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Answer: The report into the economic and social impact of a possible casino was prepared for the Council by independent consultants, PriceWaterhouseCoopers. Some parts of the report have been redacted because the information is exempt from disclosure. The relevant exemption and the reason why it applies can be viewed by clicking the number at the side of each redacted part of the report.
Answer: The Council commissioned a local opinion survey in March 2006 about the development of Greenwich Peninsula and the plans for the Dome. This showed that 72% of 501 respondents surveyed supported the plans, with only 10% opposing them. Of those opposing the plans, the main concern expressed was that it would increase traffic (21%), followed by those fearing an increase in problem gambling (19%). Crime was a concern for only 6%. The survey made specific reference to the intention to bid for a regional casino on the site.
Answer: Three public meetings were organised by the Greenwich Peninsula Partnership in March 2006 in Greenwich, Woolwich and Eltham. The plans for the dome and the regional casino and hotel were presented by the developer, Anschutz Entertainment Group, and the proposed operator, Kerzner. The proposals were well-received, with the key issues raised relating to: accessing the opportunities for local people and businesses; the viability of the development without the casino; community benefits that would be secured for the area, emphasising that these need to benefit the whole of the borough; repetitive gambling; the effect on local retail; transport issues - the capacity of the current infrastructure to cope with visitor numbers, and linkages between the Peninsula and the south of the borough; environmental issues.
Answer: The consultation was based on the full application as a whole. A casino was not part of this application because at that time a casino would not have been permitted in Greenwich. The planning application and related documents (including the consultation responses) are available to view as they are public documents. This can be viewed by contacting the Planning Department on telephone number 020 8921 5228 to arrange an appointment.
Answer: GLLaB (Greenwich Local Labour and Business) has no recruitment or application process in place for casino-related jobs with AEG. Unless and until a licence has been granted for a regional casino, there are no such jobs available. Recruitment for operational jobs at The O2 arena will commence in February 2007. This is unrelated to any proposals for a casino. The O2 is scheduled to open as a sport and entertainment venue in July next year and the Council is pleased that GLLaB is working toward securing as many jobs as possible for local people. GLLaB was set up by Greenwich Council in 1996 and continues to be managed through the Council. To date it has secured over 7,000 jobs for local people and helped secure as many industry standard qualifications. GLLaB has been working on a number of vacancies, following notification from contractors on site. In many cases, GLLaB can have someone working on site within 24 hours of being notified of a vacancy, depending on a match between the vacancy and available skills.GLLaB is keen to see a sustainable programme of training and employment at the O2 arena, and is working to achieve a number of long-term goals as well as ensuring that local people have access to the current construction jobs.Recruitment for the end-user jobs for The O2 (the Dome) will commence in February 2007.
Answer: AEG would need to answer this as we wouldn't necessarily know where staff moved on to. Greenwich Council will not be releasing the specific employment details of individual officers. In general, there are no restrictions on the future employment.