More than 50% of Media City contracts sourced locally

Lead contractor Bovis Lend Lease and developer Peel Holdings said they have so far awarded more than 50% of contracts on the £500m Media City UK project in Salford to Greater Manchester firms.

As of March 2009, £178m out of £301m of Media City UK contracts were awarded to Greater Manchester contractors, of which £63m went to Salford contractors, the pair said.

Bovis Lend Lease said it targeted the local supply chain and held workshops to get businesses involved.

Of the workers on site at Media City UK, 50% are resident in Greater Manchester, including 10% in Salford.

Leader of Salford City Council, Cllr John Merry, said: "The effects of the credit crunch are hitting residents and businesses up and down the country and we recognise that local businesses now need our support more than ever.

"Media City UK will be crucial to our local economy and we are doing everything we can to make sure people and businesses see the benefit from the outset."

The BBC will move around 2,500 staff to Media City UK from 2011 onwards, including five departments currently based in London. The University of Salford has also committed to a presence at Media City UK, with a new higher education centre, which will accommodate more than 800 students and staff.

Chris Farrow, chief executive of the Central Salford Urban Regeneration Company, said: "This is what regeneration programmes are all about. Media City UK is a genuinely global project, but we are making sure that it is putting money in the pockets of local people now, and that our local business base is directly involved. For us this is only the start, and we are busy now making plans to ensure local people and firms are just as connected when Media City UK opens for business in 2011."