THE multi-million pound regeneration scheme for Purfleet is in the running for a top award, it has been announced today.

The Planning website, run by Haymarket Publications, is the nationally recognised media service that reports on and supports council planning teams and all those involved in the planning and regeneration industry.

Its prestigious annual awards are a landmark recognition and are always highly contested.

And in the Planning Awards 2021 category for 'Regeneration', the project created by Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited - a joint venture between Urban Catalyst and Swan Housing Association, in partnership with Thurrock Council – is one of eight schemes that judges have shortlisted.

The first houses in the scheme are now in the process of being built. In total there will be up to 2,850 new homes and the project promises alongside a world-leading film and television complex, an improved train station and bridge crossing, a new primary and secondary school, a health centre and other vital business and education infrastructure.

Getting to this point has not been without difficulties. Thurrock MP Jackie Doyle-Price has previously been a staunch critic of the scheme, particularly over the claim that it will bring 'world class' film and television companies to the borough.

Two years ago the MP spoke up [L] https://www.thurrockindependent.com/2019/04/18/mp-slams-staggering-ineptitude-of-council-officers-over-regeneration-scheme/ [L+]strongly against the way the project was being managed and criticised Thurrock Council officers' 'staggering ineptitude' in bringing the scheme together.

However, she did say she believed Purfleet is a great location for regeneration and added: "I really do want to see the construction of new homes in Purfleet. We desperately need them. And I want to see investment in to make Purfleet a pleasant place to live and visit.

"It is a brilliant riverside location with good transport links. Regeneration should not really be this difficult."

However difficult it has been, the project has now caught the eye of the competition judges who have been looking for schemes that 'produce outstanding outcomes and adapt to changed circumstances with innovation, determination and ingenuity'.

The winners will be announced at a virtual ceremony over two days in June.