The Olympic Games are quickly becoming known for controversy and dispute, especially surrounding sponsorship advertising and marketing becoming out of control. However, it appears that, even indirectly, London 2012 is having a negative impact upon small commercial property businesses in the capital city – even those lying within the shadows of the Olympic stadium itself.
Hackney Wick commercial property railway station, which lies one stop past the main station for Olympic passengers, will be closed to westbound trains for the duration of the Games after 1pm. This is because trains from Stratford, the main public transport hub outside the Olympic Games stadium, will be too packed to take on passengers at the next station, according to Transport for London and Lorol, the owners of London Overground.
Of course, this means that consumers will struggle to visit the commercial property stores and leisure facilities in the area, as a lack of public transport will surely be a hindrance to not only visitors, but native Londoners too. In that sense, the Olympics may end up costing local commercial property businesses money, rather than creating the massive amounts of profit claimed by Lord Sebastian Coe at the very beginning of London’s Olympic bid.
The decision to close Hackney Wick station comes only days before the official opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, held only a few hundred metres from the commercial property businesses which will no longer be able to benefit from the influx of visitors arriving in London this summer.
Owner of local commercial property bar and cafe The Hackney Pearl, James Morgan, says; “This decision is outrageous and flies in the face of what we were promised.
“We were led to believe there would be an increase in trade and yet we are now being effectively cut off from any access at all. It makes a mockery of the Olympic bid as it was based on these promises.”
The late announcement of London Overground’s decision means that many commercial property businesses are already out of pocket after months of preparations for an increase in trade. As well as small businesses that moved or relocated to the area in anticipation of the Olympic trade, many commercial property companies have already invested in PR campaigns and increased advertising, as well as recruiting additional members of staff to prepare for higher consumer turnover throughout the summer.
Unfortunately, it looks like these commercial property businesses will lose out on a lot of business, as roadway and bus route alterations are also being affected by the proximity of the Olympic Village. In essence, along with the closure of the river towpath, the community will be all but cut off from the Olympic tourist trade. The transportation issues will also cause problems for staff commuting in to work in the commercial property businesses of Hackney Wick.
Chief Operating Officer of TfL London Rail, Howard Smith, said; “During the Games, London will become a massive sporting and cultural venue, with up to one million extra visitors expected in the capital every day at Games-time.
“They will make an additional three million daily journeys, over and above the regular 12 million journeys on public transport. We and our operators have detailed crowd management plans in place for every station on the network, including Hackney Wick, which will enable us to deal safely with the exceptional increase in passenger numbers on London Overground.
“Those plans are based on the projected increase we expect around key stations serving the Games venues and major Live Sites.”
Local commercial property businesses which will be affected by the closure of Hackney Wick station are in the process of raising a petition in the hope that transport chiefs will change their minds about cutting their community off from the biggest sporting event of recent years in British history.
