Thurrock & the Thames Gateway

The Church in the

Thames Gateway

THE REGENERATION OF THURROCK

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation (TTGDC) was set up in 2003 with a life of 7 years, which has since been extended to 2014. Unlike the Urban Renaissance Companies set up in Basildon and Southend, TTGDC has planning authority powers and the finance to acquire land to facilitate regeneration. (A power it is using in the current economic downturn to assemble land at reduced cost ready for future development). TTGDC has to work in partnership with Thurrock Council which is a Unitary Authority. To find out the current state of the overall planning (Local Development Framework and Master Plans for specific areas) look at the relevant web sites - TTGDC: www.thurrocktgdc.org.uk and Thurrock Council: www.thurrock.org.uk

The Thurrock Area report for 2008 highlights four major areas of development:-
Purfleet’s creative industries - The Royal Opera House Production Park will open in 2010. This £60m scheme is one element of the regeneration of Purfleet. A new ‘heart’ for the area is planned around an improved railway station, a new primary school and playing fields, a new public square with shops, 3,000 new homes, leisure and health facilities and new walkways linking the town to the revitalised River Thames waterfront.
Grays - The borough’s main town is to be rejuvenated with the building of a new generation Community Hospital and a Learning Campus. Plans also include the development of the river front, a waterfront park, a new transport interchange, new homes and the potential for a 300-berth marina.
Lakeside retail and leisure - Subject to a single issue review of the Regional Spatial Strategy to allow development, it is planned to link the shopping centre with the surrounding areas and create “a premier retail and leisure destination”, with the potential to deliver 6,000 additional jobs. The plans include a futuristic transport system including on-demand driver-less pods.
London Gateway and Tilbury - Over the next decade the new port of London Gateway should deliver 14,000 new jobs. The port is scheduled to open in 2010. Meanwhile the existing port of Tilbury will be the entry port for materials for the 2012 Olympics. A new Logistics and Transport Academy is also planned to provide the skill workforce needed.
The Beacon Project – This project, to provide community and Church facilities on the Chafford Hundred estate, was completed in 2008 and the fact that it is already fully utilised shows how much demand there is on this estate. Given the difficulty in getting community buildings on new developments, a problem which is likely to get worse as the money available from Section 106 agreements declines in the current credit crunch, there must be opportunities for the churches on other new developments.
St Clements – this is one of the success stories of the Thames Gateway. To find out more about this project follow this link.