London 2012: A new chapter in Woolwich’s history

LONDON: Woolwich is a historical location and has a special place in the heart of the Monarch of Great Britain. Its participation in the 2012 Summer Olympics as a venue for shooting events has introduced a new chapter in its history.
If you travel through Woolwich Common, you can visit the magnificent Royal Artillery Barracks, which hosted the shooting events in the London Games.
Woolwich is located in the Royal Borough of Greenwich and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 35 major centers in London. It is famous for the Woolwich Ferry across the River Thames and Woolwich Foot Tunnel, which is now closed to save the public from any crime. It formed part of Kent until 1889, when the county of London was established.
The Royal Artillery Barracks, built between 1776 and 1802, is home to the longest continuous Georgian building facade in the UK as well as to the largest parade square of any UK barracks. It was also home to the Royal Artillery until July 2007.
For the shooting events at the Barracks, temporary, re-locatable shooting ranges had been built, which also included temporary spectator grandstands.
Crowds of almost 7,500 were able to watch the events, which were easily accessible by mainline train and bus services.
The temporary shooting ranges and grandstands offered a stunning backdrop of the Barracks’ beautiful 18th century architecture. The temporary London 2012 venue at the Royal Artillery Barracks has been innovatively designed with 18,000 sq. meters of PVC membrane, giving the outer structures its unique appearance.
The vibrant colored openings on the white facade help create tension in the membrane and provide natural ventilation and light. Fifty trees have being taken down to make room, with a promise that they’ll be replaced by 75 trees once the games are over.
As this location is close to the Olympic Village, unlike at most other previous games, competitors here were close to the heart of all action, enabling them to stay with their teammates.
Three temporary indoor ranges for Pistol and Rifle Shooting (25 m, combined 50 m/10 m and a finals range) have been built together with outdoor shotgun ranges for Trap and Skeet events. There will be temporary spectator grandstands at each shooting range.
Construction of the venue began in early 2011 and was completed at the start of 2012. After the Games, the venue will be dismantled as quickly as possible and the site returned to its original condition, after which it will be handed back to the Ministry of Defense, which is the landowner.
London 2012 is working with the government and other partners to identify opportunities where elements of the venue and sports equipment can be reused after the Games.
The original venue for the shooting was the National Shooting Center at Bisley in Surrey, but the plan was changed after the International Olympic Committee expressed reservations about the number of sports events that London proposed to stage outside the city.
Following the publication the Board decided that shooting should remain at Woolwich; the decision was taken on the key factors of cost and the complexity of the Games-time operation.
Sebastian Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organizing Committee, is reported to have said: “The ODA has conducted a thorough review process of all three locations. However, the board feels that Woolwich is the best choice of venue. It is an iconic venue close to the Olympic Village, with a strong shooting heritage, and is one of the Greenwich cluster of Olympic and Paralympic venues.”
Horst Schreiber, Secretary General of the International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF), said: “We are delighted that Woolwich has been selected as the shooting venue for 2012. The ISSF is in full support of the selected venue and we believe that the Royal Artillery Barracks will host a stunning event.”
“It is a more appropriate venue than Bisley that meets all our requirements and allows our athletes to stay in the Olympic Village, reducing their travel time each day and bringing together athletes from all sports.”
Woolwich has extensive links with weaponry. Besides the Royal Artillery Barracks, it was the location of the Royal Arsenal complex, which was the British government’s principal armaments manufacturing facility for over 200 years, and the Royal Military Academy, which trained artillery officers and engineers from 1741 to 1939. There was also a military hospital based at Woolwich, which closed in the mid-nineties. Woolwich Common is still a designated military training area, although troops are not often seen nowadays. Woolwich Dockyard was one of the principal Royal Dockyards during the Tudor and Stuart periods, although it closed in the late 19th century for Royal Navy use as the Thames was by then too difficult to navigate for the naval vessels of the time.
The barracks has now been designated as one of the Ministry of Defense’s ‘core sites.’ The King’s Troop, Royal Horse Artillery moved from the St. John’s Wood barracks to new quarters and stables on the Woolwich site during 2011, bringing a complement of 75 or thereabouts horses, historic gun carriages and artillery pieces used for their displays.
The budget for the Olympics project was £ 18 million. After the Olympics and Paralympics, the temporary shooting hall will be reassembled elsewhere in the UK.
Some 3,000 people attended the events at Woolwich Common each day, and were directed to an entrance at the eastern end of Ha Ha Road, at the junction of Grand Depot Road.
Apart from the shooting event, Woolwich Common also plays host to the Paralympic archery competition. Changes to parking arrangements have been made across a wide area, with parking bays requiring free permits to deter Olympic visitors from driving to the venues.

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