Our share of Games cash is too small to cover costs, claims Eurostar borough
Olympic visitors will get a poor first impression of London unless City Hall provides more funding, a London council warned today.
Camden, which will provide the main transport link from the centre of the capital to the Olympic Park, claims the £200,000 it will get is not enough.
The Labour-run borough questioned the decision to give neighbouring Westminster £4million to cover extra street cleaning, community safety patrols and pressure on licensing officials.
Camden is home to Eurostar - the only overground link between London and Europe - and provides direct central London access for two of the capital's five airports.
Up to 10,000 people an hour will use the new Javelin train at St Pancras to travel to the Olympic site during the Games, and 20,000 journalists will descend upon the central media hub in Bloomsbury.
Camden submitted a bid for £1.1million in funding, but will have to make up the £900,000 short-fall itself.
Councillor Tulip Siddiq said: "Camden will be providing the first impression of London for a large proportion of visitors to the Games and it is astonishing that the GLA would play politics when this could impact so adversely on the overseas reputation of London as a whole.
"We will now struggle with the limited funds available and have to make a choice between whether we keep up with the demand for street-cleaning or use the money for enforcement action.
"At a time when government is making us take nearly £100million out of our budget, £1million spent on welcoming people is money that could be spent on protecting front-line services for residents."
A spokesman for the Mayor defended the decision: "The funding that has been allocated to boroughs is a reflection of the responsibilities and involvement that each will have during the Games.
"Westminster, which will play host to a great deal of sporting activity and three major venues, has been granted its level of funding for precisely this reason."
Who gets what
Newham £6.5 million
Greenwich £4.5 million
Westminster £4.5 million
Hackney £1.1 million
Tower Hamlets £1.1 million
Waltham Forest £1.1 million
Brent £0.7 million
Merton £0.7 million
K&C £0.5 million
Camden £0.2 million
H&F £0.1 million
Total £21 million
