TRDP Devolution Consultation Response

TRDP welcomes the Government’s consultation to seek views on the proposal to form a Mayoral Combined County Authority for the local government areas of Essex County Council, Thurrock Council and Southend-on-Sea City Council.

The establishment of the Mayoral Combined County Authority will provide the opportunity to deliver significant benefits to the Greater Essex area; a region that is primed for immense economic growth. Thurrock faces a critical affordable housing shortage, with hundreds desperately waiting and homelessness rising. Promoting the potential for significant economic growth, and facilitating enhanced infrastructure and placemaking within the borough, will support new high quality, environmentally sustainable homes and communities. TRDP shares the Government’s wider vision of growth and opportunity, and we are encouraged that the proposal for devolution will support local economies, including Thurrock, to reach their growth potential.

The housing sector is fundamental to any new combined authority region, underpinning the delivery of other five key areas overseen by a Mayoral Combined County Authority: transport, skills, economic development, environment and climate change, and health and wellbeing. Far from being a standalone entity, housing intersects with and supports these vital areas, making it critical for TRDP to advocate for a regional representative of the housing sector to serve as a non-constituent or associate member within any new combined authority’s framework.

By recognising the housing sector's vital role, combined authorities can harness sustainable housing growth to drive economic and social prosperity, address critical challenges such as the cost-of-living crisis and climate change, and support essential infrastructure development to sustain and connect communities across the whole of Greater Essex. This would drive economic and social prosperity, ensuring Thurrock and the whole of Greater Essex thrive, becoming healthier, more sustainable places for current and future generations.

Please see our full response to the consultation here