A COUNCIL has joined forces with four other Olympic boroughs in a £50m bid to encourage business growth in their areas.

In the first round to the Government Office for London (GOL), Greenwich Council was not successful with its initial bid of £12m.

Now the council has submitted a £50m bid with the other four host Olympic boroughs, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Waltham Forest.

The Five Host Borough Local Enterprise Growth Initiative (LEGI) will also give funding for the borough's most deprived areas.

On September 12, cabinet committee members agreed to participate in a Five Host Borough LEGI bid to the GOL.

The bid assessment will take place this Autumn with an announcement in December.