THURROCK Council will this week be asked to confirm its preferred master developer for the long-delayed Purfleet-on-Thames regeneration scheme which could deliver almost 3,000 new homes reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The council says Muse Places, backed by the English Cities Fund, is the preferred developer for the scheme.
A report to cabinet, which will meet on Wednesday, says the riverside project remains a corporate priority and has the potential to deliver around 2,850 new homes across a range of tenures, including affordable housing, focused around a new town centre.
The scheme is also expected to provide employment space and major community infrastructure, including a new bridge over the railway to allow closure of the existing level crossing, a redeveloped station, a primary school and medical facilities.
The latest paper updates members on work undertaken with Muse under an agreement to produce a detailed business plan for delivery.
That plan concludes the scheme is still deliverable but faces a significant viability gap in early, infrastructure led phases and will require substantial public sector funding support.
Cabinet will be asked to note that Muse Places are the council’s preferred partner, to agree that officers open negotiations on the terms of a full development agreement with the firm, and to undertake further due diligence on funding, planning and legal issues.
Any development agreement would be brought back to a future cabinet meeting for approval once terms are finalised.
The council also proposes to allocate up to £450,000 from its Freeport Counterfactual Reserve to fund its own costs in negotiating the agreement.
This money will be used to commission specialist planning, legal and financial advice to test the business plan assumptions and support negotiations on the heads of terms.
The report follows the collapse of the previous deal with Purfleet Centre Regeneration Limited, formally terminated in March 2024 after the consortium failed to secure sufficient private finance to meet its obligations and those linked to a Housing Infrastructure Fund grant from Homes England.
Homes England agreed not to claw back funding already drawn down while the council developed alternative proposals.
An independent review by KPMG has broadly endorsed the approach of appointing Muse via a direct award, subject to strict compliance and detailed due diligence.
However, it warns that the first phase is highly constrained, relies on low affordable housing levels and large public funding, and could expose the council to significant cost if the scheme fails to progress and a future termination is required.
