"F***-all for local people"

From the Sunday Herald:

'Once an area of heavy industry and full employment, there are hopes commercial development can be sustained in Dalmarnock long after the games have gone. The creation of an urban regeneration company to attract investment is awaiting approval from the Scottish government, and the rosiest scenario predicts 20,000 new jobs in the east end over the next 20 years. It is hoped a new train station, a possible new subway link and the M74 extension will attract further spending power.

Yet scepticism remains. One shopkeeper voices the worst fears of a community used to disappointment: "It'll be boom-time for Glasgow, but there'll be f***-all for local people."

Professor Ivan Turok, of the University of Glasgow's urban studies department, warns that games-based regeneration would not work without listening to the needs of local people. "The people living in the area must benefit," he says. "The danger is that outside companies get the lion's share of contacts and profits.

"Regeneration is not inevitable. In places like Montreal and Edinburgh the games had a negative effect, saddling the cities with a financial burden."'