Series TF.3.06 - Thames Gateway

Identity area

Reference code

TF.3.06

Title

Thames Gateway

Date(s)

  • 2002-2010 (Creation)

Level of description

Series

Extent and medium

42 Boxes, 8 Files

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Scope and content

This is a government scheme which Sir Terry Farrell was extensively involved with between 2003-2010. Initial ideas came out of government plan to build 60,000 new suburban homes in the Thames Gateway region encompassing Essex and Kent. Numerous studies demonstrated up to 120,000 homes would be needed.

Over the course of 2003-2007 numerous studies were produced about the environmental, social and economic implications for suburban sprawl into the Thames Gateway region. Terry Farrell's masterplan for the area included a linking bridge between Kent and Essex (Shoeburyness in Essex to Isle of Grain in Kent), along with the creation of two or three artificial islands in the Thames with a mixture of homes, a beach, a park and a marina. Farrell thought higher density housing in London would alleviate the pressure to ‘build soulless and endless suburbia into Kent and Essex.’ Addiitonal elements includes the incorporation of the Lea Valley and Medway into an eco-park, acting as a carbon sink and reducing the carbon footprint of new housing by 60%.

Sir Terry's core vision was about high density housing in the more immediate London area with national parks in the wider regions of the Thames Gateway. This vision was at odds with partial schemes underway within the same region which focused on sprawling suburban homes, gardens and increased car usage. Sir Terry's ideas appeared to have gained traction around 2006 and in 2008 he was appointed as Design Champion for the London Gateway, producing a core vision linking the various regeneration schemes. The fullness of Sir Terry's vision was not realised despite there being a wide range of public workshops and events publicising his proposals.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

These files are divided into the following files series: correspondence files, topic specific research files, press files, and files relating to reports and presentations. Original order of these files at transfer from the Farrells archive to Newcastle University.

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Conditions governing access

Open with some restrictions: data protection researcher interview may be required. Special Collections staff will provide researchers with further details of these restrictions.

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Copyright law applies

Language of material

  • English

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Paper documents

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Status

Draft

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation revision deletion

This description created by Ruth Sheret and Jemma Singleton 2023

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