Thames Freeport - Britain's Trading Future

[ 104 ] aligned to support economic growth and a physical environment which allows for sustainable connectivity across the whole of South Essex. ASELA has already installed 130 km of spine fibre across the region reaching 129 public sector sites to enable full fibre broadband. Phase 1 of this anchor programme has been delivered on time, on scope and to the £4.4 million DCMS grant budget. This led to a further £2.5 million being granted for Phase 2 and by March 2022, an additional 75 km of the fibre will have been rolled out and extended into more rural areas and additional public sector/community sites including GP surgeries, care homes, rural schools, community centres and village halls. The aim is for every household, business and community facility to have superfast digital connectivity by 2025. Another anchor programme is the provision of the infrastructure and homes to support the economy and meet existing and future housing needs. By working together, ASELA has been able to create a compelling case for a trailblazing strategic place-based partnership with Homes England (one of only two such partnerships in the country, the other being Manchester) to unlock house building opportunities. A new Technical University, backed by Ford and including DP World, Olympus, Southend Airport and Leonardo has the potential to transform the current higher education offering with a comprehensive and consistent portfolio of work-based learning courses, including Degree Apprenticeships. This is a very exciting proposition which will be of mutual benefit to South Essex residents of all ages and to the businesses that operate in and/ or move to the area, because with the use of a Thames Freeport Skills Accelerator Initiative, skills development will be aligned with the needs of incoming investors, i.e. the courses will be tailored to the skills and qualifications needed by local businesses, particularly those within the Freeport zone. One of the guiding principles underpinning ASELA’s South Essex 2050 approach is reducing the need for travel by private car, providing attractive and safer routes for active travel including journeys to and for work. ASELA’s award winning green/ blue infrastructure (GBI) study, along with the mapping and design guidance being developed by Defra and Natural England, is ensuring South Essex and the Thames Estuary further becomes an exemplar of good green infrastructure delivery, benefiting the economy, people and the region’s environment, and helping to deliver biodiversity net gain and net zero carbon. Thames Freeport is a huge contributor to this agenda including its usage of wind turbines, zero landfill policies, green electricity and, in support of the Port of London Authority and the Thames Estuary Growth Board green growth ambitions, its investment in a Hydrogen Programme. In the lead up to COP26, Thames Freeport will stand out as a champion of green-powered industry including its decarbonised transport solutions, supporting the Government’s ambitions to be net zero by 2050, aiming to achieve a 68 per cent reduction in carbon emissions against 1990 levels by 2030, and a 78 per cent reduction by 2035. In line with that ambition, South Essex Estuary (SEE) Park is one of ASELA’s most ambitious anchor programmes, driven by the need to tackle climate change and ecological collapse while simultaneously bringing incredible benefits to people’s health and well-being, especially in the post-Covid era. SEE Park is a single, unified, regional parkland which will ensure that the natural wonders which abound throughout South Essex are all connected as part of the same ecological community. SEE Park ensures the ASELA partnership can support all communities to address 21st century challenges through its green and blue spaces. A S S O C I AT I O N O F S O U T H E S S E X L O C A L A U T H O R I T I E S In the lead up to COP26, Thames Freeport will stand out as a champion of green-powered industry including its decarbonised transport solutions, supporting the Government’s ambitions to be net zero by 2050 SEE Park: map of proposed regional parkland, overlaid onto the existing park and open spaces network Image: Alexandra Steed URBAN