Lord Michael Heseltine has labelled the government’s management of the regeneration of the Thames Gateway a “shambles”.
Speaking at the British Council of Shopping Centres annual conference in Liverpool, the former secretary of state for the environment told delegates that the “organigram was a shambles”.
He said: “It needs real political solutions: everybody is in charge, which means it won’t deliver results.”
Lord Heseltine said he was nevertheless “thrilled about the Olympics. The huge regeneration approach will be immensely beneficial.”
Lord Heseltine also called for more power for redevelopment, regeneration and planning to be taken from central government and given to local authorities.
He said there should be an end to the “bonfire of control” from the capital and that “local people should be left to devise local solutions for local needs”.
Lord Heseltine said that central government is not able to come up with micro solutions for provincial cities. He added: “We should look to find out what we are and go back to our basic strengths and not reply on ‘nanny
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