Cllr Geddes responds to the ‘Levelling Up’ article-‘The sum of nearly £11 million will begin a project to transform the Heathway and with a lot more money it will start to return to its glory.’

Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development Councillor Cameron Geddes, today responds the recent Jon Cruddas article in the Havering Daily on the successful ‘Levelling Up’ of Dagenham Heathway.

The council is pleased that, with Jon’s support, this bid has been successful with the Government. Along with Jon and the local councillors, we believe this sum of nearly £11 million will begin a project which will transform the Heathway and we hope with a lot more money added to it will start to return it to its former glory.

The upgrading of the Heathway is one of several projects that are trying to ‘level up’ Dagenham which the council have been facilitating in recent years. However belatedly and relatively small in scale the amount of cash involved, we welcome the Government’s acknowledgement of both the poverty, but also the huge potential that there is in this part of the country.

• At Dagenham East, the former Sanofi (May and Baker) site is being transformed delivering jobs with private sector investment of £2bn in datacentres, £350m by Eastbrook Studios currently building London’s largest film studios and £30m by UCL for their amazing Research Laboratory facility. 
• The City of London’s proposals to co-locate wholesale markets at Dagenham Dock will deliver employment and numerous business opportunities as well as over £775m of investment.
• The transformation of former Ford factories into Beam Park and Dagenham Green will deliver thousands of new homes, parks and open spaces, schools and community facilities with an investment of over £3bn.

The council and Jon have worked tirelessly to attract these sorts of sums into Dagenham to improve people’s chances of better housing and to improve local job prospects. With more appropriate funding from central Government, we have shown locally that we can facilitate more investment and for example expand our very popular estate renewal scheme. I can’t help feeling a change of Government might be necessary before areas like Dagenham truly benefit from ‘levelling up’.

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