Athletes fear cost cuts will harm 2012 village

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Fears that corners will be cut on athletes' accommodation as chiefs struggle to contain costs during the credit crunch have been raised by scores of nations at an Olympic summit in Mexico.

Plans to scale down the village by a third as revealed in the Evening Standard are expected to dominate tomorrow's meeting of the Olympic board and will be high on the agenda when the International Olympic Committee visits London next month.

Colin Moynihan, chairman of the British Olympic Association, said he had been approached by counterparts planning to bring teams to 2012 at a summit in Acapulco which he attended this month.

He told the Standard: "It was raised in Mexico, it will be raised at the board and you can be sure that it will be raised by the IOC. These nations need assurances that the village will have the right design, that it will be comfortable and well fitted out and that there will be enough open space.

"This is not about five-star accommodation or even four-star but the need for athletes to live comfortably and relax so that they can perform at their peak. You cannot underestimate the importance of the village."

Lord Moynihan, who was speaking after his re-election as chairman of the BOA, said his officials would check the latest village designs against pledges set out in London's bid book submitted almost five years ago.

The village has borne the brunt of the credit crunch as developer Lend Lease has struggled to raise its £450million share of the £1billion cost.

Already the Government has approved £95million from the contingency fund to keep the project on track during the economic crisis and yesterday ministers said they would not be able to finalise a public-private deal this year. The ministerial Funders' Committee which controls the £2.7billion contingency fund and is chaired by Chancellor Alistair Darling, will meet in the New Year.

The credit crunch is expected to dominate tomorrow's meeting of the Olympic board. Members will be presented with a cost analysis of the temporary equestrian, shooting and basketball venues by accountants KPMG.