For a man at the helm of one of the UK’s biggest regeneration projects, Graham Harris seems very relaxed. No floors full of people, no walls full of maps and progress chart. “There’s just a relatively small team here focusing on the project, but it’s progressing well,” he says confidently.

A good part of why it is going so smoothly is the fact that – in Graham Harris’s words – “This is a true public private partnership – we share a common purpose even if our motives are different. Both sides know that they have to do. Both sides are sharing the risks. Both sides will benefit.”

And having delivered the vision of what Dartford expects from the private sector, provided the land and smoothed the path through planning, he is confident of getting the right results from his development partners.

It helps that, having started his working career in the building industry; Graham knows the pressures and demands within construction. And that also explains the sense of realism that characterises the Bridge project. The emphasis on quality design, sustainable development and involving all sides right from the start has made the final masterplan eminently achievable.

“When I joined the Council – originally as Finance Director – I inherited a dream. Like all dreams it needed to be modified along the way to make it achievable. But the original spirit remains, even if the detail has changed along the way.

“We wanted to create a development that could fulfill the potential of this area and give local people the chance to share in that potential. We think we’ve got that balance.

"This is a true public private partnership – we share a common purpose even if our motives are different. Both sides know that they have to do. Both sides are sharing the risks. Both sides will benefit."

“We also needed to bring everyone along with us – the Council members, the local people, the planners and the Government. Residents were concerned – quite rightly – that they would have a share in this bright new future we were promising. So fundamental to the project was the provision of affordable housing, and the ability for them to work locally and to have easy access to the centre.

“And that’s what FastTrack will deliver,” he says. “Rapid, quality, low cost public transport that people will want to use.”

While mixed-use sustainable regeneration projects are now springing out of the ground across the UK, The Bridge promises to act as a template for all those authorities keen to put public transport infrastructure at its heart. Building affordable new homes and work-live units, a new science park, a new school and community facilities will make this a great place to live and work: an ultra modern environment which will attract skilled workers as well as enable local people to share in the jobs being created.

Transport connectivity is also critical in the modern economy. The Bridge will be just 18 minutes from the City; the M25 connects it by road to the rest of the country; Europe is on the doorstep. Business will want to be here too.

“This is an environment that won’t be dependent upon the car, promises Graham Harris. “This is the future.”