CAMPAIGNERS say they are baffled why a derelict athletics track close to the Olympics site has been left out of plans to refurbish playing fields with money from the 2012 Games.

Earlier this month the council secured £5.5million in funding from the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) as compensation for it fencing off Drapers Field in Leyton to use it as a holding area for the Games between September 2011 and December 2012.

The council has decided to spend part of the cash renovating the field in 2013, but will use most of it on revitalising nearby Marsh Lane, Abbotts Park and a small area of Church Lane, Leytonstone.

But nearby Ive Farm, which was once one of Waltham Forest's most popular and well equipped arenas, has not been included, much to the disappointment of sports enthusiasts who claim that athletic facilities should have benefited from the funding.

The running track is currently unused and overgrown with weeds since its ownership transferred to the SCORE organisation earlier this decade.

The council took full ownership of it two months ago and says this is why it was not considered for any of the money - even though this was before the funding decision was approved by councillors.

Jim Howell, secretary of the Waltham Forest Sports Council, used to live at Ive Farm, where his father was groundsman for 25 years between the 1950s and 1980s.

He said: “It used to be thriving. There was athletics, rugby, tennis, football and it was very well used. Now you can barely see things like the longjump because there's so many weeds. It's a very sorry tale.

“One of the ironies is if you stand on the finishing straight of the track at Ive Farm you can see the Olympic site. This is exactly the kind of thing which should be benefiting from the legacy of the Games but it's been ignored.”

Steve Beckett, a youth coach at nearby Eton Manor Athletics Club, said: “All we have is Pool and Track which is falling apart. If they bought Ive Farm back into use it would really help encourage kids and adults with athletics.

"At the moment there doesn't seem to be any athletics legacy at all from the Olympics in Waltham Forest”

Council leader Cllr Chris Robbins, said: “Drapers Field will receive a major share of the funding because it will be used throughout the 2012 Games. This funding is finite, and Marsh Lane and Abbotts Park were identified as sites where best results could be achieved with the remaining resources.”

But he added that the council was “looking at future options” for Ive Farm.

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