The Osprey Quay development, which will contain 84 residential units, will host 700 athletes and 550 officials during the Olympics with approximately half that number set to use the same accommodation during the Paralympics.

London 2012 deputy chairman Sir Keith Mills and Mayor of Weymouth and Portland Graham Winter joined site workers and local residents at the Village for a special handover ceremony to thank them for their work and to showcase how a finished apartment will look during the Games.

"This is an exciting milestone with less than six months until we welcome the first athletes and sailing officials to Weymouth and Portland," said Sir Keith, a strong sailing enthusiast who was member of a team that won the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in 1998-1999.

"The Sailing Village will be a fantastic facility for the athletes, but just as importantly after the Games this will be a development with both affordable and low carbon housing on offer."


During the Games each house will host around eight athletes and have all facilities except a kitchen.

Athletes will eat in a temporary dining hall which will be constructed on the site and have a social area in the new Chesil Cove Foundation School which London 2012 will take temporary ownership of in May.

The Olympic sailing event will take place from July 29 to August 11 with 10 medal events featured, while the Paralympic sailing competition will take place from September 1 to 6 across three medal events.

"I think the athletes will enjoy the Village atmosphere of these wonderful new facilities which of course is just one element of welcoming them to Weymouth & Portland," added the Mayor of Weymouth and Portland.

"There's going to be so much going on in the Borough during the Games that the area will benefit from a huge influx of visitors, but it's also great to see that there will be a lasting legacy for local people as well."

After the sailing competitions have finished this summer, the apartments will be converted into homes with 25 per cent of the housing made available to a registered landlord for social housing needs.

All the residential units are low carbon with the heating and hot water for 58 of the homes comes from a biomass heating system and many of the houses are fitted with rainwater harvesting.

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