Council set to absorb development corporation
Thurrock Borough Council will absorb the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation from 1 April 2012, the government has revealed.
The move is a departure from the approach of the previous government, which decided that the corporation should become part of the Homes and Communities Agency.
Minister Bob Neill said the decision reflected the coalition government’s localist agenda and would see the end of centrally imposed decision-making in areas such as the Thames Gateway. Local control over regeneration would be strengthened, he added.
Neill said: “Putting Thurrock Borough Council back in command of local regeneration puts decision-making power back into democratically elected hands – marking a new era in the area and giving local people more influence to shape the place in which they live.
"This is part of our wider plans to decentralise strategic oversight of the Thames Gateway, freeing local authorities from the shackles of Whitehall diktat."
The Department for Communities and Local Government said a consultation had suggested there was no local support for the transfer to the HCA.
The corporation will move into the council's premises by March 2011 to ensure closer working and efficiency savings.
The treatment of the assets currently held by the corporation will be considered as part of the detailed arrangements for the transfer, the DCLG said.
- Details
Thurrock Borough Council will absorb the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation from 1 April 2012, the government has revealed.
The move is a departure from the approach of the previous government, which decided that the corporation should become part of the Homes and Communities Agency.
Minister Bob Neill said the decision reflected the coalition government’s localist agenda and would see the end of centrally imposed decision-making in areas such as the Thames Gateway. Local control over regeneration would be strengthened, he added.
Neill said: “Putting Thurrock Borough Council back in command of local regeneration puts decision-making power back into democratically elected hands – marking a new era in the area and giving local people more influence to shape the place in which they live.
"This is part of our wider plans to decentralise strategic oversight of the Thames Gateway, freeing local authorities from the shackles of Whitehall diktat."
The Department for Communities and Local Government said a consultation had suggested there was no local support for the transfer to the HCA.
The corporation will move into the council's premises by March 2011 to ensure closer working and efficiency savings.
The treatment of the assets currently held by the corporation will be considered as part of the detailed arrangements for the transfer, the DCLG said.
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