Renew Spring 09 Web version

8/14/2019 Renew Spring 09 Web version

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Special Edition

Message from our Chair, Lord Falconer

London Thames Gateway map

TGLP priorities

Lord Falconer, Chair, TGLP

This is a part of London that cannot

be ignored. It is essential whether youlook west or east. It is essential tothe rest of London. It is essential tothe rest of the Thames Gateway

Renew Spring 2009

Regeneration in the London Thames Gateway


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Welcome to this special edition of

Renew, the Thames Gateway London

Partnerships quarterly magazine

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For contributions or queries about Renew magazine please call our communications agency, Verve Communications on 020 7017 2011

Email [email protected] www.vervecommunications.co.uk

In this edition, we welcome our new PartnershipChair, Lord Charlie Falconer. Charlie is nostranger to the London Thames Gateway, havingbeen the Minister for the Thames Gateway inthe Office of the Deputy Prime Minister beforebecoming Lord Chancellor. He joins us at a timeof unprecedented economic challenge a timewhen strong partnership working in support ofcommon goals is all the more important.

As a Partnership, our strength lies in the peoplewe represent; over a third of all Londoners.We owe it to them to secure the best possiblefuture for them. This means making sure thatkey decision makers at all levels of governmentnational and regional understand theopportunities this part of London offers, as well

as its needs which must be addressed.

This is not simply a plea for more investment, although we will argue thatadditional investment is justified. We also want joined up thinking. Making sure, forexample, that ambitious targets for housing of all tenures are matched with theother ingredients which go into making successful places - economic and socialinfrastructure and that planned investment benefits existing as well as futureresidents. Making sure that we dont simply concentrate on investment in physicalcapital, but remember to invest in human capital to equip our residents to exploiteconomic opportunities both now and in the future.

This, however, is the regeneration equivalent of motherhood and apple pie. Weneed to translate these broad objectives into specific, focussed goals representingour top priorities; our Partnerships voice is a strong one and we will use it to

secure tangible benefits for the people we represent.

The rest of this edition explains how we are going to do this. Articles by ourthree Vice Chairs, each of whom is responsible for one of our key workstreams(Conor McAuley on Transport and Connectivity, Michael White on Housingand Placemaking and Heidi Alexander on Skills and Employment) describe thework we have been doing and our emerging key priorities. But these are not justthree separate areas of work. In addition to the specific issues we raise undereach heading, we will make sure that our own thinking joins up and that this isreflected in our contributions to key strategic development work in London,for example the work of the Outer London Commission and the review of theLondon Plan.

We are also very grateful for contributions to this special edition from some

absolutely vital stakeholders: the Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP, Minister forHousing and the Thames Gateway; Sir Simon Milton, Deputy Mayor of London;and David Lunts, London Regional Director of the Homes and CommunitiesAgency.Charlie Falconer isnt the only new face around here. This is also my first editionof Renew as TGLPs Chief Executive and like Charlie, Im no stranger to theGateway, having worked as Director of Strategy for the Thames Gateway in theDepartment of Communities and Local Government. That taught me the valueof being able to hear from a strong local voice when you are part of nationalgovernment, and we know that strengthening local democracy has clear all partysupport. So I greatly welcome the opportunity to be part of that local voice, andwill do my best, with the rest of the team, to make sure it is heard loud and clear!

Contents

Ros Dunn, Chief Executive,TGLP

Lord Falconer

Sir Simon Milton

Ros Dunn, Chief Executive, TGLP

Is transport on track?

Councillor ConorMcAuley

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3

5

6

8London Thames GatewayMap

Cllr Michael White 10

Facing up to challenges

Cllr Heidi Alexander 12

14

16

Rt Hon Margaret Beckett,MP

4

Cllr Chris Roberts

Editorial

The power of place

David Lunts

HCA: challenges andopportunities

London Thames GatewayQuiz

The road to recovery

Cover shows CanningTown masterplan


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Im delighted to be back in the Gateway. I came back because Irecognise that this is a part of London that cannot be ignored.It is essential whether you look west or east. It is essential tothe rest of London. It is essential to the rest of the ThamesGateway.

Londons success is vital to the national economy. The

Corporation of London estimate that Londons historic revenuecontribution to the rest of the UK (the difference betweenwhat it receives in public spending and what it raises in taxes) isbetween 9bn and 13bn a year.

The Thames Gateway matters to the prosperity of the GreaterSouth East. The three RDAs, led by the LDA, estimated in 2006that if productivity in the Thames Gateway was raised to thelevel of the average of the GSE, it would add around 12bn perannum to GDP.

These are figures, and a potential, that we cannot ignore.And right now, as we are going through the most challengingeconomic period many of us can remember, it is important torecognise that the road to recovery could start here. Given the

enormous benefits already coming our way from the Olympics,and Crossrail, the London Thames Gateway is well placedto weather the recession and so is a great place to generateboth economic and social returns from public and privateinvestment.

The large number of groups and committees on the Gatewaymeans only those which have a clear purpose, and focus on thatpurpose, add value. We have that. Our purpose is to speak forour partners: 11 TGLP boroughs, 8 universities and colleges, theLSC and the NHS and advocate what they conclude is best fortheir part of London. We will focus on the big issues which makea difference - housing, transport, skills and placemaking.

Working across politicalparties, and across the river,we are uniquely placed togive an authoritative viewon major strategic issuesaffecting the whole of EastLondon. Sometimes that

view will be in responseto requests for viewsfrom others, for example,Mayoral consultationson transport, economicdevelopment or housing.Sometimes we willidentify key issues andinitiate the debate, as weplan to do on some ofthe ideas mentioned inthis issue ofRenew. TGLPhas a proud tradition oflobbying successfully forkey infrastructure and

other projects. We meanto carry this on. We will make the case for national and regionalgovernment to take the necessary steps to allow the DLRextension to Dagenham Dock to proceed. We will press for anearly decision on an additional river crossing for the LondonThames Gateway and further measures to support the deliveryof much needed affordable housing.

By focusing our efforts on getting the best outcomes we can forthis part of London through exploiting the sub regions immenseopportunities, we will aim to lead the road to economicrecovery.

I look forward to working with you.

Lord Falconer, Chair, TGLP

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It has been my pleasureto lead the organisationthrough significant changein response to externaldevelopments: thecreation of the HCA, thereorganisation of CLG, a newMayor and the establishmentof new delivery vehicles, inorder to ensure that TGLPremains relevant.

I am delighted to welcomeCharlie Falconer, to thenewly created post ofindependent Chair. This hasbeen created to reflect thecross party nature of thePartnership, one of our corestrengths.

Led by our new Chair, the Partnership is developing a clear crossparty political agenda and identifying the key priorities whichwill be the focus of our activities. But as we embark on our newlease of life, it is worth recognising the remarkable success of theGateway so far.It is now some 15 years since a collection of east Londonborough councils came together to try to drive a vision for our

communities ravaged by industrial decline and recession. Littlecould we have imagined the success we have had.

The London Thames Gateway now has its own financial districtto rival any in Europe Canary Wharf. It has a new entertainmentand business quarter based around the flagship of The O2

confirmed in less than a year as the most successful entertainmentvenue in the world - on the Greenwich Peninsula.

ExCel in the Royal Docks provides the best that London canoffer in terms of modern and flexible exhibition space, while theemergence of Stratford City and the Olympic Games will leadthe regeneration of the Lea Valley, providing new retail, sportsand residential infrastructure of the highest quality.

And more is to come. The renaissance at Woolwich with theredevelopment of the Royal Arsenal; the outstanding opportunitieswhich still exist at Canning Town and Barking Reach will continueto breathe fresh li fe into the London Gateway.Transport investment in the form of Crossrail and additionalriver crossings is essential to making the Gateway work. So isthe need to raise the skills base of a former industrial workforce,to ensure the physical developments leave a real social andeconomic legacy for the long deprived communities of Londonseastern half.London Thames Gateway is the only area capable of deliveringnational and regional visions for new, sustainable economic andresidential growth. It is the only area with the land, the cross partypolitical will and just about the only area where 12 neighbouringcouncils have worked towards a common vision together for 15years.

So while we can scarcely believe the successes to date, we knowthere remains much still to do. We know we cannot do this

alone and we know as the world has moved on - TGLP needsto move on. Welcome to the new TGLP and I hope you will joinus in bringing the next wave of regeneration and success to theLondon Thames Gateway.

Cllr Chris Roberts, Deputy Chair, TGLP


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East London will be the capitals key economic, socialand environmental motor for growth over the comingdecades. The recent plans for the Olympic Legacy provideyet another opportunity that any other regenerationarea in rest of the country would kill for. Coupled withsignificant investment in transport infrastructure in theEast London over the next decade, the main building

blocks for successful regeneration are already in place.

Much will rest on the ability of the Government, the Mayorand the boroughs to work together to devise a rationaland sustainable plan for investment and development inthe London Thames Gateway. Partners need to make themost effective use of public sector funding that has alreadybeen committed because that is good planning, but alsounderstand the strong likelihood that the Gateway willnot receive as much funding in future years due to thestate of the public finances.

Even prior to the economic downturn, it was becomingincreasingly clear that the status quo was not delivering the

quantity or quality of regeneration in the Thames Gatewayrequired to support existing communities and createplaces where new residents want to live. The prevailingview seemed to be that the Gateway programme wouldswiftly change the economic geography of the area and itsattendant social and economic issues.

It is clear that the ambition for overnight regenerationwas nave and misplaced. Fundamentally it ignores therealities of large-scale regeneration where the market andthe public sector can only effectively and efficiently bringforward a finite number of quality regeneration projectsat any one time. In addition, perhaps in part due to theframing of the gateway as one project, there has been

a lack of clarity about the social, economic and cultureopportunities in the Gateway, resulting in a proliferationof similar proposals coming forward for cultural quartersand science parks.

The current economic circumstances should provide anopportunity for all levels of government in the LondonThames Gateway to pause and reflect on what theirambition is for the area. The Mayor has already put in train

a number of pieces of work that should help inform thedeliberations of Government and boroughs in reassessingtheir plans for the London Thames Gateway.

The Outer London Commission is chaired by Will McKeeCBE and is advised on architecture and design by Sir TerryFarrell. The commission will idenfity four or five growthhubs and other smaller centres to underpin economicgrowth in Outer London. It will feed into the reviewof the London Plan and recommend policies to supportand sustain development, infrastructure needs andimprovements to quality of life and the environment.

The development of the new Mayors Transport Plan will

also provide an opportunity to better link transport andland use planning, with particular thought being channelledinto the issue of river crossings in the Gateway.

The London Homes and Communities Board, chaired bythe Mayor of London, is grappling with the challenge ofwhich developments require and deserve public sectorsupport to kick start delivery. Alongside this, researchand investigation into new and different models of housingdevelopment are taking place. This process will alsodevelop different products that help more Londoners toown their own home by offering flexible alternatives tothe expense of open market purchases. The Mayor andthe HCA recently announced a funding package that will

deliver around 3,000 new affordable homes for Londonersacross a range of sites.

Despite the need for renewed pragmatism and a focuson delivery, it is still necessary for the London ThamesGateway to have the highest of ambitions and accept onlythe highest quality in new development. The proposed newUniversity on the legacy Olympic Park is an opportunityto put another stamp of quality on East London. Thearea is well placed to attract research and business in thegrowing green technologies sector. Creative short-termuses should be considered for some development sites,opening them up to local people.

This all requires an open, honest and transparent dialoguebetween all partners, something that the relaunchedThames Gateway London Partnership is well placed tocatalyse.

Open, honest and transparent dialogueSir Simon Milton, Deputy Mayor for Policy and Planning, GLA

The main buildingblocks for successful

regeneration are already

in place.


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Connecting the Gateway: transport testsCouncilor Conor McAuley, Vice Chair, Transport & Connectivity

TGLP is committed to engaging withthe Mayor, Transport for London,

the Department for Transport andothers in seeking to develop and delivera transport package for the Gatewaywhich addresses the challenges of housing

and economic growth delivery andmeets the aspirations and needs of our

current and future residents.Can the targets for housing growth and economicdevelopment aspirations be met from within existing andplanned transport infrastructure?

We have already seen how Canary Wharf demonstratesthe potential to build a world class business environmentfrom scratch, once the transport infrastructure is in place.Now in my own borough, Stratford City offers us thechance to replicate that success in and around StratfordTown centre.

TfLs 10 year Business Plan was based on the assumptionthat there was sufficient transport capacity either alreadyin place or with committed funding in place to supportthe delivery of 100,000 new homes in the London ThamesGateway. Most notably, they decided not to proceed withschemes without funding in place such as the plans forthe Thames Gateway Bridge and the DLR extension toDagenham Dock.

We need to test the assumption behind these decisions.

Thats why as part of our response to the London PlanReview we intend to lead a study into transport capacityin the London Thames Gateway, working closely with TfL.

We will examine whether TfLs assumptions about wherefuture housing development happens are consistent withborough and GLA plans and whether additional investmentin transport might be a better alternative to more expensivedevelopment around existing transport nodes.

The London Thames Gateway is consistently identifiedby the Government and the Mayor of London as a majorgrowth opportunity for housing and employment, mostrecently in the GLA direction of travel document Planningfor a Better London. And when the London Plan is reviewedlater this year, the context will not have changed even if theeconomic climate has temporarily worsened. We still needsubstantial sub-regional growth in people and jobs and toachieve this we must provide access to opportunities andaccommodate the demand for travel.

We know that choice in the Gateway is not betweengrowth and no growth. It is between an urban renaissanceof quality and opportunity, and the continuation ofvacant brownfield sites, low density sprawl and limitedopportunities for local communities. To ensure a positiveoutcome, housing development must be accompanied byemployment growth which in turn depends on transportand connectivity.

Canning Town masterplan


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Local successes

We need to ensure that transport infrastructure and services are in place to link new communities and existing ones,and all must be linked to attractive employment, educational and cultural opportunities. The private sector will notinvest unless it can take confidence from action by the Government and the Mayor to provide the connections to makethose linkages. This confidence is even more important during the current downturn. Investment in infrastructure canbe a key public sector driver to stimulate the economy and ensure the momentum behind the Gateway continues intothe recovery.

Thames Gateway London Partnership (TGLP) has over the years played a key role in shaping the transport agenda for

the Gateway. We welcome the significant investment in transport infrastructure which has already been delivered butalready know that we need further action.

What I find encouraging is that many of TGLPs transport priorities have been, or are in the process of being, delivered.These include Crossrail, extensions to the East London Line, enhancements to the Docklands Light Railway, earlyphases of Thames Gateway Transit, station access schemes and improvement packages to town centres.

However we still need to urgently address the issue of river crossings, something which the Mayor and TfL have pledgedto do.

Transport is Crucial

Speaking personally as a Newham Councillor,Crossrail especially will significantly benefitthe Royal Docks area. With Crossrail servingCustom House, typical journey times fromthere to central London will be reduced byup to 65 per cent, so the journey to (andfrom) Paddington would fall from almost anhour to just 18 minutes. This can only be ofbenefit to local businesses such as the ExcelExhibition Centre and London City Airport.Having a station located in Custom Housewill also boost the regeneration that is takingplace in the wider Canning Town area.

We were also delighted by opening of theDLR extension to Woolwich Arsenal. This linkacross the Thames means local residents willbenefit from improved access to employmentopportunities. It also opens up areas likeCanning Town and Custom House, the RoyalDocks and the Thames Gateway to evenmore Londoners.

The transformation of East London isalready under way in Newham and thesetransport improvements will further enhancethe social and economic potential of our

key development sites in the south of theborough. We are seeing at first hand how onlyan integrated model of regeneration can be acatalyst for the creation of jobs, homes andother key facilities.


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8 99

Longitude000 Greenwich meridian

A406

A406

A205

A12

A11

A13

A13

A2

A20

A2

A20

A10

A12

A12

A205

A102

A1020

Due toopenJune 2010

Due toopenJune 2010

Planned exten

sion

Extension due toopen2009

Hither Green Eltham

WoolwichArsenal

Bexleyheath

Bexley

Dartford

Faringham Rd

Greenhithe SwanscombeStone

CatfordBridge

CroftonPark

Brockley

NewCrossGate

SurreyQuays

Canada Water

Wapping

TowerGateway

Ladywell

Blackheath

GreenwichDeptford

Cutty Sark

Crossharbour

SouthQuay

HeronQuay

Westferry Poplar

CanaryWharf

East India

Canning Town

WestSilvertown

PontoonDock King George V

CustomHouse

RoyalAlbert

GallionsReach

BecktonRiversideBeckton

Creekmouth

DagenhamDock

RainhamBarkingRiverside

Limehouse

Shadwell

LondonBridge

Southwark

Waterloo

CharingCross

Blackfriars Bank

Cannon St

Liverpool StWhitechapel

ShoreditchHigh St

Hoxton

Haggerston

St Pancras

DalstonJunction

CanonburyHighbury &Islington

London Fields

WestHam

HackneyWick

BowChurch

HackneyCentral

HackneyDowns

RectoryRoad

WoodStreet

St James

Street

BlackhorseRoad

Chingford

HighamsPark

LeytonMidlandRoad

Walthamstow

Central

Seven Sisters

EastHam

ForestGate

Wanstead Park

WoodgrangePark

Barking

Upminster

ManorPark

Fenchurch St

Kidbrooke Falconwood

Abbey Wood Belvedere

Ebbsfleet

Gravesend

Sidcup

Welling

Charlton

Woolwich

Lewisham

Bellingham

Anerley

CrystalPalace

Sydenham

ForestHill

HonorOak Park

GrovePark

Stratford

StratfordInternational

Pudding Mill Lane

Ilford

Romford

Haroldwood

M25

M25

M11

City Airport

Stansted

Heathrow

Gatwick

BluewaterShoppingCentre

LakesideShoppingCentre

Bexley

Dartford

Kent

Essex

Lewisham

City

Tower Hamlets

Greenwich

Hackney

Newham

Redbridge Waltham Forest

Havering

Barking & Dagenham

Longitud e 000 Greenwich meridian

CEMEQM

LMU

UGTL

UEL

SN

GOLD

RC

Rail

National Rail

DLR

DLR Extension

Crossrail

East London Line

High Speed 1 Eurostar services

Landmarks

TheO2

ExCeL

GreenwichWorld Heritage Site

Tower of London

London 2012 Olympic Park

Woolwich Ferry

Thames Barrier

Thames Innovation Centre

GTL Offices

Higher/Further Education Centres

Centre for Engineeringand Manufacturing Excellence

Queen Mary, University of LondonUniversity of Greenwich

London Metropolitan University

Goldsmiths, University of London

University of East London

Trinity Laban

Ravensbourne College (new site)

Town Centres

Station names shown in boldrepresent town centres

TL

RC

Start Nucleus SN

London South Bank University at Havering LSBU

Roads

Motorway

Road

Rotherhithe Tunnel

BlackwallTunnel

Dartford Crossing

LSBU

The London Thames Gateway is an area represented by 11 local authorities* on both sides of the river in EastLondon. Our partners also include eight local universities, the local Learning and Skills Council and the StrategicHealth Authority. It is critical to keeping London going and growing, because it is the only part of the capital ableto sustain the massive scale of growth in jobs and housing required.

*(plus Dartford in Kent)

Thames Gateway London Partnership: mapping the Gateway


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Skills and Employment: facing up to challengesCouncillor Heidi Alexander, Vice Chair, Skills and Employment

Effects of the economic downturn and worklessness

Even before the effects of the current economic crisisbecame apparent, there were already comparatively highlevels of unemployment in a number of London ThamesGateway boroughs. The unemployment rate in eight ofour eleven boroughs now exceeds the overall Londonaverage.

Our research suggests that the first effects of the economicdownturn began to appear from June 2008 onwards,resulting in a sudden increase in jobseeker claimants. Isaid before that things are moving fast and this rate of

increase has since accelerated, with the result that thereare now an additional 13,000 jobseeker claimants acrossLondon Thames Gateway, an increase of 26%. Surprisingly,the increase in jobseekers is particularly severe in theouter London Thames Gateway boroughs. Bexley (+76%),Havering (+75%) and to a lesser extent, Redbridge (+48%)have witnessed significant increases in unemployment.Even within my own borough of Lewisham we have seen a24% increase in jobseekers.

We will examine the role the public sector can play in tacklingworklessness. We will work with central government toexplore how we can best use apprenticeship programmes,looking at quality as well as quantity, and look at other

options such as fast tracking unemployed private sectorprofessionals into the public sector, where appropriate.We are also developing a Thames Gateway wide internshipprogramme and will work proactively with the LDA whoare charged with developing skills provision.

While it can seem as if all eyes are on the Olympics andthe employment opportunities already being created, wemust not lose sight of the other major infrastructuredevelopment coming to the sub region; Crossrail. Wealready know that 11,000 jobs will be created requiringspecialist skills during construction and we must makesure that our residents have access to these jobs, and tothe proposed specialist construction academies that willfurnish the right skills for these jobs. We will also reviewthe economic impact on the sub region and employmentopportunities from Crossrails delivery, which could be

substantial, particularly for our outer London boroughs.

These were my words a year ago when I was asked about the bestthing about London. Whilst none of us could have imagined the changesthat have rocked the London economy over the last 12 months, it ismore important than ever that we the public sector and our partners

focus upon what we can do to ensure that our residents still have thechance to succeed.This is a critical time for the London Thames Gateway. Like everywhereelse, things are changing quickly rising levels of unemployment and aloss of confidence in the business base are compounding the challengesfaced by our communities who have historically had low skills levels and

exhibited above average levels of worklessness.We need to work fast and as a partnership we feel we are well placedto respond: the councils are some of the biggest employers in eachborough and the public sector as a whole accounts for over 25% ofemployment across the sub region. There are also real opportunities totap into new and emerging markets; building global skills for a global citywhilst mitigating the environmental costs of the decisions we make.

Introduction

Our challenge in developing a response will include a review of the changing nature of job creation and where newjob growth may be expected. This will give us the opportunity to better plan for future skills requirements, whetherthese are at new retail hubs such as Stratford City or in the emerging environmental technology industries. We willalso consider how to improve the offer that will help to retain businesses in London Thames Gateway and increaseconfidence within our complex employer market.

I particularly want us to focus on three priorities in the coming year: tackling worklessness, work force development,

and looking at how best to secure an educational legacy from the Olympic Games.

We live in a fantastic world city where peopleget on with one another and where people,

irrespective of where they come from, have thechance to succeed.

University of East London


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Even allowing for the recession, homes remain an urgent requirement and the London Thames Gateway continues to bethe area of the capital with the greatest capacity and potential for growth. Approximately half of the sites and 70% ofthe land area with development opportunities in the London Thames Gateway is in public sector ownership

However this capacity is a precious asset and it must not be squandered through premature development that does not

deliver value for money for the taxpayer. Nor should we accept lower quality development at the expense of creatingsustainable communities.

We also need to work with the Housing and Communities Agency to understand why developers are not beginningwork on sites that are already prepared for development. This needs to cover the circumstances of the site and theindividual borough location and propose solutions to address the reasons preventing progress.

The delivery of housing is not just about providing new homes. The region has a significant amount of existing housingstock (almost 775,000). Modernising these homes to a standard which exceeds Decent Homes standards must becomea priority and we need to take a lead with new housing working towards meeting or exceeding the Code for SustainableHomes Level 4 in advance of the changes to building regulations. We need much more investment from the Governmentto make this a reality.

As well as being built to strict environmental standards housing in the London Thames Gateway needs to be welldesigned and planned for the whole of the community. We have all seen the mistakes of the past when isolation of acommunity has resulted into an area needing extra public resources whether that be in policing, health or education.

Housing alone, whatever the quality, does not deliver liveable places. There needs to be good transport links, social andcultural focus points and a strong service industry. To understand what the community means that we need to investin lengthy and detailed consultation with residents to deliver these requirements. As part of Haverings regeneration ofits Harold Hill area we asked residents what they wanted before producing a set of proposals. This meant that we mettheir expectations and had an overwhelming positive response to the consultation.

As politicians and as regeneration professionals our job is to

ensure that what we build, design and develop contributesto the creation of areas where young people want to returnto work after education. Throughout the Thames Gatewayproject we will be reviewing best practice to make sure ourregeneration projects turn this into a reality.

A timely and multifaceted approach

London Thames Gateway remains a priority forGovernment investment. But we need to make sure thatthis investment focuses on ensuring that an area has thefacilities it needs to develop as a sustainable community. Weneed to concentrate on areas that have social and culturalfeatures that will draw and retain residents to the area.The TGLP partnership will lobby and advocate investing

in these lasting areas to deliver places in Thames Gatewaywhere our community wants to live.

Looking forward to a green economy

Sustainable housing is at the core

13


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The Homes and Communities Agency

challenges and opportunitiesThe Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) was launched last December barely a hundred daysago. Bringing together English Partnerships, the Housing Corporations investment programme andCLGs Thames Gateway team, David Lunts, the HCAs London Regional Director , sets out some ofthe challenges and priorities facing the new organisation in the Thames Gateway.

East London has nearly a half of Londons future housing capacity. It has some of the largestand most ambitious regeneration and infrastructure projects in the country, includingStratford City, Greenwich Peninsula and Barking Riverside. And, of course, it has the 2012Olympics. Little surprise therefore, that for the new Homes and Communties Agency, whatis sometimes called the remaking of east London, is perhaps our most important Londonchallenge.

The circumstances in which we have been launched inevitably add to the scale of thatchallenge. With the economy in recession, new housing starts falling at an alarming rate,and access to mortgage and development finance extremely tight, it is easy to be gloomyabout prospects for the London Thames Gateway. But we see these challenges as realopportunities to keep moving projects forward and find new ways to help support thewidely shared ambitions for regenerating East London.

Artists impression of Barking Riverside

Over the short term, HCA London has five key priorities.

Our first priority is to remain tightly focussed on the delivery of our inherited programmes. Despite the currentmarket difficulties, we are on track to use our investment through the affordable housing programme to help fund

11,000 new completions in London for the year that ends on 31st March, and an annual expenditure of just overa billion pounds. Of this total expenditure in London, approximately 124m will fund around 2,300 starts and 700completions in the Thames Gateway area [1]. Next year is likely to be a bigger challenge, as the decline in newhousing starts is severe. We are working hard to stimulate new activity by using our existing investment powersas flexibly as possible. We also fundamentally committed to achieving new development of the highest quality, andwe wont use the downturn to dumb down our standards. We are committed to building new affordable homes,but only where these are truly designed for the long term, and where they genuinely contribute to the health andsustainability of the areas where they are built.

Our second priority is to respond to the current economic difficulties by developing new ways to use ourinvestment programmes. Measures underway include a new portfolio approach for grant and investment bidding,where partners submit packages of sites instead of single projects. This can help build confidence over the longerterm, and is building a programme for housing associations and developers through the coming year. We are alsoshifting low cost home ownership into intermediate rent products, usually with an option for occupiers to puchase

when conditions improve. We are also working closely with local authorities to bring forward major estaterenewal projects for funding, and smaller sites too, including new build council housing where a Borough is keen todo so. Traditional grant-based approaches will need to be extended too. With grant rates rising to take account ofthe loss of cross-subsidy to affordable housing from housing sales, we are developing equity-based investment, andinfrastructure support, to help schemes through the recession.


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David Lunts, London Regional Director, HCA

15

Our third priority is to find ways to help those major regeneration projects that are struggling because of themarket downturn. We are reviewing all strategic projects across the capital many of which are in the LondonThames Gateway and systematically deciding whether, and how, we can assist in keeping activity moving. We arestrongly supported in this by the London Board of the HCA, which is chaired by the Mayor, Boris Johnson, andwhich also brings together London Councils, the London Development Agency (LDA) and the Thames GatewayDevelopment Corporation around the board table.

Our fourth priority is to reorganiseand relocate HCA London. Ourteams are currently operating separateinherited programmes, from separatelocations in central London and CanaryWharf. Over the next few months wewill be restructuring our teams intointegrated operations, drawing togetherthe inherited skills, programmes andapproaches of the former HousingCorporation, English Partnerships andCLG, into area-focussed teams. We arealso planning to relocate to Southwarkin May alongside the LDA, which willhelp to establish a strong degree ofcollaboration between our regenerationactivities.

Our last priority is the most important,especially over the longer term. This isto set in train the process which we callthe single conversation, whereby wework very closely with Boroughs andtheir local partners to develop a fully co-ordinated investment plan for the short,medium and longer terms. In the London

Thames Gateway this will be particularlyimportant, given the scale of investmentwe are proposing to make in East Londonand because we already have deep andgrowing interests in key boroughs. Thisincludes, for instance, the new LocalHousing Company, the Barking Riversideand town centre initiatives in Barkingand Dagenham, our commitments toGreewich at the Peninsula and Kidbrooke,and a huge programme of activity in andaround all of the Olympic host boroughs.We shall be working closely with them inthe planning of their five-borough Multi

Area Agreement, due to be launched inthe summer.

HCA London is realistic but also ambitious;we are practical, but also innovative; and we are determined, despite the current challenges, to work with all ourpartners to drive forward the regeneration of East London. I congratulate the Thames Gateway London Partnershipon their relaunch, and very much look forward to working with them as a key strategic partner for us in that sharedmission.

[1] Data Note: Source HCA Investment Management System (IMS).The figures provided are estimates based on coding entered by In-

vestment Partners onto IMS. Partners are asked to code all Thames

Gateway allocations within the system however, there may be in-

stances where Partners miscode or omit Thames Gateway coding.

The above figures are taken as entered within IMS.

Greenwich Millennium Village


15/15

16

Renew is published by Thames Gateway London Partnership and is distributed free to regeneration agencies, private

and public sector partners and community organisations within the Thames Gateway.

Editorial contributions, subscription requests and any other queries can be sent to:

[email protected]

Thames Gateway London Partnership, Anchorage House, East India Dock, 2 Clove Crescent,

London E14 2BE Telephone: 020 7673 4578.

Q1 What local authority recycles thehighest proportion of household waste?

Anyone looking for a way of comparing a wealth of information on London Thames Gateway and local communitiesneed look no further than the Thames Gateway Knowledge Platform. This is an invaluable online information servicethat allows partners in the Thames Gateway and outside to pool and share information and knowledge. This can bedisplayed in a number of ways: as maps, as various charts, or league tables of rankings, all enabling detailed comparisonof social, environmental and economic trends.

Test your Knowledge of London Thames Gateway

Q2 What is the total Carbon Footprint(tonnes of CO2 per capita) emitted by the

City of London?

a) 10 tonnes b) 12 tonnes c) 15 tonnes

Q3 What is the only local authority inLondon Thames Gateway which records

higher than average levels of sunshine?

Q4 Which local authority has the highestproportion of land classified as green space?

Q5 On a sporting theme, what localauthority has the greatest number of:

a) Athletic tracks

b) Swimming pools

c) Golf courses

Q6 What is the proportion of creativebased industries located in Hackney?

a) one-third

b) one-quarter

c) one-fifth

Q7 Which local authority over the lastdecade has recorded the highest increase in

average house prices?

Q8 What is the average gross weeklyearnings for residents of Tower Hamlets?

a) 468

b) 539

c) 660

Q9 Which local authority has the highestproportion of students gaining 5+ GCSEs (A*-

C)?

Q10 And finally, in which area are two-thirds of all coffee bars in London Thames

Gateway located?

The data shown is taken from the Thames Gateway

Knowledge Platform.For more information contact Gary Tindell on020 7673 4578 or [email protected]

or Stephen Bromwich on 020 7673 4672 or [email protected]

http://tblp.localknowledge.co.uk

Q1

Answer:Bexleyrecycles40%ofitshouseholdwaste.Thenationalaverageis31%.

Q2

Answer:c)15tonnes

Q3

Answer:Lewisham.Itisranked15thnationallyintermsof

sunshineduration.

Q4

Answer:Havering,59%ofwhichisclassifiedasgreenspace,comparedtoanaverageof38%inLondon.

Q5

Answer:a)WalthamForest,3b)Greenwich,17

c)Havering,10Q6

Answer:a)one-third

Q7

Answer:Barking&Dagenham.SinceSeptember1999,averagehousepricesinBarking&Dagenhamhaveincreasedby154%.

Q8

Answer:c)660

Q9

Answer:Redbridge.Almost73%ofstudentsobtain5+GCSEs(A*-C)inRedbridgecomparedto62%nationally.

Q10Answer:64ofthe93coffeebars(Starbucks,CafNero,CostaCoffee,etc)arelocatedintheCityofLondon.

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