New fund to put parks and public gardens at heart of Thames Gateway » Environment » 24dash.com

A £35 million funding pot is today being made available for new schemes that will create parklands, town squares and riverside pathways in the Thames Gateway, Housing and Planning Minister Caroline Flint has announced.

Schemes that focus on green space, open space and heritage related projects could be in line to receive a share of £30 million funding to make their proposals a reality in London, Kent and Essex.

A further £5 million is being made available to fund studies and scope out opportunities for further green and open spaces in the Gateway.

Thames Gateway Parklands Design Champion Terry Farrell is advising the Government on how best to ensure green and outdoor spaces are part of all communities in the Gateway.

Housing and Planning Minister Caroline Flint said: "Experience has shown the huge difference living and working in a green environment can make to the quality of people's lives so it's essential we make sure from the outset that outdoor space is a key feature of all communities.

"Having someone of Terry Farrell's calibre onboard shows just how important we take greening the Gateway, and inviting bids for the GBP35m parklands programme is one of the first steps at making this happen."

Thames Gateway Parklands Design Champion Terry Farrell said: "This immense and exciting regeneration project is already well underway and gathering momentum through the conscientious work of many local organisations - both public and private.

"In my advisory capacity as Design Champion for Thames Gateway Parklands, I will be helping DCLG to ensure that proposals meet high ambitions for the Thames Gateway. This represents major opportunities for the partners to help create a landscape legacy that they and local people can be proud of."

Greening the Gateway and ensuring all communities have access to outside space will be a guiding principle for development and three partnership bodies, known as Green Grids, have now been invited to bid for funding under the Thames Gateway Parkland programme