'World-leading eco-region' will take Thames Gateway forward, says minister

The Thames Gateway is in a strong position to weather the current economic storm and grow in the long term, Thames Gateway Minister Margaret Beckett announced in a major speech today.

Backed up with £9.6bn Government investment, the Thames Gateway is a prime example of how Government intervention and support is helping deal with the global economic pressures, the Minister said.

New projects are starting or progressing all the time and the long-term prospects for the Gateway remain strong across the region. For example, the Thames Gateway now has one of the largest single inward investment projects in the UK in the last two decades.

At the Thames Gateway Forum in East London, the Minister set out a raft of new measures to further boost the region, including transforming it into a world-leading eco-region that will make it a showcase for sustainable living.

A proposed 'eco-quarter' is the centrepiece of a new 47-point strategy that will ensure economic development and regeneration creates a greener way of life for residents.

The strategy is being accompanied by up to £35m being awarded to create green and open spaces throughout the Gateway as part of the Parklands programme.

The eco-region will involve:

• an eco-quarter in an existing urban area, which will be a combination of existing buildings and new development that develops and tests new green technology and provides a showcase for sustainable development and new initiatives. The eco-quarter will demonstrate the economic and practical benefits of sustainable design and technology. It will establish green standards which build on the Government's eco-towns programme, and provide a global example of what can be done in existing developed areas
• up to £35m investment in the first stages of delivering the "Parklands Vision". Over £19m has been committed so far for 9 projects, which will provide improved green and open spaces and access to residents in the Gateway
• Up to 1.25m investment in the Green Homes Programme, run by the Energy Savings Trust, to provide more advice to residents, local authorities and community projects on what they can do to save energy and water
• eco-Assessments, which will be carried out on the designs for the ten main housing developments in the Gateway, to ensure that the plans maximise the opportunity to develop more sustainable living. £160,000 funding is being announced today to carry out the first of these assessments in Kent Thameside
• creating both an Environmental Infrastructure Fund and a Renewable Energy Challenge Fund. Together these will support new and innovative approaches to dealing with waste, water and renewable energy in the Gateway
• using the Olympics as a showcase for sustainable building, energy efficiency and renewable energy, underlining the green credentials of the whole region
• creating more "green-collar jobs" in the Gateway by encouraging research, innovation and investment in emerging green areas - sustainable construction, low carbon energy solutions, and innovative manufacturing.