John Rouse, the chief executive of the Housing Corporation, has said the “economic conditions” are not yet right for the Thames Gateway to succeed. Speaking at the Thames Gateway Forum Rouse said: “We don’t have the economic conditions to make it work yet.” He added: “Developers are slowing down on the buildings, they are waiting for the infrastructure, sense of place, retail and employment.” He also said the Thames Gateway needed a single leader take the project forward. “We do need one chief executive in charge of the Thames Gateway and we need to give them a professional team.” But Richard Simmons, chief executive of CABE, said: “The government need a strong leader in government to argue for things such as cash. But I’m not sure we need someone in charge of it all because it is impractical. I think it would undermine local authorities.” He added that the type of housing built had to be right and noted that “the market for two bed flats in London has dived.”