Michael Ward, Chief Executive of the Kent Thameside Delivery Board, welcomed the minister to her first visit to Kent Thameside and the Thames Gateway since taking up her post in which she is expected to provide stronger and more visible leadership for housing in the area. On this tour, Ward, the Leaders of the both Dartford and Gravesham Borough Councils, and other key partners took the minister to view some of the key projects that stand to benefit from the area’s regeneration plans.

During her visit Flint applauded the pioneering work on regeneration and sustainability by the Kent Thameside Delivery Board and welcomed integral developments such as The Bridge, the major mixed-use scheme that is transforming a 264-acre brownfield site into a lively new community for Dartford. The tour also visited Land Securities’ office, The Observatory, which overlooks one of four projects within the Thames Gateway identified as ‘transformational’ by the Government - Ebbsfleet Valley. Work has already started on the 1.000 acre development, adjacent to the new High-Speed 1 station Ebbsfleet International, which has recently opened to Eurostar services to the Continent. Ebbsfleet Valley is a major mixed-use development project to include up to 10,000 new homes and nine million sq ft of commercial, retail, leisure and community uses.

At The Bridge, Flint commended the thoughtful approach behind the integrated commercial and residential development as setting new standards of sustainability for the Thames Gateway. She met with Wayne Hemingway, who with his wife Gerardine has collaborated with architects Broadway Malyan on the design of The Bridge’s innovative housing scheme, as well as representatives from Taylor Wimpey, developer Prologis and Dartford and Gravesham Borough Councils. So far the first of the 1,500 new homes planned for The Bridge have been completed and the housing will be integrated with offices, distribution space and a science and technology park. The development also includes plenty of green open space, local shops and schools all nearby that can be reached easily on foot, dedicated cycle paths and of course Fastrack.

The commercial element of The Bridge will create 7,500 new jobs as part of a knowledge-based including a new I-Lab or innovation laboratory funded by Communities and Local Government. Joint venture partners Dartford Borough Council and ProLogis have put in place the infrastructure to attract inward investment and to help local people benefit from the new opportunities the development is bringing to Dartford.

Michael Ward, Chief Executive of Kent Thameside Delivery Board, comments: "The Minister has seen just how central these projects are to the regeneration challenge. The day’s visit demonstrates several of the exemplary developments that make up Kent Thameside – an area of 22 square miles that spans the Dartford and Gravesham boroughs which is in the business of creating 30,000 new homes and 50,000 new jobs for the Thames Gateway. CLG has made an important recognition of the massive potential in Kent Thameside and we are right on track to continue to make huge improvements here."

Paul Weston, First Vice President at Prologis commented: "The Bridge development is about building a new community, where people will have the support to develop new business ideas, where the homes and the great landscaping create an environment that lifts the spirit when you get off the bus and approach your street. It has been a very good opportunity to show the Minister how we are developing a new entrepreneurial culture and how our great mixture of tenure and house types offer a distinct character and identity to Kent Thameside."

Robyn Pyle, Head of Urban Community Development at Land Securities, added: "Ebbsfleet Valley will be delivering 20,000 of the 50,000 new jobs in the area and is one of the major driving forces behind the Kent Thameside initiative. The focus for us is now on delivery and we were pleased that Ms Flint has been able to see, first hand, the sheer scale of the regeneration initiatives that are already underway in Ebbsfleet Valley and on the ground elsewhere in Kent Thameside."