Not much new here, but this was the message I got back to my questions:

Dear Liam

Thank you for getting in touch with us regarding the proposed temporary police facilities on Wanstead Flats.


You asked a number of questions with regards to the plans, and I hope that we are able to answer these queries below.

Will there be temporary holding cells at the centre?



No, there will be no custody provision on the site. The purpose of the proposed temporary facility would be to brief the officers policing the area during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.



Will any people arrested or stopped during the Olympics be taken to the briefing centre for questioning?



No, anyone arrested would be taken to existing custody facilities in London as is common in all Metropolitan Police Service’s current policing operations.



Will there be a guarantee that police traffic will indeed head North to Green Man Roundabout, and NOT cut through Cann Hall Road etc. What should local people do if they see this happening?



There are no plans to direct traffic through Cann Hall Road. The police traffic would primarily use the A12, where the Olympic Route Network will be in operation, to get to and from the site and to and from the Stratford area. The traffic would use the Green Man Roundabout, Bush Hall Road and then Centre Road to access the briefing centre.



The briefing centre will have a dedicated public liaison officer, who during the time the centre is running will be responsible for dealing with any issues local people may have relating to the police presence on the site.



Will support vehicles also make use of Green Man and not small local roads?



Yes, the traffic would use the Green Man Roundabout, Bush Hall Road and then Centre Road to access the briefing centre.



Why has Drapers Field not been considered? It's far closer to the Olympic site and suits the dimensions shown on your maps.



When the need was identified for a briefing site in east London, an extensive search was conducted focusing on large open spaces in the area. The search focused on robust criteria to ensure that any proposed site would meet our operational requirement. The criteria included:



Proximity to the areas to be policed to avoid too much delay in deploying officers following their briefing
Availability - at the time of searching for a location, a number of sites were unable to confirm whether other Games related activity would be taking place on these.
Size and capacity of site
Accessibility - main transport links and good access onto road networks
Distance from residential areas
Security of site
Supportive Landowner/Caretaker - permission of the Landowner or Caretaker is required for any proposed site. The City of London Corporation have, after discussions, agreed in principle to the use but only subject to a full public consultation process.

Against all of these criteria the MPS has decided that Wanstead Flats is the most viable location for such a centre. Our proposal remains subject to a planning application, which will be submitted to Redbridge Council.



Why were the plans for the briefing centre not included in the overall Olympic planning?

In 2005 when London won the bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012, plans were very top level and did not go into specific detail about all of the aspects required to deliver the Games.

As more detailed planning for the Games got underway, the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG), (the Games organisers), divided London into three zones of operation to reflect the large number of venues right across London. The Met has developed policing plans in line with this and have identified a need for three temporary briefing centres. One in each of the three zones. As soon as it became clear that a temporary briefing centre would be required in the Park Zone - the area around the Olympic Park, Victoria Park and Stratford, the Met began to search for a suitable available site. The most suitable location identified through this search is the fairground area of Wanstead Flats.



What contracts would be in place to ensure the buildings would be removed on the dates shown, and the land would be back to serviceable use?



The proposed amendment to the Epping Forest Act 1878, via a proposed Legislative Reform Order (LRO), will be strictly limited to the unique policing need in the summer of 2012. No lasting powers relating to Wanstead Flats or Epping Forest will be conferred on the Police or any other bodies. The Epping Forest Act 1878 will revert back to its full protection at the end.



The proposed LRO will also be subject to a separate 12 week consultation run by the Home Office. This is expected to start in September when further details will be available at www.homeoffice.gov.uk



I hope this has been able to answer your queries, if you have any further questions then please do not hesitate to get in touch through the comments page of our website (www.wanstead-mbdc.co.uk), or call our resident's phoneline on 0800 977 8791, or simply reply to this email, and we will be sure to get back to you with a response at the earliest possible opportunity.

Many thanks