<p>Plans to increase the number of homes in the Thames Gateway by a third have been thrown into doubt by the unwillingness of counties in the south east to accept further housing growth. Speaking at the Thames Gateway Forum, communities secretary Ruth Kelly announced that an extra 40,000 homes would be built over the next ten years, taking the total to 160,000. But Graham Gibbens, a member of Kent county council’s cabinet, said: “We have committed to the number of homes we want in Kent. Until infrastructure issues have been addressed we won’t support anything over that amount anywhere in the area.” The South East England Regional Assembly’s (SEERA) plan commits the region to 28,900 homes a year.</p> <p>Councillor David Shakespeare, leader of Buckinghamshire council and the south east’s representative at the regional strategy’s examination in public, said: “If we lose the argument over housebuilding we will destroy our environment and add to overcrowding and congestion.” HBF director of external affairs John Slaughter cast doubt on the viability of building the extra homes in the Gateway. “The jury is out on whether the total package stacks up in the timescale. The issue is whether the wider prospects of transport, infrastructure …