The government is planning to superimpose its own plans for the regeneration of Thames Gateway onto Mayor Ken Livingstone’s London Plan.
A fortnight into the public examination of the strategy, it has emerged that the government is drawing up its own strategy for east London and the Thames Gateway, sparking concerns that it does not trust Livingstone.
Livingstone said the creation of a cabinet sub-committee, headed by the prime minister, was a validation of his London Plan. But Estates Gazette has learned that the committee, MISC 22, is working on a different strategy.
It is understood that MISC 22 wants to make sure that the extra money promised to the region in the Communities Plan is spent according to the government’s objectives, not the mayor’s.
The Government Office for London has also said that details of how the money will be allocated to London and the South East would not be ready until May, after the examination in public, despite being cited by the mayor as proof that his plan would succeed.
