Fresh promise of Olympic legacy jobs

Meg Hillier, MP for Hackney South and Shoreditch, will be “watching like a hawk” after an announcement that new jobs would be available for local residents at the Olympic Site following the Games.

More than 250 new jobs are to be created for the Olympic host boroughs’ residents after Greenwich Leisure Limited was announced as the new contractor for the Aquatics and Handball arenas. The new lease will begin in 2013.

The Olympic Park Legacy Company said 75 per cent of the newly created jobs would be available to host boroughs, alongside 86 apprenticeship places every year, which should see jobs available for Hackney residents as well.

The Labour MP said although she was happy that more jobs have been announced following the conclusion of the games she is concerned that they may not be given to locals.

“I’ll be talking to the [Olympic Park] Legacy Company and pushing for an audit of just how these jobs will be allocated. This sort of thing has happened before when the construction of the [Olympic Park] site started and people were complaining that jobs weren’t being made for locals.”

“Anyone could just come from anywhere and rent a flat in Hackney. So I’ll be interested to see if it will be a more fair result locally,” she added.

GLL who already operate a number of facilities in east London boroughs – including Kings Hall in Hackney, and Bellingham Leisure Centre in Lewisham – expressed their “delight” at the new contract.

“Our charitable social enterprise status, community values and successful track record, demonstrate that GLL is committed to opportunity for all, ensuring the Games offer a long-lasting sporting legacy all Londoners can enjoy.”

The Olympic Park Legacy Company, acting on behalf of GLL, are currently working on how the jobs will be allocated.

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