London,
26
February
2014
|
18:03
Europe/London

iCITY approved and new name revealed

hereeastlogo.jpg

The application to transform the former media centres in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park into a world-leading creative and digital business hub expected to generate 7,500 jobs has been approved.

iCITY, the company selected by the London Legacy Development Corporation to lead the project, had its plans approved by the corporation’s planning committee last night.

The company has also revealed that the development will be named Here East, and announced it will partner with Hackney House, Hackney Council’s award-winning alternative trade mission, which is heading to Austin, Texas, next month during the ‘South By Southwest Interactive’ festival where it will showcase its plans to support London’s fast-growing creative and digital community.

Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney
This approval represents a major step towards ensuring an Olympic legacy for Hackney which will unlock the full potential for regeneration and investment in this part of the borough. Here East’s exciting proposals will generate thousands of jobs and, alongside existing business, will firmly establish Hackney as the UK's centre for innovation in the broadcast, media and tech sectors. It’s also excellent to see Here East playing a key role in our Hackney House initiative. This is yet another illustration of the effective and innovative way in which the council and local businesses are working together to attract investment and jobs to the borough. Hackney Council will be working with Here East and its tenants to ensure local residents benefit from the many job, apprenticeship and training opportunities and can begin building meaningful careers in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Jules Pipe, Mayor of Hackney

With more than one million square feet of space, Here East aims to bring together global companies alongside east London’s most innovative start-ups. It will offer some of the most advanced digital infrastructure in the world, including almost unlimited bandwidth connectivity and the highest capacity power.

It intends to select its preferred contractor in March 2014 with construction work beginning in the summer of 2014. Key tenants Loughborough University, Hackney Community College and Infinity SDC will move in next year, and the entire project will be fully operational by 2018. BT Sport is already broadcasting live directly from the site with a state of the art 80,000 square foot production hub.

Here East is expected to generate thousands of jobs, training and education opportunities and support east London’s flourishing creative and digital industries. It will create more 7,500 positions, including 5,300 directly on-site and a further 2,200 in the local community through the impact of local supply chains and new business generation.

South By Southwest Interactive is a unique global conference and trade fair focused on emerging and creative technology and held annually in Austin, Texas.