Lord Heseltine is coming to the end of a busy afternoon.

The former deputy prime minister has spent the day at the Olympic Park in Stratford, launching the Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission.

The body, which he will chair, will look at ways to “unleash growth for decades to come” along the coastline of north Kent and south Essex, as well as parts of east London.

Businesses and residents in the area are being asked to give their views on ways to revitalise the region in a consultation running until midday on Friday, September 9.

The area has long been on the radar of the Tory peer, who was involved with the regeneration of the London docklands and Liverpool city centre.

What attracted him to working on the commission, set up by former Chancellor George Osborne, was the “appalling wasted opportunity that existed because of the rundown of the docks and the old utilities”.

He flew over the site in the 1970s and “saw this huge opportunity so close to the centre of London”.

Of course, the commission was conceived before the nation voted to leave the EU. The decision has rocked investors and is likely to squeeze government budgets as the economy weakens, but Lord Heseltine does not think this threatens his goal.

“This is the strategy for 35 years,” he said after launching the commission in a speech at the London Aquatics Centre.

“Of course the work will be hindered by short-term uncertainty, but there is no point in putting off the work..." - Lord Heseltine, Thames Estuary 2050 Growth Commission

“Of course the work will be hindered by short-term uncertainty, but there is no point in putting off the work. The point of doing the work itself might provide some indication of how to end this uncertainty.”

People who live in the Kent section covered by the commission – the districts of Dartford, Gravesham, Medway, Swale, Canterbury and Thanet – will be forgiven for raising a sceptical eyebrow at its creation and its team of 17 experts.

Dozens of projects over the years have promised change in the so-called Thames Gateway, with varying results. Why does Lord Heseltine think this commission will work?

“Any answer I give will sound very arrogant,” he said. “The people on this commission and myself as chairman will complete the work which I have been doing, which is to produce a vision for the whole area.

“We will implement a strategy and do that on time within the remit of the commission.

“We can’t implement our proposals because that will depend on the government, but there will be a very clear vision, a clear set of proposals and a clear implementation strategy that we will present by autumn next year.

“Enough has not been done. I hope to play some part in changing that.”

The commission’s launch has been welcomed by such groups as the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation, Thames Gateway Kent Partnership and South East Local Enterprise Partnership.

Lord Heseltine admitted some concerns about whether his findings would be heeded when delivered in time for the Autumn Statement next year.

“I was invited to do this by George Osborne and I have no answer to the question of where we stand,” he said. “You can’t expect there to be with a new government.”

He would not comment on any of the ministerial appointments made by new Prime Minister Theresa May but did say a dialogue had begun with local authorities within the commission’s remit.

The appetite for change, he says, is as strong ever.

“It’s what I find all over the country. There are a large number of energetic, imaginative people longing to get the show on the road. The question is whether you can ensure the show goes on, get behind it and implement it.”