Government demands Thames Gateway plans

The government is demanding detailed plans from key Thames Gateway agencies in a bid to accelerate the delivery of development in the region. Mitesh Dhanak, the head of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's Thames Gateway Delivery Unit, has written to several of the agencies ordering them to set out their immediate and long-term plans. National regeneration agency English Partnerships is also assembling a team to help drive development. It follows an Audit Commission study saying the building of 120,000 new homes in the growth corridor is being hampered by the lack of co-ordination between the agencies involved (Inside Housing, 25 June). In Mr Dhanak's letter he says agencies should ensure their plans ‘do not duplicate work of other agencies and delivery boards in the area'. He says all agencies should instead draw up documents which outline their targets for 2016 and set up a three-year project framework. The framework should include a progress report on past work, a list of aims for the forthcoming period and a list of potential sources for financing projects. Graham Harris, managing director of Dartford Council, said the letter was an example of how the delivery unit was trying to shift agencies' focus onto delivery. ‘[The delivery unit] has a more focused approach on how the money is used. There is more realism and more pragmatism. It isn't about sitting there and discussing the finer points about regeneration. ‘They have got the Treasury looking over their shoulder and they want to see outputs.' Ian Traynor, deputy chief executive of the Kent Thameside Delivery Board, said: ‘The ODPM has put a lot of government money into the Thames Gateway and it will be helpful to have some clarity of purpose.' Paul Hudson, director of development at the South East England Development Agency, said: ‘There has been a real upswing for project delivery and there is definitely a sense that there is a much greater degree of purpose. ‘It is better to have a longer-term framework because we need a more strategic approach. The purpose of the delivery vehicles is very much to get a clear view about the numbers and scope of projects and priorities locally. ‘It is then for organisations like SEEDA to help deliver projects on the ground and we need a clear framework within which we deliver projects.' Meanwhile, English Partnerships is assembling a team of experts to help private developers speed development proposals though the planning system. The advisory panel for large applications will be part of EP's national consultancy team. It will be led by Jerome Frost, a former planning expert for consultants Arup Developments. Trevor Beattie, EP corporate strategy director, said: ‘There are a large number of developments with blockages in the Thames Gateway and we expect demand to far outstrip supply.'