old River Lea was inaccessible to the public prior to the project, but is a central feature of the northern parklands that have been created. Two 'wetland bowls' were designed, which have been planted with water-loving plants such as reeds, rushes, sedges and iris. They also provide spawning grounds and refuges during flood conditions for fish, as well as providing storage capacity for flood water. It was the largest aquatic planting scheme ever carried out in Britain when it was completed, and most of the 350,000 plants were grown in Norfolk from seeds and cuttings removed from the site. At the southern end of the site, the Waterworks River was reconstructed. Improvements in the 1930s created channels with vertical concrete sides, and little thought for habitat. The channel was made 26 feet (8 m) wider, with sloping banks and ramps down to the water's edge, and was improved visually and ecologically by the planting of aquatic marginal plants.
With the exception of Bow Creek, the Bow Back Rivers have been closed for public access during the Olympics construction works, and will remain closed until after the events. Access to sections of the Lee Navigation which pass close to the Olympic Stadium, including part of Bow River, part of the Hackney Cut, and the Hertford Union Canal will be restricted during the summer of 2012. The Bow Back Rivers are intended to form a major feature of the Olympic site. The stadium will form the centrepiece of the Olympics on an island site, with the Waterworks River to the east, and the Aquatics Centre on the eastern bank. Five new pedestrian bridges have been built across the waterways to provide the principal access to the stadium.
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