§ Mr. EffordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will be in a position to respond to the report he has received on progress with the Greenwich Millennium Village. [98606]
§ Mr. PrescottI have today placed in the House Libraries copies of the report provided by English Partnerships which was produced by Gardiner and Theobald.
I have discussed the report with those leading the project and have agreed that the development may proceed. I have authorised English Partnerships to release the first parcel of land to the developers, so that work can start before Christmas.
7WI am satisfied that Greenwich Millennium Village is now broadly on course to deliver the original aspirations of the project. The architect, Ralph Erskine, is content that the present scheme proposals are consistent with his original masterplan. I have received personal assurances from Alan Cherry, the Chairman of Countryside Properties PLC, and Bob Hawley, the Chairman of Taylor Woodrow PLC, that the Village will, as planned, set the high standards of innovation and sustainability which are needed for such an important mixed use scheme for the 21st Century.