Stadium will now cost £525 million - and no legacy?

From the BBC's website today:

The estimated cost of the main stadium for the 2012 Games has hit £525m, the mayor's Olympics watchdog has revealed.

A review of London's preparations for the Games found the figure for the 80,000-seat stadium in Stratford, east London, had jumped £29m since November. But the report by business tycoon David Ross noted the increased costs had been offset by savings elsewhere, leaving an increase in projected costs of £16m.

The stadium was originally priced at £280m in London's 2005 bid document.

New London Mayor Boris Johnson commissioned the three-week review.

Cost pressures
"It is clear also that on costs and funding we need to have greater transparency and openness," said Mr Johnson.

"The ODA's final cost estimates already anticipate that at least a billion pounds of contingency provided within the Budget will be spent."

He added: "I want to make it clear that Londoners will not pay a penny more in council tax to pay for the games no matter what the circumstances."

Mr Ross was chosen by the mayor to keep an eye on the Olympic purse strings. He sits on the London Olympic organising committee board as Mr Johnson's nominee.

He identified questions over the security of the 2012 Games, its legacy and the Olympic Village as key areas which need to be "focused on".

The report points to tighter controls on bank lending, falling house prices, increased oil and raw material costs and the threat of terrorism as factors which will add "significant pressure" to the cost of the Olympics.

Mr Ross noted difficulties in securing finance for the Olympic Village and said work was ongoing with the developer, Lend Lease, and its banks to secure private equity and debt funding.

He warned: "In all scenarios some significant additional public sector funding is likely to be required to deliver the project."

However, he said savings made elsewhere meant there "has only been a very small increase in the overall anticipated final cost of the total programme of £16m."

He identified that security plans were "significantly behind the rest of the planning".

"It is absolutely vital that significant progress is made quickly on security planning so that necessary facilities are identified early enough to be provided cost effectively," he said.

And while he said there would be transport and regeneration benefits from London hosting the games, he issued a word of caution with regards to a lasting legacy.

"I am disappointed that we find ourselves at an advanced stage of the procurement process without clear and agreed plans for legacy for a number of important venues."