The latest incarnation of urban development corporations is masterminding the huge Thames Gateway development in east London. Nicola Carroll reports on how it is being received Urban development corporations (UDCs) established by the Conservatives in the 1980s and early 1990s were derided as undemocratic quangos which ignored the needs of local communities, and their relationships with councils were typically contentious. The latest incarnation of UDCs, introduced under Labour to deliver its Sustainable Communities Plan targets, claim to be working hand-in-hand with local authorities and the people they represent to bring much-needed jobs and homes to run-down areas. Opinion is sharply divided at present as to which category Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation falls into. Thurrock contains two of the top 10% most deprived wards in the country, has low levels of educational attainment and a poor-quality physical environment. But it also a key spot in the Thames Gateway Priority Growth Area, with 18 miles of riverside land offering massive regeneration potential, and there are plans for 26,000 extra jobs and 18,500 new homes in the Essex borough by 2021. Thurrock Thames Gateway Corporation, which is based in Purfleet and has a seven-year lifespan, is responsible for overseeing regeneration and making strategic planning decisions there under the Local Government, Planning and Land Act 1980. Its boundaries are co-terminus with those of the council, with which there is a service level agreement to carry out day-to-day planning functions. The council is still responsible for the development plan and minor planning applications. The UDC was first established in October 2003. But it was slow to get up and running, and controversy arose when a Conservative administration took over the council, but four Labour councillors retained their seats on its board. It has now determined regeneration priorities and has been consulting the public on a spatial plan and masterplans. Proposals include plans to make the Lakeside shopping complex a leisure hub linked to the Thames, and to open up Grays town centre to the river and build a marina, university campus, civic centre and community hospital there. Cllr Gary Hague, who is a Conservative member at the unitary authority and UDC board member, says that while there were ‘frustrations’ in getting the corporation off the ground, its masterplanning approach is a welcome improvement over piecemeal development which occurred before. Thurrock’s new Conservative leader, Terry Hipsey, made it clear in his inaugural speech that he did not want to serve on the board. He told The MJ: ‘Being democratically elected, I am here to do what’s best for the public. It is my personal view that some decisions might clash if I was on the UDC board. This way we can have a very healthy partnership.’ UDC chair, Will McKee, says he will meet with the leader to try to persuade him to come on board. Mr McKee, who was a London borough chief executive for 10 years, says concerns about democratic accountability are ‘perfectly natural’ when the corporation reports directly to the secretary of state. The corporation has a £50m budget for the next two years. Mr McKee is confident the area’s ‘advantageous location’ can attract a five-to-one ratio of private investment to public spending, but admits there is uncertainty over funding for infrastructure. And there has been opposition from one community group to new development at Shellhaven. Neil Speight, editor of The Thurrock Gazette, says: ‘There is an immense amount of public disquiet. The corporation seems to do very little and it is seen as a threat to democracy by local people.’ In his view the relationship between the corporation and the council ‘has not been cemented’. w