New plans for one of Europe's best cycling facilities to be created at the Olympic Park have been given the green light.
The Lee Valley VeloPark, to be created after the 2012 Games, will include a mile-long road circuit and around 8km of mountain bike trails.
The Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) had to apply to amend the original layout for the circuit in December to provide better public access to riverbanks in the northern end of the venue in Stratford, east London.
Plans to develop outdoor tracks have now got approval. It means Hackney will also get a new park which can be used for small scale events.
British Cycling, Sport England, Hackney Council and Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, who will own and operate Lee Valley VeloPark after the Games, all agreed the designs. Local users were also consulted.
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"There is now a clear legacy from 2012 which will benefit cycling for many years to come and ensure more people can take to their bikes in top class facilities." Ian Drake |
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British Cycling Chief Executive Ian Drake said: "Together with the recent memorandum of understanding signed between British Cycling and the London, Manchester and Glasgow velodromes there is now a clear legacy from 2012 which will benefit cycling for many years to come and ensure more people can take to their bikes in top class facilities."
The road cycle circuit, which replaces the old Eastway Cycle Circuit, features a series of loops to the west of the velodrome and a large single loop to the east of the venue. It has been engineered to provide a variety of right and left turns, straights, rises and falls along its route.
It has been laid out so several shorter sections of the track can also be used, while the circuit can be lit for night-time use and competition. The mountain bike trails form a loop which runs from the north-east corner of the Park, past the Velodrome and heads north under the A12 to East Marsh.
From there it runs eastwards through Eton Manor and then back under the A12. The trails will stretch for around 8km in total but riders will be able to pit their skills on three different sections rated as easy, intermediate and difficult.
There will also be a skills training area with jumps, grade reversals and level changes. The BMX track, which will be used during the Games, will be re-graded and form part of the package of public outdoor facilities.
A pedestrian path has also been earmarked to connect the velodrome to Waltham Forest in the north. The new park space will sit to the south of the cycle circuit and to the west of the River Lea.
A visitor centre and large playground is also planned for the north park, to the south of the cycle circuit.
