Gateway body loses key boss

Ian Lindsay, acting chief executive of the Kent Thameside delivery board, who was expected to take up the job on a full-time basis, handed in his notice last week. He has been appointed head of major stations by Network Rail.

“My job will be the redevelopment of major London railway stations such as Euston, Victoria and Paddington. It’s not often that jobs come along with that kind of central London real estate,” said Lindsay.

But his departure will be a further blow for the project, which was rocked by the resignation during the summer of Jackie Sadek. She quit after becoming frustrated at the local political rows and land-banking by developers, which have resulted in slow progress in delivering development in Kent Thameside. She said that there was an absence of agreement over the need for an extra 30,000 homes in the area.

Lindsay is understood to share his predecessor’s frustration with the pace of delivery. Before announcing his resignation, Lindsay last week held a meeting with ODPM and English Partnerships officials to discuss ways of speeding up development in the area.

The board is responsible for bringing forward growth in an area that covers much of Dartford and contains several of the biggest development sites in the Gateway, including the Channel Tunnel Rail Link at Ebbsfleet and Land Securities’ development at Eastern Quarry.

The lack of decisions by the government on infrastructure is holding us back

The board’s chairman Sir Sandy Bruce-Lockhart said Lindsay was “an excellent chap”. He added that he himself would be able to devote more time to Kent Thameside’s regeneration following his decision to step down as Kent council leader.

“This will allow me to give a bit more focus to the delivery board,” said Bruce-Lockhart, adding that he was also frustrated with how slowly development opportunities were taking to get off the ground across the entire Gateway.

“The lack of decisions by the government on infrastructure is holding us back,” he said.