The Thames Gateway is one of Europe’s largest regeneration areas and has been identified by the UK Government as one of England’s major housing and employment growth areas. English Partnerships has a wealth of experience in the region and in addition to delivering some of the biggest single regeneration schemes in the Thames Gateway, we are also involved in a number of programmes such as the London Wide Initiative and the First Time Buyers Initiative which are aimed at addressing housing affordability issues in the London and the Thames Gateway as well as other regions.

This year English Partnerships celebrates 10 years of regeneration on Greenwich Peninsula. A decade ago we purchased 121 hectares of disused land on the peninsula and our investment of over £225m has seen the site transformed in to what is now a buzzing and vibrant community. The acclaimed Greenwich Millennium Village (GMV), a joint venture between Countryside Properties Ltd and TaylorWimpey Developments Ltd, is located at the southern end of the peninsula and currently over 800 of the eventual 2750 eco friendly homes in the village have been completed. The first of the Government’s programme of Millennium Communities, GMV, is a development where innovation, energy efficiency and ecology sit side by side. Three main areas of parkland have been created, including an ecology park, and extensive works have been carried out to improve the riverside environment. GMV has everything a community needs to grow including excellent transport links, a school, a health centre, shops and leisure facilities.

Earlier this year all eyes were on the peninsula with the successful reopening of the O2 (formerly The Dome) by AEG Europe as a 23,000 capacity music, entertainment and sports arena. Adjacent to the O2, Peninsula Square was opened to the public in mid June providing a dramatic new space and a new square for London.  It is very rewarding to see how much has already been achieved on Greenwich peninsula, but this is only the first phase of English Partnership’s long term sustainable vision for the peninsula, which spans the next 20 years. The next phase will transform 80 hectares of brownfield land into a thriving new riverside community of 10,000 new homes in distinct residential neighbourhoods (including 38% affordable housing), as well as new shops, schools, leisure facilities and landscaped open spaces. This comprehensive £5bn regeneration project is being led by Meridian Delta Line (MDL), a joint venture between Lend Lease and Quintain Estates and Development PLC, which have entered into a long term joint venture with English Partnerships.  

At 150 hectares, Barking Riverside is the largest brownfield site in London and will be a new community for the city developed along two kilometres of Thames waterfront. It will be a sustainable community of 10,800 mixed-tenure homes and over the next ten to 15 years will contribute to the growth of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. A joint venture established between English Partnerships and Bellway, Barking Riverside Ltd, has brought together public and private sector investment and experience to find an innovative solution for this unique and important site. Outline planning approval for the development was granted by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in November 2006 and we expect the first homes to be under construction in 2008. 

In addition to regenerating brownfield land in the Thames Gateway, English Partnerships ensures that surplus public sector land is reused and regenerated. What is currently a gaping hole in East Greenwich will soon be transformed into a dynamic new hub for the area. The Heart of East Greenwich (HOEG) site was formerly occupied by the Greenwich District Hospital. The closure of the facility in 2001 has seen the local area suffer but plans are now afoot to give the area the new lease of life it needs. In addition to providing new homes under the London Wide Initiative (LWI), the £200m plus development will include a leisure centre with two swimming pools and library, a health centre, shops and restaurants, a traffic free public square and approximately 650 houses and flats with over 50 percent affordable and key worker homes, all with high environmental standards. The local community has been fully engaged in the development process and already there is a strong sense of community ownership and backing for the scheme.  

English Partnerships is committed to engaging in community consultation, helping to create communities where people want to live and can afford to live. The LWI aims to deliver affordable housing for key workers and first time buyers on a range of sites across London. The sites will deliver well over 4,000 homes, with at least 1,500 affordable for sale and the remainder divided between market homes for sale and other types of affordable homes. A similar number will also be available across London under the First Time Buyers Initiative (FTBI). The LWI will provide a range of accommodation types, from single occupancy units to family homes across all the sites. Working with our partners First Base, Key London Alliance, and a consortium led by Countryside Properties plc, work is almost complete on the first scheme at Adelaide Wharf in Hackney and work has also started on the second scheme, Wandsworth Southside.

With URC Renaissance Southend Ltd we are working closely with the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and Southend on Sea Borough Council to deliver a new Masterplan for the central area of Southend. This ambitious masterplan aims to revitalise Southend town centre, bringing more people, shops and jobs, and includes proposals for 1,650 new homes, 25,000sq m retail space and 20,500sq m office accommodation to make Southend a key centre in south Essex.

In Basildon, English Partnerships is playing a key role in the growth of the town. Basildon became a New Town in 1949 but since then some areas of the town are clearly in need of significant regeneration.  Together with Swan Housing Group, English Partnerships is working to regenerate the Craylands Estate and former Fryerns School sites and has developed proposals to invest in new homes, new roads and a bus route as well as a new local centre with shops and community facilities.  Basildon’s planning committee gave approval to the outline plans for the estate in November 2006 and approval for phase one was granted in April 2007. English Partnerships is also supporting Basildon District Council in its plans to bring forward the comprehensive regeneration of Basildon town centre.

As a delivery agency with a remit covering the whole Gateway, English Partnerships is in a unique position to look at the bigger picture. Our programmes across the London and the Thames Gateway region play an integral part in delivering high-quality housing and sustainable regeneration, and as the Government looks to the future with the formation of a new homes agency bringing together the functions of English Partnerships, the Housing Corporation and some of the delivery functions of CLG, we will continue to build on solid, sustainable foundations to develop communities where people want to live, work and play.

Written by Duncan Innes. Originally published in Invest in Success Thames Gateway 2008, pages 26-27

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