Residents face Games park 'tax' after 2012 | Evening Standard: "Thousands of residents and businesses will be forced to pay an Olympic 'tax' to locate in the Games park, the Evening Standard has learned.
Games chiefs are planning to recoup millions of pounds by charging a premium to those who move into the 500-acre site after the 2012 Olympics.
A levy, collected typically by a housing association or managing agent, will come in the form of a maintenance charge or ground rent.
The scheme has been borrowed from cities in America, where it has become a common way of contributing to costs of municipal parks.
The plan is being considered by the London Development Agency as part of a 'legacy masterplan' for the Olympic park, where it is the major landowner.
Last month it emerged a £1 billion black hole may appear in Olympics finances if property values slump in east London after the Games.
The LDA believes premium-rate ground rents would be justified considering the amenities that would be on residents' doorsteps.
As well as being amid a green space the size of Hyde Park, they will have new public transport links and stations, and will be able to use the Park's world-class sporting facilities, such as the aquatics centre. There will be 9,000 new homes in the park and 40,000 in the wider Lower Lea Valley area."
Search
Amazon.com
or
eBay for more 2012 Olympics products ...
