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Firm wants £1m after fight over Games site
Matthew Beard, Sports News Correspondent25.01.08
A property company which fought off compulsory relocation to make way for the Olympics is seeking more than £1 million in costs.
The Neptune Group, which owns a six-acre site in Hackney, is claiming costs it says it incurred fighting plans by the London Development Agency for it to make way for a bus depot.
The LDA had earmarked the site in Wyke Road, on the western fringe of the Olympic Park, as one of the new premises for three bus depots that had to be demolished to make way for Games venues.
Neptune, which bought the site in 2005 to turn into a largely residential development, fought the proposal at a public inquiry, arguing the location was unsuitable for a depot because it was close to a canal and homes.
Last month, Business Secretary John Hutton ruled the compulsory purchase order should be dropped.
Neptune managing director Patrick Heffron said: "We will now be asking the Secretary of State to order the LDA reimburses us for our costs. These are considerably in excess of £1million."
The LDA, which will contest the claim, said: "We have always followed the correct legal procedure to acquire land for the Olympic Park site."
