THOUSANDS of jobs will be up for grabs for Camden residents in the King s Cross development from as early as 2008. Developers Argent will reserve 8,000 new jobs for people living within a two and a half mile radius of the site and will hire

Katie Davies

THOUSANDS of jobs will be up for grabs for Camden residents in the King's Cross development from as early as 2008.

Developers Argent will reserve 8,000 new jobs for people living within a two and a half mile radius of the site and will hire 800 local construction workers to work on the development.

There will be a recruitment centre on site to ensure incoming firms meet the quota of local employees, and the Channel Tunnel Construction Training Centre on York Way will support local builders looking for work.

A spokesman for Argent said: "The recruitment centre shall offer a wide range of recruitment and skills services to employers, employees and jobseekers, including the filling of immediate vacancies and working with training providers to address skills shortages."

Once the development is completed, most of the employment will be for office staff north of the canal and it is anticipated that half of these jobs will be available by 2012.

This will go some way to regenerating the ward which has a 10 per cent unemployment rate - double the London average.

Del Brenner, spokesman for the Regent's Canal Network said: "Like in the development of Paddington, the developers in King's Cross are engaging with future use of the site rather than walking away. It is a good idea and a very positive way of doing it and they look like they are putting a number of systems in place to make sure it happens."

Some of these systems include an office advising local school students on new job opportunities and a mentoring system to help new businesses.

On top of that, a fund will support new entrepreneurs and 10 offices will be set aside which they can use for free, each on a two year basis.

But many local people think unemployment in the area will not be solved so easily.

Angela Inglis, a member of the King's Cross Railway Lands Group, said: "At the moment because of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link the rents are going up astronomically and people are saying they can't stay much longer. Argent is doing the best that it can for local businesses but half the local people will be gone before the development starts."

Michael Edwards, another member, said: "There is a lot of unemployment in inner London not because of a lack of jobs but because there are problems getting people in to work. They are prevented by a lot of things like childcare or, in some cases, language problems. These need to be addressed before people can get jobs not by just increasing the number."

o To find out about the neighbouring development at Euston station see page 13.

katie.davies@hamhigh.co.uk