§ The Minister of State, Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (Lord Rooker)Creating sustainable communities: Making it Happen: Thames Gateway and the Growth Areas published in July 2003 announced outline plans for a £164 million package for the three newer growth areas of Ashford, Milton Keynes/ South Midlands, and London/Stansted/Cambridge/Peterborough. Commitments were made then to fund individual schemes to a total value of £88 million, and a further £63 million was announced on 14 January this year.
My right honourable friend the Deputy Prime Minister is announcing today a further £22 million of funding, which will support sustainable growth in the London/Stansted/Cambridge/Peterborough growth area. We are providing these resources to help site assembly and remediation of brownfield land, additional affordable housing and essential infrastructure in the growth area. The inclusion of Peterborough in the area takes into account its history of successful growth and its potential for contributing to the growth area as a whole.
A full list of the further projects that we are supporting will be made available in the House Libraries. They include over £10 million for redevelopment and to enable the more rapid delivery of at least 2,000 new homes in Peterborough. It also includes almost £500,000 to open up the River Roding in Ilford as a green space and improve the local ecological environment, and £1.8 million to kick start a major development at Tottenham Hale, including remodelling the major transport interchange. Other projects will include over £1.2 million for unlocking and improving access to development sites in Walthamstow to provide potential for 500 new homes and jobs.