Emerging issues for West London from the hosting of the London 2012 Games
1. Background
The West London Partnership for the 2012 Games was established in 2005 with the
aim of securing the greatest possible benefits for West London from the hosting of
the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
The WLP2012 is led by West London Alliance (WLA) which represents the boroughs
of Ealing, Brent, Hammersmith & Fulham, Harrow, Hillingdon and Hounslow. Other
key stakeholders include PRO-ACTIVE West London, Brunel University, West London
Business and West London Network.
The original action plan was developed by over 400 stakeholders and focused on the
following areas:
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Increasing participation in sport and physical activity
Increasing cultural audiences
Developing stronger communities
Inspiring young people
Increasing skills and training opportunities
Levering inward investment for business
An agreed work programme exists for the West London 2012 officer based on work
which contributes to the achievement of these objectives and to bringing tangible
benefits to local communities.
During the annual review of the action plan priorities in March 2010, it became
apparent that there was a need for key stakeholders to focus on addressing issues
which may affect business continuity during summer 2012. This is broadly referred
to as City Operations by GLA, London Councils and other pan London organisations.
As a result, the following objective was added to the 10/11 action plan:
To ensure business continuity for boroughs, organisations and businesses in
West London throughout 2012
The key areas which come under the heading of City operations include:
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Transport
Human resource policies
Command, Coordination and Communication
Security
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Advertising and Street trading regulation and enforcement
London Events Coordination Calendar
Look and Feel of London
Torch Relay
This paper sets out current issues and opportunities arising from these key areas and
begins to discuss action which WLP2012 stakeholders need to take. The West
London 2012 Officer is keen to support stakeholders with this work but any work
needs to be in the context of the existing agreed work programme.
2. Progress on City Operations
A paper outlining key issues facing London boroughs in terms of the City Operations
Programme was presented to the Chief Executive’s London Committee (CELC)
meeting in September 2010. London Councils then hosted an event in November
2010 which brought together borough officers from across London. In April 2011,
WLP2012 hosted an event for organisations in West London aimed at sharing
information on a range of areas from the City Operations work strands.
Specific progress on the individual work strands is below.
Transport
TfL on behalf of the ODA are undertaking a phased consultation on the TROs which
will need to be in place for the Olympic Route network to function. The first phase of
consultation which included parts of the A40, A4 and A406 closed in April 2011. The
second phase which includes the eastern part of the A40, closes on 6 June 2011.
TfL is also providing Travel Advice for Businesses – a web based information service
which encourages businesses to consider the impact of the ORN and increase in the
use of public transport, on their day to day business activities.
Human Resource Policies
London Councils has issued guidance for boroughs on issues they may wish to
consider when developing a HR policy for summer 2012. Brent Council have
developed a policy which has been communicated to staff. Ealing, Hammersmith &
Fulham, Hounslow, Hillingdon and Harrow have draft guidelines in place. Businesses
who attended the Get Games Ready event organised by WLP2012 have also begun
to develop policies.
Command, Control and Coordination
Brent Council has led on the establishment of the Borough Group Support Unit
(BGSU) – part of the Command, Control and Coordination (C3) processes for the
London 2012 Games. The BGSU will collate information from boroughs regarding the
delivery status of certain designated services which will be escalated to the pan
London Local Authority Olympic Co-ordination Centre (LAOCC). These C3
arrangements work in parallel to the existing GOLD emergency planning
arrangements. The group has met twice with a further meeting scheduled for
September. Draft arrangements are in place awaiting further information from the
GLA.
Security
The police are developing joint plans with LOCOG regarding operational delivery in
and around the Olympic Park. For West London they will support the torch relay and
other events which feature in the events coordination calendar.
Trading Standards
A pan London trading standards officers group has been looking at the areas of
ambush marketing; street trading; anti counterfeit; brand protection; hotel
accommodation and tickets. They have identified that town centres and tube
stations will need extra resource to manage street trading.
London Events Coordination Calendar
The London Events Co-ordination Calendar (LECC) has been developed by the
Greater London Authority, on behalf of the emergency services, health and transport
delivery partners and captures the number and types of events that are proposed
during the period 1 May - 31 October 2012 which could impact on London’s services.
All proposed events during this period were required to be entered on to the LECC
by 31 March 2011. Events are currently undergoing an assessment and prioritisation
process by boroughs to determine if the emergency services have capacity to
support these events.
Look and Feel of London
All London boroughs will be allocated £50,000 to purchase items from the ‘Look
Book’ – a list of London 2012 branded items which can be used to dress town
centres, parks and main routes through boroughs. Boroughs are currently awaiting
sight of the Look Book – due for circulation in July 2011.
Torch Relay
The torch will pass through each of the West London boroughs en route to the
Olympic Stadium. Boroughs are beginning to get further information about the route
the torch will take although this is still subject to change. The recent announcement
confirmed Ealing as one of the locations which will host an evening celebration on 24
July 2012. The free ticketed event expects to attract approx 10,000 people.
Community task force groups are being established by LOCOG to oversee the
delivery of the evening celebrations.
3. Emerging issues for West London
West London boroughs are at various different stages in their approach to the city
operations work strands. To date the West London 2012 Officer has been supporting
boroughs on an ad hoc basis, ensuring they have the most up to date information
and sharing good practice from other boroughs. The Get Games Ready event on 12
April was attended by all of the West London boroughs including organisations and
businesses from the sub region. The feedback was very positive with many attendees
reporting that the event was useful and informative. All delegates welcomed further
information when it becomes available.
Through this event and dialogue with borough lead 2012 officers, issues are
beginning to emerge for West London.
Work strand
Transport
HR policies
C3
Community
Safety
Street Trading
LECC
Issues / Opportunities for West
London
 Parking congestion around
stations with direct access to
Wembley or Central London
 Major incidents on the A40
and A406 and subsequent
impact of road closures
 Affect on business continuity
arising from the above points
 Key staff requesting leave
during Games time could
affect front line service
delivery
 Key staff requesting leave
could affect mutual aid
agreements
 No issues at present
 WL officers deployed to East
London may leave gaps in
coverage
 Main issues will be in town
centres, tube stations and
overground stations
 Events are assessed by safety
advisory groups in boroughs
Responsibility
 Boroughs to disseminate
information through
Economic Forums
 West Trans group to discuss
issues relevant to west
london and identify course
of action
 WL2012 Officer to work with
boroughs, TfL, WLB to
disseminate information
 Individual boroughs with
support from London
Councils to develop HR
policies
 WL2012 officer to offer
support to WLA HR group if
needed
 Boroughs to identify key
staff to support the BGSU
 WL2012 Officer to ensure
communication link with
WLP2012
 Borough Community Safety
Partnerships to discuss
issues
 WL2012 Officer to convene
trading standards officers
across WL to explore issues
further
 All stakeholders to ensure
organisations who are
planning events in 2012 are
aware of the LECC
 WL2012 Officer to
coordinate list of large
events in WL and circulate
to appropriate groups
Work strand
Look & Feel
Torch Relay
Issues / Opportunities for West
London
 Borough funding allocation is
small
 Evening celebration in Ealing
 Torch visit to each borough
Responsibility
 Boroughs to develop plans
 WL2012 Officer to oordinate
the sharing of borough plans
to ensure there is awareness
of neighbouring boroughs
intentions
 Communication link
between boroughs
 Rep on Community Task
Force group
 WL2012 Officer to explore
how torch relay can help
achieve wider WL2012
objectives
4. Proposed future structure of WLP2012 meetings
The membership of WLP2012 reflects the organisations who can help achieve the
objectives outlined in section 1 of this report. Historically this has included arts and
sports officers who are working on securing a participation legacy from the Games.
However, as identified above, there are emerging work streams which focus on
business continuity for boroughs, organisations and businesses in West London.
Largely this is being dealt with by officers in emergency planning or civil protection
of which arts and sports is of no relevance. It is therefore proposed to structure the
agenda accordingly which will ensure that officers are able to attend the part of the
meeting which is relevant to them. It is also proposed to increase the frequency of
the meetings to bi monthly from September so that timely discussions can take
place.
5. Summary
It is asked that the issues and opportunities identified in this report are discussed
and the role of the WL2012 officer agreed. New information regarding the city
operations work strands is regularly received. The issues and opportunities will be
continually reviewed to ensure West London is best placed to respond.