Wellcome eyes science park future for Olympic site

The Wellcome Trust medical charity is considering buying London's Olympic Park, boosting hopes for the creation of a science and technology centre in east London. The London-based trust is already one of several bidders for the Olympic village, which will house athletes during the 2012 games, and is now considering a broader deal to utilise the extensive Olympic facilities, a spokesman said on Thursday.

"The Wellcome Trust has been shortlisted by the Olympic Delivery Authority to submit a proposal for the purchase and long term management of the residential properties known as the Athletes Village," he said. "In exploring this opportunity further, we are giving detailed consideration as to how we may also become investors in the wider Olympic Park and optimise the legacy of the Olympics. To this end we are currently meeting with a broad range of stakeholders to explore this opportunity further." He declined to confirm a report that the trust had offered £1 billion ($1.6 billion) to buy up the freehold of the bulk of the Olympic Park, including the stadium, the aquatics centre, the athletics village and the media centre.