Hadleigh Farm
Hadleigh Farm is the venue for the mountain biking competition in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games and 2012 Paralympic Games and is located at Hadleigh within the borough of Castle Point, near Southend in the county of Essex (grid reference TQ810860).
Site
Hadleigh Farm is owned by The Salvation Army and run as an educational working farm. It features a rare breeds centre and tea room for visitors. The 700-acre (2.8 km2) farm was purchased in 1891 by General Booth as part of a plan to rescue the destitute from the squalor of London.
Hadleigh Farm overlooks the Thames estuary to the south and adjoins Hadleigh Castle, built in the 1230s during the reign of King Henry III, and one of the most important late-medieval castles in Essex, now preserved by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building. A portion of the mountain bike course crosses the adjacent Hadleigh Country Park, owned and managed by Essex County Council and a Site of Special Scientific Interest with special regard for invertebrates.[1]
2012 Olympics
Hadleigh Farm was confirmed in 2008 as the venue for the mountain biking competition in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.[2][3] The original proposed venue at Weald Country Park had been deemed insufficiently challenging by the International Cycling Union, who were described as being delighted with Hadleigh.[4]
During the Olympic Games, temporary grandstands holding 3,000 people will be erected.[5]
Transport
Plans for improving access to the site for the Olympics include widening of Castle Lane and Chapel Lane in Hadleigh.[6] The site is approximately five miles from London Southend Airport.
Olympic legacy
It is as yet unknown what legacy will be left for mountain biking after the event.[7] Hadleigh Farm is included within the "Essex Legacy" plans for regeneration in Essex.[8]
See also
References
External links
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1896: Marathon (city), Neo Phaliron Velodrome • 1900: Vélodrome de Vincennes • 1904: Francis Field • 1908: White City Stadium • 1912: Liljeholmen, Mälaren • 1920: Antwerp, Vélodrome d'Anvers Zuremborg • 1924: Stade de Colombes, Vélodrome de Vincennes • 1928: Amsterdam, Olympic Stadium • 1932: Los Angeles Avenue, Pacific Coast Highway, Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Vineyard Avenue • 1936: Avus Motor Road, BSV 92 Field & Stadium • 1948: Herne Hill Velodrome, Windsor Great Park • 1952: Käpylä, Maunula, Pakila, Velodrome • 1956: Broadmeadows, Velodrome • 1960: Olympic Velodrome, Via Cassia, Via Flaminia, Via Cristoforo Colombo, Via di Grottarossa • 1964: Hachioji City, Hachioji Velodrome • 1968: Agustín Melgar Olympic Velodrome, Satellite Circuit • 1972: Bundesautobahn 96, Grünwald, Radstadion • 1976: Mount Royal Park, Olympic Velodrome, Quebec Autoroute 40 • 1980: Krylatskoye Sports Complex Cycling Circuit, Krylatskoye Sports Complex Velodrome, Moscow-Minsk Highway • 1984: Artesia Freeway, Olympic Velodrome, Streets of Mission Viejo • 1988: Olympic Velodrome, Tongillo Road Course • 1992: A-17 highway, Circuit de Catalunya, Sant Sadurní Cycling Circuit, Velòdrom d'Horta • 1996: Cycling road course, Georgia International Horse Park, Stone Mountain Park Archery Center and Velodrome • 2000: Centennial Parklands, Dunc Gray Velodrome, Fairfield City Farm • 2004: Athens Olympic Velodrome, Kotzia Square, Parnitha Olympic Mountain Bike Venue, Vouliagmeni Olympic Centre • 2008: Laoshan Bicycle Moto Cross (BMX) Venue, Laoshan Mountain Bike Course, Laoshan Velodrome, Urban Road Cycling Course • 2012: BMX Circuit, Hadleigh Farm, London Velodrome, Hampton Court Palace • 2016: Barra Velodrome, Flamengo Park, Olympic BMX Center, Olympic Mountain Bike Park
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