Charles Landry

The Church in the

Thames Gateway

An Outsider’s View of the Thames Gateway

Charles Landry took an enlightening seven day trip by train, by car and on foot through the Thames Gateway. He did this at the behest of the three Regional Development Agencies “to see if there was a story to tell that could enrich its inward investment prospects, help galvanise local people and project this vast place with verve and imagination.”

Among the comments he makes are -

“The Thames Gateway is a complicated construct invented by Government.....”
“When you try to get a grip on what’s happening you soon become confused....... reports, strategies and policies; the weasel words are everywhere: ‘Developing sustainable communities’, ‘consulting stakeholders’, ‘delivering through partnerships’, ‘building 40,000 homes’ or was it 80,000? Is the Thames Gateway simply a huge housing estate?”
“I said to myself ‘What if we forbid the use of the words strategy, policy, frameworks, target, outputs, outcomes, stakeholders, partnership and joined-up thinking, would the story become clearer?”
“The Thames Gateway, the documents say, will be ‘world-class’ and constitutes the biggest regeneration project in Europe. Rather than saying these words, let others say, once things have been achieved, ‘this is world class’.”
“What is the reality? I am not sure. My tour threw up many positive surprises and many disappointments. Too much is ordinary and not at the cutting edge of sustainability. Where is the knowledge of ‘world-class’, inspirational design, highest quality, creative responses to the challenges of urban development, or the ability to communicate intent?”
Charles’ overall conclusion appears to be that we are not learning from the best European cities that “have moved from aspirational planning to intentional planning. They mean what they say,” especially in environmental matters and sustainability.