Wickham's musings from Chalke

Initially I was against London's bid for the 2012 Olympic Games because it was to be in Hackney which has the worst transport links of any London borough. It has no tube line, is served by old crowded trains from Liverpool Street station and has atrocious road congestion. I had visions of athletes struggling in traffic to get to the most important race of their life in time.

However, it seems the waste land earmarked for the games has enough room for an athletes' village and provided they can all be within walking distance of the stadiums this should be fine.

A new tube line has been planned to go through Hackney for many years and there should be just about enough time to build it in eight years provided it is started now. The Jubilee Line was late for the Canary Wharf office workers and they had to struggle through road traffic or use a very small Docklands Light Railway for years until it was finished. Even then it had an old signalling system because there was no chance of getting the newer and better system installed and tested in time.

I am now very much in favour of the bid and I hope all the work can be completed in time. Athens has obviously not managed to get everything ready for August this year so the games there will be probably staged somehow in a building site.

Since we have only been short-listed and won't know if we have been selected until 2005, building work wouldn't start until well after that. This would still leave enough time for stadiums and a village to be built, but the tube line ought to be started now. It is needed whether we win the bid or not.