MARTYN ZIEGLER
A dispute has broken out between London 2012 organisers and the governing body of British shooting over the Olympic venue in Woolwich..
Philip Boakes, chairman of British shooting, has written to every MP calling for the venue to be changed, claiming it is waste of £25m to build the ranges only to demolish them at the end of the Games. A separate petition organised by competitive shooters has also been launched.
British shooting want the venue moved to Dartford, and the money, which is coming from the London organising committee LOCOG and is not public money, invested into a site that will remain.
In his letter to MPs, Boakes said: "It does not make sense to build the facility at a cost of £18.6m, use it for a maximum of six weeks, then demolish it at a further cost of £4m both figures plus VAT leaving the sport with nothing to show for £25m spend."
Boakes claimed the governing body's efforts to persuade the London organising committee (LOCOG) had fallen on deaf ears.
"They want it to be a compact Games. Our alternative at Dartford allows the athletes to remain in the Olympic Village, so that argument does not stand."
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