2012 Games 'raising bar for accessibility' in London

Image: The Paralympic Games 2012 will have a lasting effect on London's infrastructure and sports venues

Mayor of London Boris Johnson has said that London has used the 2012 Games not only to set new standards in the design of sporting venues to help deliver the Paralympic Gamesbut also as a springboard for transforming the UK capital into one of the "most accessible cities on earth".

Johnson made his comments to an audience of international visitors, planners, architects, developers and access planners at a conference hosted by the Mayor at London House with the aim to use Games-time to encourage their uptake even more widely.

"The Paralympic Games has already provided the impetus to make accessibility improvements, which are set to leave a superb legacy to the fabric of this city including in transport, sport, housing and the public realm," he said.

"As a consequence of this work, we have amassed a wealth of skills and learning to help London raise the bar higher still once the sporting spectacle has left town."

The Mayor highlighted how accessibility has been the cornerstone of all planning and delivery of the venues on the Olympic Park with disabled people involved throughout.

As part of the drive for accessibility, the Olympic Delivery Authority, through its Inclusive Design Strategy, set a new standard for a 1 in 60 gradient across the Olympic Park to ease access to venues and facilities.

The strategy has also spread beyond the boundaries of the park with major upgrades being made to the capital's infrastructure. These include a £4m revamp of London's landmark South Bank, one of the capital's most visited destinations.

The Games will also leave a disability sport legacy. While elite Paralympic sport funding has increased by over a third since the Beijing Games to nearly £50m, disability sport in London has received an £800,000 boost over the past three years through the Mayor's multimillion Sports Legacy Fund.

Xavier Gonzalez, chief executive of the International Paralympic Committee, who attended the event, said: "I hope one of the legacies of these Games is that the planning and development put into increasing accessibility for these Games is continued post London 2012 not just in this great city but across the UK."

• To provide up to date and timely information, the Mayor's 'Inclusive London' website and app www.inclusivelondon.com has been developed to feature more than 35,000 businesses with information about accessibility features.