Blair to chair Gateway Committee

News

PIERS WEHNER

08 February 2003

The Prime Minister will chair a Cabinet sub-committee to oversee the provision of more than 30,000 new homes in the Thames Gateway.

London Mayor Ken Livingstone said at a conference organised by Estates Gazette on Thursday: “The PM does not chair committees unless something is going to happen.”

Leading industry figures welcomed the government’s £22bn fund for its Communities Plan, announced this week.

The plan has made a commitment to the Thames Gateway, with an initial £446m being pumped into 14 Thames Gateway target areas to “attract extra private investment”.

But some experts believe the amount of funding might not be enough.

John McCready, former co-chair of the Kent Thameside Association and former chief executive at Whitecliff Properties, said he wants a “cast-iron guarantee” that vital infrastructure will be provided.

Now head of urban regeneration at Ernst & Young, McCready said: “Until May, it is unclear how much of the £22bn is new money, and how much will be funnelled into the area.”

Michael Ward, chief executive of the London Development Agency, which controls 600 acres in the area, added that “major strategic transport improvements such as Crossrail” would be needed to make the developments sustainable.

It is estimated that regenerating the Kent side of the Gateway, which comprises three out of the 14 target areas, would cost in excess of £17bn.

Louis Armstong, chief executive of the RICS, said Prescott’s plans “will come to little unless funds can be found to support the massive new infrastructure required”.

The plan includes

· A new Cabinet sub-committee for the Thames Gateway, chaired by the prime minister, due to report in the summer

· £5bn for affordable housing between 2003-06, mainly in London and the South East

· £1bn for key worker housing

· 200,000-plus homes in the south of England in four growth areas – the Thames Gateway, the M11 area south of Cambridge, Ashford and Milton Keynes

· £500m for nine partnerships in the north of England to revitalise or demolish abandoned housing

· Land Restoration Trust set up to turn 1,500ha of derelict urban land into public parks

· RDAs given powers to reclaim 1,400ha of brownfield land pa.

· £164m for Milton Keynes, Ashford and the M11 corridor

· Local authorities given powers to force owners to lease empty properties

The Prime Minister will chair a Cabinet sub-committee to oversee the provision of more than 30,000 new homes in the Thames Gateway. London Mayor Ken Livingstone said at a conference organised by Estates Gazette on Thursday: “The PM does not chair committees unless something is going to happen.” Leading industry figures welcomed the government’s £22bn fund for its Communities Plan, announced this week. The plan has made a commitment to the Thames Gateway, with an initial £446m being pumped into 14 Thames Gateway target areas to “attract extra private investment”. But some experts believe the amount of funding might not be enough. John McCready, former co-chair of the Kent Thameside Association and former chief executive at Whitecliff Properties, said he wants a “cast-iron guarantee” that vital infrastructure will be provided. Now head of urban regeneration at Ernst & Young, McCready said: “Until May, it is unclear how much of the £22bn is new money, and how much will be funnelled into the area.” Michael Ward, chief executive of the London Development Agency, which controls 600 acres in the area, added that “major strategic transport improvements such as Crossrail” would be needed to make the developments sustainable. It is estimated that regenerating the Kent side of the Gateway, which comprises three out of the 14 target areas, would cost in excess of £17bn. Louis Armstong, chief executive of the RICS, said Prescott’s plans “will come to little unless funds can be found to support the massive new infrastructure required”. The plan includes · A new Cabinet sub-committee for the Thames Gateway, chaired by the prime minister, due to report in the summer · £5bn for affordable housing between 2003-06, mainly in London and the South East · £1bn for key worker housing · 200,000-plus homes in the south of England in four growth areas – the Thames Gateway, the M11 area south of Cambridge, Ashford and Milton Keynes · £500m for nine partnerships in the north of England to revitalise or demolish abandoned housing · Land Restoration Trust set up to turn 1,500ha of derelict urban land into public parks · RDAs given powers to reclaim 1,400ha of brownfield land pa. · £164m for Milton Keynes, Ashford and the M11 corridor · Local authorities given powers to force owners to lease empty properties