The future economic and sustainable development of the Thames Gateway must be coordinated by a masterplan to avoid a silo develoment mentality says Hilary Reid-Evans.
The head of sustainability at Quintain was speaking at the Thames Gateway Forum today. She is heading a sustainability division drawing up a Green paper and a 'new green deal for the Thames Gateway.'
She said the bodies in charge of regenerating the region were too complex with 28 local authorities, three development agencies, three government departments, two development corporations, seven strategic partnerships and regional bodies. Such complexity meant there is no proper coordination.
'There is a need for a bonfire of the quangos and there are quite a few of us that would like to strike the first match,' she said.
She said the best model for development in the region is high density, mixed-use development. Reid-Evans said the idea of a free trade zone in the region should also be reconsidered while the potential opportunities from the area's proximity to continental Europe should also be explored.
It will require public and private sector funding but would be worth the effort she said as 'it is not just the future of the Thames Gateway, it is the future of our economy.'
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