Thames Gateway
St Clement’s Church, which is famous from Four Weddings and a Funeral, is now surrounded by a Proctor & Gamble factory and is no longer a church but a wildlife sanctuary. The church set up an industrial chaplaincy in the factory and it has moved to into a new building serving the new centre of population with a fully furnished church, a complete set of community facilities under the management of the church, a nursery school, and a health centre.
The church made its land available to achieve these considerable gains for the community. Significant funding came from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. The funding for the nursery school was provided by the school. There was support from Thurrock Council, and the local primary care trust provided additional facilities to bridge gaps in front-line medical services. A number of needs have now been met.
In the Southend area there are two focal points for the Thames Gateway regeneration. Southend is the leisure centre of the area. It is also an educational hub, especially for further and higher education. South East Essex College has 13,000 students, and a new campus for 3,000 Essex University will open in next year. An Anglican chaplain has been appointed to work across the two campuses with support from the Baptist Church.
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