To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what studies have been conducted for his Department into potential growth in the (a) Thames Gateway, (b) Ashford, (c) Milton Keynes and (d) London-Stansted-Cambridge areas. [98170]
The East Thames Corridor Study in 1994 set out the development capacity and potential of the Thames Gateway area. This was followed by Regional Planning Guidance 9a, which defined the Gateway and set out a Planning Framework to guide future development. A further study in 2000 recommended extension of the area to include south Essex, which now forms part of the Gateway.
For the other growth areas, the following are the most recent studies that have been completed:
a study into potential growth in the Ashford area by the Halcrow Group Ltd. was published in December 2002. The study was commissioned by Ashford borough council, in partnership with the Government Office for the South East (GOSE), South East England Regional Assembly (SEERA), South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), English Partnerships, Housing Corporation, Kent county council and Kent and Medway Learning and Skills Council;
the study by Roger Tym and Partners covering the Milton Keynes and South Midlands area was published in September 2002. It was jointly commissioned by SEERA, GOSE, Government Office for the East of England (GO-East), Government Office for the East Midlands, East of England Local Government Conference, East Midlands Regional Local Government Association, SEEDA, East of England Development Agency (EEDA), East Midlands Development Agency, English Partnerships, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire county councils, Milton Keynes council, and Luton borough council; and the Sub Regional Study by ECOTEC Research and Consulting Ltd., covering the London-Stansted-Cambridge area, was published in July 2002. It was jointly commissioned by Essex, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire county councils, East of England Regional Planning Body, GO-East, Government Office for London, Greater London Authority, EEDA and London Development Agency.