Thames Gateway and the Olympics

Case study: Grays Town Centre

As the main town centre in Thurrock, Grays is the administrative and learning hub for the borough and is well located with good connections to the rest of South Essex and London.

Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation (TTGDC) is working with partners to strengthen the role of Grays as a hub for public services, learning and has plans for improving the retail services offered in the town centre. Grays Thameside complex

Improvements to the facilities in Grays have already been made through the recent completion of the Thameside Complex. This has been a huge boost for cultural facilities in the town, with the refurbished complex housing a museum, library and theatre centre and provides a valuable community and cultural resource.

Furthermore TTGDC are in the process of developing a masterplan for Grays town centre, which will identify specific areas of opportunity and development potential. TTGDC will be consulting the public on the proposals which emerge from this process. Some of the exciting ideas include:

proposals for the development of a 210 berth marina at the Grays waterfront,
a new university college campus with partners including the University of East London, the University of Essex, Thurrock Council, the LSC and TTGDC
a new community hospital, which is currently being explored by the South West Essex Primary Care Trust

Around 5, 000 new homes are planned to be built in and around Grays over the next 15 years.