London 2012 shooting stays in Woolwich

THE Olympic board have confirmed the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich will stage the London 2012 shooting events.

HOLD FIRE: Olympic Board refuses to change venue for London 2012 shooting

Over the last three months the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has been carrying out feasibility work on the National Shooting Centre in Bisley to consider it as a possible alternative site.

The ODA has also carried out feasibility work looking at Barking Reach, vacant land that was formally the site of Barking Reach Power Station in east London.

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This work is now completed and the Board have decided that shooting should remain at Woolwich and a planning application will be submitted for the venue. 

The Board agreed that feasibility work would continue into Barking Reach but only as a reserve option.

The Royal Artillery Barracks at Woolwich was the choice of venue as stated in the Candidate File during the Bid phase due to its locality to the Olympic Park.

Hosting the event at Woolwich allows London 2012 to deliver a "compact" Games close to the Olympic Village.

The Board ruled out the choice of Bisley as the Shooting venue because of the cost, operational complexity and time risks associated with the proposals.  Specific issues were:

"The ODA has conducted a thorough review process of all three locations," said Locog chairman Sebastian Coe.

"However, the Board still feels that Woolwich is the best choice of venue. It is an iconic venue close to the Olympic Village, with a strong shooting heritage, and is one of the Greenwich cluster of Olympic and Paralympic venues.

"We will now work closely with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and all interested parties to ensure all arrangements are in place for a first class venue for shooting."

Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell added: "Today's decision confirms that the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Shooting events will take place at the Royal Artillery Barracks in Woolwich, allowing us to deliver the compact Games that we promised in 2005.

"I would like to thank the teams from Barking and Bisley for their cooperation throughout the review process."