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Battersea Park Formula E decision moves closer with initial vote

A preliminary vote on the Battersea Park Formula E round planned for London in June 2015 will be taken by the local council next week

The Borough of Wandsworth's Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee will vote on whether it agrees in principle to the London fixture, scheduled for June 27, taking place in Battersea.

Should the committee vote in favour of the race, a final decision would be made by the same committee at the end of October and then go before the council's executive shortly after.

The timeline laid out by Conservative-controlled Wandsworth council fits in with Formula E boss Alejandro Agag's statements at last weekend's inaugural round of the series in Beijing.

Wandsworth environmental spokesman councillor Jonathan Cook said: "As things stand right now, there is a proposal on the table and councillors are being asked whether or not they support the idea in principle.

"There is still plenty of work to be done before a final decision can be made.

"This is a very interesting proposition that if approved would put Battersea Park at the very centre of an exciting, new global sporting event."

Cook stressed that there would be clear conditions laid down when the final vote is taken.

"What we are quite clear about is that we could not support a proposal that would cause harm or damage to the fabric of the park and its important historical and heritage features, cause unnecessary or unreasonable disturbance to residents living nearby or involve excessive disruption to people's normal enjoyment of the park," he explained.

A statement from Wandsworth council pointed out that a test run by Lucas di Grassi in a Spark-Renault SRT_01E, which took place at 5am on August 14, did not result in any complaints from residents.

A council vote in favour of the fixture does not mean the race in Battersea is certain to go ahead.

The event would still be subject to the normal planning process, which would take a minimum of two months to go through.

The ExCeL exhibition centre in East London has emerged as a genuine alternative to the Wandsworth venue race and its proposed layout was inspected on the same day as Battersea's.

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