Nick Raynsford MP Lays Down Gauntlet to Mayor Boris Johnson to Back 2012 Shooting Venue in Woolwich

Greenwich and Woolwich MP, Nick Raynsford, joined Len Duvall, GLA member for Greenwich and Lewisham, Greenwich Councillors and local residents today to urge Mayor of London Boris Johnson to support Woolwich as a venue for shooting events at the 2012 Olympics.

As he delivered a letter to City Hall, slamming the Mayor’s failure to support Woolwich, Nick said:

“As Mayor of London you have a responsibility to all parts of our city, yet over the past 18 months you have failed to support Woolwich. Woolwich is one of the most deprived communities in London and urgently needs the benefits of regeneration.

Your actions have been undermining Woolwich, rather than helping us: last year you cancelled the Thames Gateway Bridge between Thamesmead and Beckton, which would have brought huge economic benefits to Woolwich.

Now you are actively seeking to take the Olympic shooting away from Woolwich, the site selected by the British and International Olympic organizers as the best location for the event. Not only would this harm Woolwich, it also undermines the work being done in our locality to encourage participation in sport.

Since London won the Olympic bid four years ago, the Woolwich site has hosted an annual ‘Sportathon’ for local children, competing on a prospective Olympic site, which has had an inspirational impact. This year all 64 primary schools in the borough took part, a massive boost for sporting activity among our young people.

Your ill-judged attempt to change the Olympic shooting venue at this late stage is putting at risk all the benefits already demonstrated from the choice of Woolwich as a 2012 site. Even worse is your attempt to hoodwink Londoners into believing that this change of venue would generate significant savings to the public purse when there is no evidence to support this claim.

It is time to stop your meddling and get behind LOCOG, the ODA and all the other bodies who have been working hard over the past four years to ensure the success of the 2012 shooting at the incomparable and historic Woolwich Barracks site.

It’s time to take your responsibilities seriously, Boris, and join us with ‘Gunning for Woolwich!’”

The ‘We’re Gunning for Woolwich!’ campaign is reminding the Mayor and the Olympics organizers that Woolwich is the obvious choice for the Olympic events:

• Woolwich has been the home of the Royal Artillery since 1716 and its historic Barracks provide a spectacular setting. The nearby Royal Arsenal was once the largest munitions factory in the world. Given its long military history and magnificent buildings, Woolwich is the natural choice for the shooting event.

• Thanks to the new DLR extension to Woolwich Arsenal, which opened in early 2009, Woolwich is just 20 minutes from the Olympic Park at Stratford and is much more accessible than other alternative sites.

• Woolwich is a deprived part of south-east London which desperately needs the publicity, profile and inward investment that hosting an Olympics event will bring.