Changes in Regeneration
56 sustainable communities
Changes in Regeneration
East Thames sustainable neighbourhoods
East Thames is a thriving and innovative organisation with its roots firmly based in east London and Essex. It sits at the cusp of one of the most significant changes in regeneration terms that have been experienced in this country for many years. By Marsha John- Diversity Business Partner
The developments in the pipeline are many but of those that will change the area the most are:
• The proposed Thames Gateway developments
• The Olympics and by implication, Stratford City
• The International rail link
At East Thames we have ambitious growth plans too, and expect to be managing 20,000 properties by 2012. But it’ s not just about building homes, but creating sustainable neighbourhoods. In terms of innovation we have developed the only wholly mixed tenure scheme in the country which we hope will be a model for future developments.
As a business we are very aware of our economic capacity and we are committed to ensuring that we use this effectively. We are currently working on a programme to ensure that our suppliers reflect the local communities so we can better contribute to the economic sustainability of our neighbourhoods and meet resident needs.
To this end we have introduced a Corporate Social Responsibility in Procurement Statement and are looking to actively engage with Small and Medium Enterprises( SMEs) who in the main are minority suppliers including ethnic minority, women and people with disabilities to ensure they have access to working with us.
Geoff Pearce, Group Director of Development and Asset Management
Last year November we ran our first‘ Meet the Supplier’ event to offer‘ live contracts’ for those businesses operating in the Maintenance and Development arena. To ensure the event was a success we partnered with Nichols Employment Agency( NEA) who have experience in securing contracts within the public sector. They also have been involved in advising government agencies in regards to supplier diversity and providing capacity building training for SMEs. engage ISSUE THREE 2007