Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, what plans the Government has for regeneration of the Thames Gateway.

The Thames Gateway is a long term national priority for growth and the Government is firmly committed to working with local partners to help them deliver its potential.

The Government has worked closely with investors across a range of projects, for example we have helped to secure £1.5 billion investment into the London Gateway Port by working hard with the Highways Agency to ensure that road capacity was not a barrier to the Dubai Ports World investment. London Paramount is another major potential investment which could bring up to 15 million visitors a year to the area. I am delighted to hear that Lafarge Tarmac has now agreed a deal with London Resort Company Holdings to sell their land in the Swancombe Peninsula in north Kent, which is needed for the creation of this entertainment resort.

In addition to encouraging investors, Government is itself providing funding for a number of major projects in the area. These are set out in the attached document.