The Thames Gateway Regeneration Project - Thomson Snell and ...

Attitudes towards the Thames GatewayRegeneration ProjectResultsStrongly agreeStatement123456789AgreeThe sheer scale of the regeneration of theThames Gateway is too big to be realisticThe vision of the Thames Gateway RegenerationProject has been communicated effectively to myorganisationThe Millennium Dome is a case study exampleof being overly ambitious and the Thames GatewayRegeneration Project is likely to experience similarproblemsCanary Wharf has taken 25 years to be asuccess – the success of Thames Gateway is goingto take longer than thisThe growth in population will present the NHSwith many challengesLondon’s future economic growth is dependenton the Thames GatewayEconomic development in the Thames Gatewayis a social imperativeThe creation of thousands of new jobs and manynew businesses will create a very competitivemarket which will be a challenge for local businessesToo much emphasis has been given to theneeds of London and not enough to theneeds of North KentDisagree Strongly disagree Don’t knowNeither agree nor disagreeComments1 Whilst a number of respondents feel the Thames GatewayRegeneration Project is too big, the majority disagree with thestatement which indicates that the project has the support ofthe business community participating in this project.2 Perhaps this is the most alarming result from this survey –nearly three quarters of the participants had not been made toappreciate the significance of the developments.3 66% disagree with the statement suggesting that comparisonswith the large scale Dome project are inappropriate, that theThames Gateway Regeneration Project is not seen as beingtoo ambitious and that is it more likely to provide a long termlegacy.4 Whilst a third expect the Thames Gateway RegenerationProject to take more than 25 years, nearly 50% disagree withthe statement indicating that they expect the benefits of theproject to be realised more quickly. This may indicateunrealistic expectations which the Government anddevelopment agencies would do well to heed and manage.5 Overwhelming agreement with this statement shows that thehealth provision within the Thames Gateway is amajor concern.6 Opinion appears to be divided as to how important theThames Gateway is to the future economic growth ofLondon – with slightly more (nearly half) disagreeing with thestatement.7 60% agree with this statement which suggests support for theregeneration project.8 This reflects the fear that the majority of the participantsexpressed – 78% felt that local businesses will suffer from theincreased competition created by the new businesses and jobscreated by the regeneration project.9 Nearly half of the participants agreed with this statementwhich suggests the balance of the regeneration project shouldbe reassessed to ensure that the North Kent area receivesadequate attention and investment within the project overall.12