84-714: Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching 70 kilometres (43 mi) east from inner east and south-east London on both sides of the River Thames and the Thames Estuary. It stretches from Westferry in Tower Hamlets to
168-567: A catalyst for the regeneration and growth and for the social advancement of the area, helping to alleviate some of the growth pressures on London and the South East. Amid steep house price inflation and an economic boom in 2004 the government also expressed the firm belief that new private sector housing here and elsewhere would reduce that inflation. Parts of the area are of settled character and/or already densely populated with little scope for housing developments: Southend-on-Sea, for example,
252-511: A few weeks of hot, balmy weather with prolonged warm to hot temperatures. The number of summer storms from the Atlantic, such as the remnants of a tropical storm , usually coincides with the location of the jet stream . The East tends to receive much less rain than the other regions. Autumn (mid-September – mid-November) is usually mild with some days being very unsettled and rainy and others warm. At least part of September and early October in
336-558: A list including these four. The term does not appear to have been used in taxation since the 18th century. East Anglia is one of the driest parts of the United Kingdom, with average rainfall ranging from 450 to 750 mm (18 to 30 in). The area receives such low rainfall amounts because low pressure systems and weather fronts from the Atlantic lose a lot of moisture over land (and therefore are usually much weaker) by
420-597: A local event, resulting in minor injuries. Witnesses described the event as unexpected, noting that such phenomena are rare in the area. In the 2015 general election there was an overall swing of 0.25% from the Conservatives to Labour and the Liberal Democrats lost 16% of its vote. All of Hertfordshire and Suffolk became Conservative. The region's electorate voted 49% Conservative, 22% Labour, 16% UKIP, 8% Liberal Democrat and 4% Green. Like other regions,
504-484: A possible third airport for London. A new airport was not built, but a former Royal Air Force base at Stansted , which had previously been converted to civilian use redeveloped and expanded in the following decades. The East of England succeeded the standard statistical region East Anglia (which excluded Essex , Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire , then in the South East ). The East of England civil defence region
588-627: A rail freight depot proposed by ProLogis at Howbury in Slade Green . The proposal was to develop part of the Metropolitan Green Belt in the Crayford Marshes beside the existing railway depot. Roxhill Developments Ltd. had sought to modify the planned 149 acre " sustainable distribution park with modern multi modal connections" since at least 2015. The London Development Agency perceived some strategic merit in
672-604: A revision of the Regional Spatial Strategy for the East of England, was published on 12 May 2008. It was revoked on 3 January 2013. The official region consists of the following subdivisions: In the Eurostat Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS), the East of England was a level-1 NUTS region, coded "UKH", which was subdivided as follows: After the UK's departure from
756-611: A success and subsequently further buoys and beacons were lit by Trinity House using the same system, in the Estuary and beyond. Today the Port of London Authority's Thames Navigation Service (established in 1959) is responsible for buoyage, beaconage and bridge lights on the Tideway. Trinity House remains responsible for aids to navigation in the wider estuary (and beyond). Download coordinates as: This table shows, from west to east,
840-404: A twice-weekly visit by a boatman for cleaning and maintenance). Broadness was lit by Pintsch gas , and Stoneness by a Lindberg light (which burned petroleum naphtha ). At the same time Trinity House began experimenting with the application of lamps to buoys, using Pintsch's oil-gas system, beginning with three in the Thames Estuary (East Oaze, Ovens and Sheerness Middle); the experiment was deemed
924-530: Is a pioneering hospital in the UK, based at Cambridge Biomedical Campus . The most famous university in the region is the University of Cambridge . The university has been officially rated as the best in the world in 2010. It has the second-best medicine course in the world, and in 2010 became the only university outside of the US to raise over £1 billion in charitable donations. There are eight universities in
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#17327730864561008-463: Is an archetypal, well-developed economy urban, upper river estuary with its sedimentary deposition restricted through manmade embankments and occasional dredging of parts. It is mainly a freshwater river about as far east as Battersea , insofar as the average salinity is very low and the fish fauna consists predominantly of freshwater species such as roach , dace , carp , perch , and pike . It becomes brackish between Battersea and Gravesend , and
1092-641: Is delivered through Local Authorities (Councils), special purpose development corporations and local enterprise partnerships, all of which are eligible for grants from government departments funded by HM Treasury . Additional government funds were supplied to the Regional Development Agencies who supported some projects in the Gateway. Formerly, the development was split into zones each with a different agency responsible for delivery. The zones were: Before 2003 most conspicuous development
1176-449: Is one of the largest of 170 such inlets on the coast of Great Britain . It constitutes a major shipping route , with thousands of movements each year, including: large oil tankers , container ships , bulk carriers (of loose materials/liquids), and roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ferries. It is the accessway for the Port of London (including London Gateway, associated Tilbury and Purfleet) and
1260-603: Is one of the nine official regions of England in the United Kingdom . This region was created in 1994 and was adopted for statistics purposes from 1999. It includes the ceremonial counties of Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire , Essex , Hertfordshire , Norfolk and Suffolk . Essex has the highest population in the region. The population of the East of England region in 2022 was 6,398,497. Bedford , Luton , Basildon , Peterborough , Southend-on-Sea , Norwich , Ipswich , Colchester , Chelmsford and Cambridge are
1344-543: Is the airfield from where SOE secret agents for Europe took off, with 138 Sqn which parachuted agents and equipment and 161 Sqn which landed and retrieved agents. 19 Sqn at Duxford was the first to be equipped with the Spitfire on 4 August 1938. The 81st Tactical Fighter Wing was at RAF Bentwaters from January 1952 and also at RAF Woodbridge ; in the late 1980s some of the aircraft went to RAF Alconbury . Alconbury closed in 1992 and Bentwaters closed in 1993, with
1428-430: Is the eighth most densely populated district in the country outside London and mass expansion is not desired owing to the river at the south, the need for leisure space and animal habitat (mostly in the buffer zones separating communities) and an economic desire and legal demand to preserve the existing character of housing estates . The Department for Communities and Local Government is responsible for co-ordinating
1512-700: The A10 and north of Royston . UK Trade & Investment for the region is in Histon with its international trade team based next to Magdalene College . The Greater Watford area is home to British Waterways , Vinci (which bought Taylor Woodrow in 2008), the UK of the international firm Total Oil , retailers TK Maxx , Bathstore , Majestic Wine , Mothercare , Costco and Smiths Detection , Iveco , BrightHouse (at Abbots Langley ), Leavesden Film Studios , Sanyo , Europcar , Olympus , Kenwood and Beko electronic goods manufacturers, Wetherspoons pub chains,
1596-517: The A1303 in the east of the town, towards Teversham . South of the airport, Carl Zeiss NTS makes scanning electron microscopes in Cherry Hinton. Syngenta is to the east of Cambridge, on Capital Park at Fulbourn . Premier Foods has a large plant in Histon making Robertson's and Hartley's jam, Gale's honey, Smash instant potato , and Rose's marmalade . Addenbrooke's Hospital
1680-455: The A134 ; Multiyork makes furniture and Baxter Healthcare has a manufacturing plant in the south of the town. Aunt Bessie vegetable products (roast potatoes) are made by Heinz at Westwick , in a factory built by Ross Group . Around Cambridge on numerous science parks , are high technology (electronics and biochemistry) companies, such as ARM Holdings on Peterhouse Technology Park in
1764-533: The Cambridge-Ipswich railway , on the eastern edge of Cambridge. The East of England Ambulance Service is on Cambourne Business Park on Cambourne , of the A428 (the former A45 ) west of Cambridge. The East Anglian Air Ambulance operates from Cambridge Airport and Norwich Airport ; Essex Air Ambulance operates from Boreham . The former electricity company for the area, Eastern Electricity , has
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#17327730864561848-570: The English football league system today are Ipswich Town , Norwich City , Watford and Luton Town , who have competed in the top flight at various points. Alongside teams Peterborough United , and Cambridge United . Children's author Dodie Smith lived near the town of Sudbury in Suffolk , and part of her famous novel The Hundred and One Dalmatians which inspired the Disney animated film of
1932-601: The Hemel Hempstead relay transmitter is a relay of the London services from Crystal Palace , bringing London television into parts of Hertfordshire. Northwestern parts of Norfolk including Kings Lynn receive a better TV signal from the Belmont transmitter that broadcast BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire and ITV Calendar . Some editions of Look East and ITV News Anglia broadcast split news programming for
2016-569: The Isle of Sheppey / Southend-on-Sea and extends across three ceremonial counties . The area was designated during the early years of the Blair ministry as a national priority for urban regeneration because it contained large amounts of brownfield land and to take advantage of rail capacity improvements created at Stratford and in parts of Kent, by the High Speed 1 railway (officially known as
2100-605: The Maplin Sands (1841) and at Gunfleet (1856). Meanwhile, one of the outlying sandbanks of the Estuary was marked by a lightvessel at Kentish Knock (in 1840); and in due course the southern approach was marked by lightvessels at the Tongue (1847) and Girdler (1848) sands, with another being added (between these two) in the Princes Channel (1856). In 1851 two more screw-pile lighthouses were built further upriver, on
2184-479: The Medway Ports of Sheerness , Chatham and Thamesport . The traditional Thames sailing barge worked in this area, designed to be suitable for the shallow waters in the smaller ports. A 2000s-decade-built wind farm is 8.5 km north of Herne Bay, Kent , on a shoal south-west of Kentish Knock . It is 30 wind turbines generating typically 82.4MW of electricity. The much larger 630 MW London Array
2268-592: The RSPB . The plan, which would have required the raising the ground level by 15 m. was also rejected by the Confederation of British Industry as too expensive. On the question of airport capacity, the Government had established the independent Airports Commission, headed until 2015 by Sir Howard Davies . The Commission examined the nature, scale and timing of any requirement for additional capacity to maintain
2352-795: The Toddington services ). Luton is home to EasyJet ,(based at the airport ), Hain Celestial Group (which makes Linda McCartney Foods and is based on the B579 in Biscot ), Eurolines (UK office), Thomson Holidays (based at Wigmore on the eastern edge of the town) and Chevrolet (at Griffin House, the Vauxhall head office). At the 85-acre Capability Green off the A1081 and junction 10a of
2436-654: The pager in 1956, for St Thomas' Hospital ; and Snap-on Diagnostics makes diagnostic tools for garages. British Sugar's Wissington is the world's largest sugar beet factory in Methwold , on the B1160 near the River Wissey . Lotus Cars and Team Lotus are on the eastern edge of the former RAF Hethel , east of Wymondham (A11) at Hethel ( Bracon Ash ). Jeyes Group makes household chemicals in Thetford , off
2520-487: The "Thames Gateway" must go hand-in-hand with flood risk management , and take account of future plans for flood protection. The Agency insisted it was important that effective flood risk management of the whole Estuary be not prejudiced by premature decisions and developments. The Government addressed some of these environmental concerns by designating the Thames Gateway as the UK's "eco-region", first announced in
2604-688: The 1950s, RAF Wyton was an important reconnaissance base for the RAF, mainly 543 Sqn . The base is now home of the Defence Intelligence Fusion Centre , previously known as JARIC, or the Joint Air Reconnaissance Intelligence Centre from 1956. NHS East of England , which was the strategic health authority for the area until the abolition of these areas in 2013, is on Capital Park, next to Fulbourn Tesco, Fulbourn Hospital , and
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2688-560: The 2007 Thames Gateway Delivery Plan. The objective of the "eco-region" was to protect and enhance the sustainability of the "Thames Gateway" in terms of environmental quality, carbon reduction, and support for "green" economic development. This vision was elaborated in the 2008 Thames Gateway "eco-region prospectus", and implementation efforts were led by the Homes and Communities Agency with support across government and [unspecified] local stakeholders. The liminal and sometimes bleak settings of
2772-786: The American air forces being in the area for 42 years; the USAF aircraft subsequently moved to Spangdahlem Air Base in Rhineland-Palatinate , Germany. At RAF Marham in west Norfolk, 214 Sqn with the Vickers Valiant developed the RAF's refuelling system; later the squadron would be equipped with the Handley Page Victor . Work on refuelling had also taken place at RAF Tarrant Rushton in Dorset . From
2856-484: The Atlantic or North Africa ) but chill if coming from further east than Spain. Spring (mid-March – May) is a transitional season that initially can be chilly but is usually warm by late-April/May. The weather at this time is often changeable (within each day) and occasionally showery. Summer (June – mid-September) is usually warm. Continental air from mainland Europe or the Azores High usually leads to at least
2940-508: The Channel Tunnel Rail Link). The term was first coined by the UK government, with the government and others also use the term Thames Estuary to apply to the area. Much of the brownfield land has now been redeveloped. The Thames Gateway has a population of over 3 million and comprises generally Thameside belts of 16 local government districts: The immediate settlements next to the types of land indicated, not taking
3024-736: The EU, the UK NUTS regions were renamed as International Territorial Level regions in 2021. The East of England was a major force and resource for Parliament and, in particular, in the form of the Eastern Association . Oliver Cromwell came from Huntingdon. Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex played host to the American VIII Bomber Command and Ninth Air Force . The Imperial War Museum at Duxford has an exhibition, commemorating their participation and sacrifice, near to
3108-736: The East and West Barrows, the Nob, the Knock, Kentish Knock , the John, the Sunk, the Girdler, and Long Sand/the Long Sands. Shallow-bottomed barges and coasters would navigate the swatchways at flood tide, and would cross the sand banks at spitways, points where the water was least shallow, and just deep enough at that point of the tide. If they missed the moment they would heave to (lay anchor) and wait for
3192-475: The East have warm and settled weather, but only in rare years is there an Indian summer where fine weather marks the entire traditional harvest season. Dust devils were reported in Essex and Cambridgeshire on 17 August 2024, causing minor injuries and some disruption. These small whirlwinds, which form from the ground up, are less powerful than tornadoes. In Essex, they caused tents and gazebos to be lifted during
3276-650: The Essex marshes. His The Mirror of the Sea (1906) contains a memorable description of the area as seen from the Thames. He refers to this area in the first pages of his novel Heart of Darkness , describing it as both the launching place of England's great ships of exploration and colonization and, in ancient times, the site of colonization of the British Isles by the Roman Empire. The form of speech of many of
3360-1268: The European HQ of the Hilton hotel group and Nestlé Waters; in Garston is the UK headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church , on the A412 and the Building Research Establishment . Comet Group and Camelot Group (owners of the National Lottery ), on the A4145 , are in Rickmansworth . Ferrero (maker of Nutella and Kinder Chocolate ) is in Croxley Green . Renault and Skanska (construction) are in Maple Cross . Moto Hospitality has its headquarters at Toddington in Bedfordshire (at
3444-402: The Hardwick Industrial Estate at the A47/ A149 junction is PinguinLutosa the UK, which packs frozen vegetables , and Caithness Crystal . Foster Refrigerator is the UK's leading manufacturer of commercial refrigerators and blast chillers , owned by Illinois Tool Works , based on the industrial estate; with Multitone Electronics , which has a manufacturing plant there, and which invented
Thames Gateway - Misplaced Pages Continue
3528-471: The M1, is the Stonegate Pub Company (owner of Scream Pubs , Yates's , Slug and Lettuce and Hogshead ), InBev UK (which bought most of Whitbread's beer brands), Chargemaster ( electric vehicle network under the POLAR brand), AstraZeneca 's UK Marketing Company division and Alexon Group (ladies clothing). Vauxhall produced its last Vauxhall Vectra in March 2002 at the plant near the A6/A505 roundabout, and now makes vans ( Vivaro / Renault Trafic ) at
3612-427: The M11 south of Cambridge. Stansted Airport was RAF Stansted Mountfitchet , home to the 344th Bombardment Group . The de Havilland Mosquito was mainly assembled at Hatfield and Leavesden, although much of the innovative wooden structure originated outside the region from the furniture industry of High Wycombe ; the Mosquito entered service in 1942 with 105 Sqn at RAF Horsham St Faith . RAF Tempsford in Bedford
3696-399: The Netherlands, for example). Instead, coastal navigators and pilots relied on the use of transits (the alignment of prominent structures or natural features on land) for guidance. In 1566 Trinity House of Deptford (which oversaw pilotage on the Thames) was empowered to 'make, erect and set up [...] beacons, marks and signs for the sea' (albeit at its own expense). Not long afterwards,
3780-479: The Princes-Queens Channel and the South Channel to the south, to a lesser extent the Kings Channel and the Swin to the north. The Swin was used by barges and leisure craft from the Essex rivers, and coasters and colliers from the north east. These channels were made up of natural troughs; Yantlet Channel (Sea Reach), Oaze Deep, Knock John Channel, Black Deep/ Black Deep Channel which have been much-marked. These are separated by slow-moving sandbanks with names such as
3864-451: The Thames Gateway have inspired several cultural works. 51°29′13″N 0°19′05″E / 51.487°N 0.318°E / 51.487; 0.318 Thames Estuary The Thames Estuary is where the River Thames meets the waters of the North Sea , in the south-east of Great Britain . An estuary can be defined according to different criteria (e.g. tidal, geographical, navigational or in terms of salinity). For this reason
3948-491: The UK's global hub status. The Aviation Policy Framework of March 2013 was an important piece in the jigsaw, setting out the principles which the commission would take into account in presenting its recommendations reported in 2013 and in 2015. The options included an outside possibility of a floating airport off the Isle of Sheppey . Historically the north of Kent has always been marshland but has been coming under great pressure by developers. A public inquiry found in favour of
4032-421: The area's distribution now looked after by UK Power Networks at Fore Hamlet in Ipswich . UK Power Networks also looks after London and most of the South-East. Business Link in the East of England is near to the headquarters of Ocado in Hatfield, at the roundabout of the A1057 and the A1001 on the Bishops Square Business Park. The region's Manufacturing Advisory Service is at Melbourn in Cambridgeshire, off
4116-469: The authorities as a whole, contains about half of the population of those authorities: 1.6 million people and contained in the 2000 survey some of the most deprived wards in the country, characterised by lack of access to public transport, services, employment and affordable quality housing, in particular having many overspill estates from earlier slum clearance and London's urban planning – examples being from Thamesmead to Southend on Sea . Its boundary
4200-416: The city, Colman's makes a wide range of mustards, and Britvic makes Robinsons squash, which was owned by Colman's until 1995. Across the River Yare near the A47/ A146 junction in Trowse with Newton is May Gurney , the construction company. Bernard Matthews Farms has a large turkey farm on the former RAF Attlebridge in Weston Longville . Campbell Soup was made in Kings Lynn until 2008, and on
4284-481: The coastline. Where higher land reaches the coast, there are some larger settlements, such as Clacton-on-Sea to the north in Essex, Herne Bay, Kent , and the Southend-on-Sea area within the narrower part of the estuary. The Thames Estuary is the focal part of the 21st-century toponym, the " Thames Gateway ", designated as one of the principal development areas in Southern England. The Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission report published in June 2018 identified
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#17327730864564368-404: The decay of the steeple of Margate Church (an important landmark for negotiating 'the Narrows', a complex route between sandbanks used by vessels sailing to or from London along the North Kent coast) led to Trinity House marking the Narrows with buoys in the late 16th century. In his coastal survey of 1682-93, Greenvile Collins records five buoys around the Narrows, just north of Reculver , on
4452-407: The development was in part delivered by the three regional development agencies : the London Development Agency (LDA – part of the Greater London Authority ), the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA), as well as the national regeneration agency, English Partnerships . Development that is supplemental to councils' own development plans
4536-480: The diversity of freshwater fish is smaller, primarily roach and dace. Euryhaline species then dominate, such as flounder , European seabass , mullet , and smelt . Further east salinity increases and conditions become fully marine and the fish fauna resemble that of the adjacent North Sea , a spectrum of euryhaline and stenohaline types. An alike pattern of zones applies to the aquatic plants and invertebrates. Joseph Conrad lived in Stanford-le-Hope close to
4620-475: The division of seats favours the dominant party in the region and the Conservatives had 52, Labour 4 ( Cambridge , Luton South , Luton North and Norwich South ), UKIP 1 ( Clacton ) and 1 Liberal Democrat ( North Norfolk ). In the 2019 United Kingdom general election , the Conservatives gained Peterborough and Ipswich from Labour. They also gained North Norfolk from the Liberal Democrats but lost St Albans to Daisy Cooper . The East of England Plan,
4704-494: The economic potential of the region. In 2020 the Thames Estuary Growth Board was appointed, led by government-appointed Envoy Kate Willard OBE, to unlock the potential of the UK's number one green growth opportunity. Entrepreneurs and investors have looked at the greater estuary as a possible place for a new airport , and have expanded Southend Airport in the 2010s, which has a rail link to Liverpool Street station , London among others. The Thames flowing through London
4788-453: The established local accents. The term London Accent is generally avoided, as it can have many meanings. Forms of "Estuary English", as a hybrid between Received pronunciation and various London accents, can be heard in all of the New Towns, all of the coastal resorts, and in the larger cities and towns along the Thames Estuary. For commercial shipping rounding the Nore sandbank and thus accessing Greater London, main deep-water routes were
4872-488: The far southwestern corner of the region in the Ivinghoe Hills . Communities known as New Towns , responses to urban congestion and World War II destruction, appeared in Basildon and Harlow (Essex), as well as in Stevenage and Hemel Hempstead (Hertfordshire), in the 1950s and 1960s. In the late 1960s, the Roskill Commission considered Cublington in Buckinghamshire, Thurleigh in Bedfordshire, Nuthampstead in Hertfordshire and Foulness in Essex as locations for
4956-410: The former Bedford Vehicles plant, based in the north of the town at the GM Manufacturing Luton plant. The economy in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk is traditionally mostly agricultural. Norfolk is the UK's biggest producer of potatoes. Nationally known companies include the RAC , Archant (publishing), Virgin Money and Aviva (formerly Norwich Union ) in Norwich. In Carrow, to the east of
5040-483: The limits of the Thames Estuary have been defined differently at different times and for different purposes. This limit of the estuary has been defined in two main ways: The transition between the Thames Estuary and the North Sea has been located at various notional boundaries, including: The estuary just east of the Tideway has a tidal range of 4 metres. Winds excluded, it moves at 2.6 knots (4.8 km/h; 3.0 mph) in bi-monthly spring tides. The estuary
5124-438: The navigation lights of the River Thames between London Bridge and Yantlet was transferred by Act of Parliament from the Thames Conservancy to the Corporation of Trinity House ; responsibility for buoyage was transferred likewise in 1878. In 1885 the beacons at Broadness and Stoneness were replaced with iron-frame experimental lighthouses, each lit by a novel system which would allow the light to function unattended (except for
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#17327730864565208-417: The next tide. Recreational craft are expected use channels most suited to the size of their vessel. Their main guide says to use when navigating to or from: To cross the south-east quarter of the estuary large vessels use Fisherman's Gat , and small vessels to were expected to use Foulger's Gat . Provision of buoys and beacons for the purpose of navigation came relatively late to England (compared to
5292-710: The northern foreshore of Sea Reach: at Mucking and on the Chapman sands (just off Canvey Island ). Prior to 1684 beacons were set up on the mudflats north of the Swin channel, to help vessels approaching the Thames from the north to navigate the sands. Pan-sand Beacon was set up by Trinity House in 1774 to mark a dangerous sandbank on the southern approach. Similar daymarks were set up on other nearby sandbanks in later years, including on Margate Hook (1843), Middle Ground (1844) and Shingles (1846). Trinity House also maintained beacons further upriver, including at Broadness (established in 1821), Stoneness (1839), Erith (1830) and Tripcock (1832). In 1864 responsibility for maintaining
5376-434: The people of the area, principally the accents of those from Kent and Essex, is often known as Estuary English . The term is a term for a milder variety of the "London Accent". The spread of Estuary English extends many hundreds of miles outside London, and all of the neighbouring home counties around London have residents who moved from London and brought their version of London accents with them, leading to interference with
5460-449: The pressure off the defences and main watercourses. There are many smaller estuaries in Essex, including the rivers Colne , Blackwater and Crouch . Small coastal villages depend on an economy of fishing, boat-building, and yachting. The Isle of Sheppey , the Isle of Grain , Canvey Island , Two Tree Island , Havengore Island , New England Island , Rushley Island , Potton Island , Foulness Island and Mersea Island are part of
5544-475: The principal navigation lights, buoys and other marks to the north (port) and south (starboard) of the main deep-water channels of the River Thames from Gallions Reach to the Sunk Light Float. The Thames is in IALA region A so port buoys are red and starboard buoys are green. Racon T Racon T Notes wiki 51°30′N 0°35′E / 51.500°N 0.583°E / 51.500; 0.583 East of England The East of England
5628-405: The project. The Thames Gateway project aims to improve the economy of the region through the development of marshland, farmland and brownfield land, through major transport infrastructure provision and the renaissance of existing urban conurbations. Comparisons may be drawn with developments east of Paris along the Marne valley, which applied to a significantly smaller volume of land. Formerly
5712-431: The proposals, but local councillors were not convinced that such a depot would truly encourage train movements as an alternative to road haulage. This scepticism arose partly because the railways in the area are heavily used by scheduled passenger trains, to the extent that the projected Crossrail programme seemed unlikely to progress to Dartford unless new tracks were laid to boost local rail capacity. The ProLogis appeal
5796-438: The region do. The largest university by student numbers is ARU, and the next biggest is Cambridge. The smallest is Essex. For total income to universities, Cambridge receives around £1 billion—around six times larger than any other university in the region. The University of Bedfordshire receives the least income. Cambridge has the lowest drop-out (discontinuation) rate in the region. Once graduated, over 50% of students stay in
5880-462: The region include University Centre Peterborough , University of Suffolk and Writtle College . . The University of Cambridge receives almost three times as much funding as any other university in the region, due to its huge research grant—the largest in England (and the UK). The next largest, by funding, is UEA in Norwich. The University of Essex and Cranfield University also have moderately large research grants, but no other universities in
5964-409: The region's most populous settlements. According to Census 2021 , Peterborough is the largest city in the East of England at 215,000. The southern part of the region lies in the London commuter belt . The East of England region has the lowest elevation range in the UK. Twenty percent of the region is below mean sea level, most of this in North Cambridgeshire, Norfolk and on the Essex Coast. Most of
6048-627: The region, with 25% going to London and 10% going to the South East. Very few go elsewhere—especially the North of England. During the nineteenth century, several formulations of the laws of football, known as the Cambridge rules , were created by students at the University. One of these codes, dating from 1863, had a significant influence on the creation of the original laws of The Football Association . East of England's top representatives in
6132-651: The region. Cambridge hosts two universities: the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University . It is also the home of the Open University 's East of England branch. Norwich also hosts two universities: the University of East Anglia and Norwich University of the Arts . There are also other towns and cities in the region which have universities including Bedford and Luton ( University of Bedfordshire ), Colchester ( University of Essex ) and Hatfield ( University of Hertfordshire ). Other higher education centres in
6216-533: The remaining area is of low elevation, with extensive glacial deposits. The Fens , a large area of reclaimed marshland, are mostly in North Cambridgeshire. The Fens include the lowest point in the country in the village of Holme : 2.75 metres (9.0 ft) below mean sea level. This area formerly included the body of open water known as Whittlesey Mere . The highest point in the region is at Clipper Down at 817 ft (249 m) above mean sea level, in
6300-754: The same name takes place in the town at St Peter's Church. Much of the region receives the BBC East and ITV Anglia television services, both based in Norwich (the BBC moving from All Saints' Green to The Forum in 2003, and Anglia remaining at its original base, Angia House.) These services broadcast from the Sandy Heath , Sudbury and Tacolneston transmitter groups. Some areas in close proximity to London, including Luton and south Essex , may receive their service from BBC London and ITV London ; in addition,
6384-723: The south-east of the town, Adder Technology ( KVM switches ) at Bar Hill at the A14 /B1050 junction north of the town, Monsanto , Play.com on the Cambridge Business Centre. The Wellcome Trust Genome Campus has the European Bioinformatics Institute at Hinxton east of Duxford near the M11 spur for the A11. These form the so-called Silicon Fen . Marshall Aerospace is at Cambridge Airport on
6468-635: The southern approach to the Thames. The Swin (the northern approach) was marked with buoys at the easternmost points of the Gunfleet, Middle and Buxey sands, and by beacons on the Whitaker, Shoe and Blacktail spits. A buoy marked the easternmost point of the Nore sandbank at this time, and three more buoys marked sandbanks in the middle part of the estuary (Spaniard, Red Sand and the Oaze). The Nore Lightship ,
6552-470: The time they reach Eastern England. Winter (mid-November – mid-March) is mostly cool, but non-prevailing cold easterly winds can affect the area from the continent. These can bring heavy snowfall if the winds interact with a low-pressure system over the Atlantic or France . Northerly winds also can be cold but are not usually as cold as easterly winds. Westerly winds bring milder and, typically, wetter weather. Southerly winds usually bring mild air (if from
6636-669: The world's first lightvessel , was established in the Estuary as a private venture in 1732 to mark the 'best position for entering the Thames and Medway, and to clear the Nore Sand'. The coastwise approach from the north was aided by the establishment of the Sunk lightvessel in 1802 'to mark the north-east entrance to East Swin, and to guide vessels round Long Sand'. Later, the Swin channel was further marked by lightvessels at Swin Middle (1837) and Mouse (1838), and by screw-pile lighthouses on
6720-668: Was drawn to capture the riverside strip that formerly hosted many land-occupying industries, serving London and the South East, whose decline has left a patchy legacy of dereliction and contaminated land. Striking precursor examples of development are those pioneered at Canary Wharf and on the Greenwich Peninsula , which the governments since 2000 have aimed to reflect across this area (having widespread comparable land use to those tracts of land). Its brownfield land, farmland and wild salt marshland has been seen by successive governments and planners as having potential to act as
6804-555: Was identical to today's region. Essex, despite meaning East-Saxons, previously formed part of South East England , along with Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire, a mixture of definite and debatable Home counties . The earliest use of the term is from 1695. Charles Davenant , in An essay upon ways and means of supplying the war , wrote, "The Eleven Home Counties, which are thought in Land Taxes to pay more than their proportion..." then cited
6888-590: Was inaugurated in 2013. The term Greater Thames Estuary applies to the coast and the low-lying lands bordering the estuary. These are characterised by the presence of mudflats, low-lying open beaches, and salt marshes , namely the North Kent Marshes and the Essex Marshes. Human-made embankments are backed by reclaimed wetland grazing areas, but rising sea levels may make it necessary briefly to flood some of that land at spring tides , to take
6972-424: Was situated west of Beckton . There have been substantial housing schemes at Chafford Hundred , Chatham and Greenhithe and there is a large shopping centre at Bluewater . Proposals for a large international airport on Cliffe Marshes were dropped from the government's white paper on air transport in 2003 after they were rejected by local residents, the local council, as well as conservation charities such as
7056-621: Was upheld by a 2007 Public Inquiry on the basis that the proposal supported the Energy policy of the United Kingdom and generated new jobs. Counter-arguments included that eventual warehouse occupiers would not use the site in the manner suggested, that continuous noise levels would exceed WHO Community Noise Guidelines at homes in Moat Lane and that night-time noise levels risked generating complaints from residents at Moat Lane and Oak Road. The Environment Agency advised that future development in
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