Coventry City Council Leader John Mutton has met London 2012 chief executive Paul Deighton to seek their support in calling to Government to finally approve part of the Nuckle rail scheme between Coventry and Nuneaton.

Mutton and city MPs are now due to meet with Transport Minister Theresa Villiers to make a special case for up to £14 million ($22 million) of Government funding.

Under current timescales, conditional Government approval would be made after October, with the first spades not in the ground until mid-2012 and completion two years later - too late for the Olympics.

The project is also under threat from Department of Transport spending cuts this autumn - expected to be between 25 per cent and 40 per cent of its budget.

Mutton said: "A station at the Ricoh is going to be an absolute necessity.

"We’re going to be welcoming thousands of international visitors - they’re not going to come by car, so making it easy for them to have a great experience when they visit our city is vital.

"The Olympics won’t just benefit London, but cities like ours if we take up the challenge to make them a real success.

"We’ve already developed a national reputation for hosting great events after the success of the International Children’s Games, the UK Schools Games and the Transplant Games, and I know the organisers are really impressed with our plans for 2012.

"We’re not like other cities who are just looking to attract countries to use their facilities as a pre-Games training camp.

"We want every single person in the city to get something out of this once in a lifetime experience and leave a lasting legacy for Coventry.”

The £56 million ($82 million) Ricoh Arena, which has a capacity of 32,609 and is the home stadium of Championship club Coventry City, was opened in 2007 by Dame Kelly Holmes and then Sports Minister Richard Caborn.

It was chosen in June by London 2012 to replace Villa Park in Birmingham as the Olympic football venue for the Midlands.

The Arena, which will be rebranded as the City of Coventry Stadium during London 2012, is also due to host matches when England stages the Rugby World Cup in 2015.

Coventry Councillors have already taken the risk of continuing spending more than £1 million ($1.5 million) for preparation work on the proposed station in the hope the scheme is not rejected and they can start work for the Olympics.

Costs are currently being split between project partners including Warwickshire County Council and passenger transport authority Centro.


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