ROOF Blog

The £9.6 billion regeneration project in the Thames Gateway will not be weakened by the economic crisis, Margaret Beckett said. Building targets for the area include 160,000 new homes by 2016. However, recent news shows that house building has virtually ground to a halt. Never-the-less Ms Beckett announced plans for a new ‘eco-quarter’ within the Gateway, where green technologies will be developed and tested, for the ‘Thames Gateway to become a showcase for sustainable living’ and a prime example of how government intervention and support is helping deal with the global economic pressures.

A survey of 200 councils in England indicates that regeneration is the sector likely to be hit hardest in the economic downturn. 86 per cent of councils report delays or cancellations to regeneration projects, while 61 per cent said they had experienced delays to housing developments. The worst hit region was the North, where 91 per cent of councils said they had experienced delays or cancellations to projects.