Three technology and facilities companies have given public backing to proposals to turn the 2012 Olympic Broadcast and Press centres in Hackney into a ‘district’ for creative companies after the games.

Ascent Media, Air Studios and TSL have all come out in support of plans drawn up by the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC) that would see the media part of the Olympic site become a long-term centre for employment.

Richard Boote, owner of Air Studios, said: “A successful legacy attracting the right business is dependent on creating a cluster of vibrant companies of all sizes. I can see an operation such as Air bringing both music recording and post production facilities to the site.”

Maurizio Cimelli, the senior vice president, EMEA at Ascent Media, said: “As a major Soho production centre we can see it is something we should think about.  The site has great connectivity and power. I was encouraged to see the number of companies taking the opportunity seriously.  We will certainly be keeping an eye on developments in the coming months. It also all depends on who they finally select to run the site and whether they understand media.” 

David Macgregor, chairman of systems integrator TSL, said: “As someone who has been in at the start of a number of major projects I can see that this could be everything that people envisage. The site has unrivalled connectivity and power and clearly there is a lot happening around this area of East London.”

The comments were made following an OPLC get-together in Shoreditch on Monday (18 October).

The event was held as part of the OPLC’s nine-week market testing process inviting interested parties to submit expressions of interest.

Seventy people from media and creative organisations, developers and investors were in attendance.  

  • The broadcast centre will offer 8,800 sq m of offices and 53,300 sq m of commercial or studio space, and will allow for single or multiple occupancy.
  • It has been designed so that it can be reconfigured into four separate buildings if necessary.
  • Available ceiling heights of up to 10.5m could lend themselves to the creation of medium and small sized TV studios, similar to those currently found within The London Studios and parts of BBC Television Centre.
  • Heating will not be included in the building but there will be cooling and easy access to local Internet connectivity and power.
  • The press centre will provide nearly 30,000 sq m of office space and will be heated.

Interested parties have until 26 November to submit expressions of interest and proposals for usage of the two buildings.

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