Olympic Equestrian Events, is Greenwich Park the right venue?

Computer simulation of the view from the Wolfe statue created by Greenwich Landscape Artists

Computer simulation of the view from the Wolfe statue created by Greenwich Landscape Artists

No to Greenwich Olympic Equestrian Events (NOGOE) is an ongoing campaign for the  2012 Olympic equestrian events to be moved to a more suitable venue.

The members of this community action group are extremely worried about the impact the Games will have on the Park and the local community. Despite the promises made by the  Olympic organisers to repair any damage caused during the Games, the community says the park is too small and features hundred year old trees that will have to be “pruned” to allow riders to pass during the competitions and that, according to the campaigners, will eventually be damaged.

Following a test event that took place last July, Derrick Spurr, Project Manager for the Games, said he was “absolutely confident” that within a few months the park will start to green up again very quickly after the end of the Olympics.

Sue McNeil, NOGOE’s spokeswoman, described the preparations for the test event as “a rape of the park – it’s covered in sand and railings and tractors. One or two trees have had severe pruning. It makes us suspicious of what will happen next year.”

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