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Tuesday, November 18, 2008, 10:15
Basildon District Council has bowed to pressure from potential developers and offered a £45,000 safety net should the project collapse.
It means the company that wins the contract will be compensated for its work at the planning stage if the money runs out.
Although he admits it is a risk, Cllr Stephen Horgan, cabinet member for regeneration and green issues, says he has signed off the money to speed up the build.
"We have to be realistic in this day and age and admit that it could fall apart," he said. "So we are taking a risk, but I think it is one worth taking. We want to get the whole thing done as soon as possible so it can be used in the run-up to 2012.
"We are hopeful that it will be finished in 2010 and we are doing this to try to quicken things up."
The safeguard will enable developers to start planning about two months early. They won't have to wait for contracts to be signed off because of the financial back-up.
It is hoped the build could be under way as early as March next year. A developer has to be chosen, and leader of the council Malcolm Buckley told the Gazette that three companies were in the running.
"I personally don't see it as a risk because we are going to deliver this project in any case," he said. "What has happened is that potential developers have asked for this and, in the current climate, we are happy to oblige."
The sporting village – with its 50m Olympic-sized pool, gymnastics centre and other facilities at Gloucester Park, Basildon – is expected to attract tens of thousands of visitors from across the district.
As the Gazette exclusively reported in September, the council is struggling to cope with the pressure of building the venue because land it had earmarked for sale to pay for it has plummeted in value.
It is currently looking at borrowing the cash to make up the shortfall.
The venue has been mooted as a possible base for the Russians during the 2012 Olympics and has been given the go-ahead to become a paralympic training camp, but it has to be built by 2010.
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