Communities and Local Government
A selection of images representing communities.
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- Thames Gateway and the Olympics
- Thames Gateway: Area overview and development
- Thames Gateway: North Kent
- Kent Thameside (Dartford and Gravesham)
Kent Thameside (Dartford and Gravesham)
Select one of the numbers below to link to the relevant case study.
Kent Thameside comprises the urban areas of Dartford and Gravesham north of the A2. Kent Thameside Delivery Board has agreed in its Regeneration Framework a target of 30,000 new homes and 50,000 new jobs for the period 2001-2026. The housing target will be reviewed following the conclusion of the Examination in Public for the draft South East Plan, which currently sets a target for 24,700 dwellings in the period 2006-2026 . The majority of these new homes will be on redundant chalk quarries and redeveloped industrial land.
Key economic assets include the Crossways Business Park, where over 5,000 people are now employed, and Bluewater Shopping Centre which attracts 26 million visitors per year. The development of Kent Thameside has been planned from the beginning around sustainable public transport. Fastrack is a new rapid transport network linking established centres to new developments, encouraging greater use of public transport. In due course, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link will be the catalyst for the new business and financial services centre at Ebbsfleet International, connecting to London St Pancras in 17 minutes and to Paris in less than 2 hours. Ebbsfleet itself will be the showpiece for Kent Thameside. Some 789,550 m2 of development is proposed around the new rail station, including up to 3,000 housing units. International services will run from the station in 2007 with domestic services following in 2009. This will be complemented by expanding and regenerated town centres and waterfront.
A timetabled investment programme embracing road capacity improvements, public transport and traffic management measures is now being prepared to accommodate the planned growth. Partners are determined to ensure that the regeneration of the town centres accelerates and that the opportunities to create world class waterfronts and green links are not missed.
