New plans to put the future of
Thurrock regeneration back into local hands were announced by
Thames Gateway Minister Bob Neill today.
Thurrock Borough Council will
absorb the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation from 1
April 2012. As part of this localist move, decision making power
for local regeneration and planning will shift back to into the
hands of the local council and communities, who know best what
their area needs.
This is a move away from the
previous Government’s decision to merge the corporation with the
Homes and Communities Agency and is part of wider plans to turn
Government on its head and end centrally imposed decision making on
local areas, including the Thames Gateway.
The change will benefit local
residents, businesses and the council, by strengthening local
control over regeneration, maintaining the momentum of private
sector investment and enabling efficiency savings to be
realised.
Bob Neill said:
“Putting Thurrock Borough Council
back in command of local regeneration puts decision-making power
back into democratically elected hands - marking a new era in the
area and giving local people more influence to shape the place in
which they live.
“This is part of our wider plans to
decentralise strategic oversight of the Thames Gateway, freeing
local authorities from the shackles of Whitehall dictat.”
Thurrock Thames Gateway Development
Corporation (TTGDC) will cease operation and become part of
Thurrock Borough Council from 1 April 2012. The company will move
into the Council’s premises by March 2011 to work more closely with
the council ahead of the change and ensure that vital efficiency
savings can be made as soon as possible. The treatment of the
assets currently held by TTGDC will be considered as part of the
detailed arrangements for the transfer.