The London Development Agency will take possession of the Park Village student estate at Clays Lane, Stratford, at the end of July 2005. This is the site of the proposed Olympic Village. The LDA requires vacant possession of the site so the present owner, the University of East London, is requiring its students to move out by June 19th. This despite that fact that some students, mainly postgraduates, will be in the middle of exams at the time. The University does not have enough accommodation for its students so many will be forced into the private market when they return in the next academic year.

The LDA intends to demolish the estate in the autumn of 2005 if London wins the bid. Yet it has not said when it intends to build on the site. The rest of the Olympic Village will be built on the neighbouring Clays Lane Housing Co-operative site. This will not be available till 2007. So it seems the LDA intends to demolish a perfectly good housing estate two years before it is needed for construction and at a time when the existing population of students needs housing.

In the event that London loses the bid the LDA will look around for an agency to manage the estate for it until it finds a long term use. Who might that agency be? Why, the University of East London of course. So having evicted its students the University would then want them to return.

To date the Students' Union has failed to protest on behalf of its members and has told them they have to leave their homes on June 19th. The University has said it will change the locks on the houses and the Union has stated that this is legal. Yet the Union's own legal adviser has said this is not legal.

The decision on the Olympic bid will be made known on July 6th. It is possible therefore that the University could have left and returned to Park Village in the space of a few weeks. Yet the LDA has not discussed this with the University and there is no communication between the two organisations.

An existing population and a perfectly good housing estate are being used as pawns in a political game. The LDA says it will not take possession of the estate unless it has vacant possession. This is a substantial housing resource which should be used to meet the needs of homeless people or the existing student population.