Looking at a map of the River Thames in a new consultation document released by the Port of London Authority, I can’t help pausing for a moment of personal reflection. My great, great grandfather – Joseph Zouche Cahill – was in charge of policing for the Port of London Authority when it was formed in 1909.
At the time, London was the world’s greatest port, and the PLA was established by a government Bill, guided through parliament by Winston Churchill, to bring order to the chaos and congestion that dominated the Thames as rival dock companies, wharfs and river users battled for business.
While the PLA oversaw investment and modernisation of the docks, my great, great grandfather sought to keep shipowners and merchants happy by driving down levels of “pilferage”. When he died shortly before the Second World War, trade through the port was still growing, reaching its peak at 61m tons in 1964.
But the introduction of shipping containers in the late 1960s and increasing ship sizes brought profound change for the PLA. The upriver enclosed docks (St Katharine Docks to the Royal Docks) shut between 1967 and 1981 as trade moved downriver. The PLA’s last cargo handling operation – Tilbury Docks – was privatised in 1992 and the authority’s role was redefined as managing the tidal Thames.
Today, another major period of change is underway for the PLA and its influence is growing again. It is determined to play a key role in London’s transition to net zero by realising the river’s potential as a green superhighway. It also wants to rebuild its role as a property owner, as well as influencer, along the 95 miles of tidal Thames, from Teddington Lock, through central London and out to the North Sea.
“More of everything”
The public consultation on the PLA’s Thames Vision 2050 will close on 30 April and will steer its plans for the UK’s major river, still home to the country’s largest port, its busiest inland waterway and a burgeoning centre for sport and recreation.
James Trimmer, the PLA’s director of planning and environment (pictured above), says the authority last embarked on this type of strategic planning work in 2014, culminating in the 2016 publication of its vision to 2035.
This sought to fill a void: there was no unifying vision for what the river – with more than 20 boroughs along its banks, a mayor and numerous other stakeholders – could do for London over the next two decades.
The answer back then was “more of everything”, says Trimmer: more wharfs reactivated; more freight on the river; more passengers travelling by boat; a better river environment – with the new super-sewer, the Thames Tideway Tunnel, set to be integral to that.
But as the decade ended, that focus on quantity looked at odds with a government commitment to reach net zero by 2050.
In a reduced-carbon, and ultimately carbon-free, world, “more of everything” is not something you can plan for, says Trimmer. “The way people do things will change and therefore [the next vision] will be set much more in qualitative terms than quantitative terms,” he adds. “People’s lifestyles and behaviours will change because of a reduction in carbon use.”
The consultation focuses on three core areas: the Thames as the principal UK trading hub, serving the country’s major centre of population and consumer market, and delivering a net-zero economy; the Thames as a place to live, visit, enjoy and get active; and the Thames as a valued environment, supporting wildlife and providing essential amenity to society.
Everything is on the table, including facilitating trials of new technology to harness the tidal energy of the river and investment into the development of zero-carbon modes of boat propulsion, such as hydrogen.
But perhaps the most striking aspect for the property sector is the potential to increase freight connectivity between the port and destinations in the capital. The role of the Thames in carrying bulky building materials and aggregates for housing and infrastructure projects is well-established: it carries 3-4m tonnes of bulk cargos every year. Now, the PLA is looking to make a “major leap forward” by growing the volume of light freight transported on the river, thereby reducing polluting road transport.
In 2020, DHL Express launched London’s first riverboat parcel delivery service with Uber Boat by Thames Clippers. This allows parcels to be fast-tracked from Wandsworth to Bankside by river, for onward distribution by electric vehicles across the capital.
And last year, a three-month trial saw non-perishable equipment for operating theatres transported by boats instead of trucks, for use by Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
The trial was the result of a partnership between CEVA Logistics and Bermondsey-based Livett’s Launches, working with the trust’s procurement team to help them meet their sustainability goals. The short final journey from Butler’s Wharf to hospital wards was completed using electric cargo bikes.
“It’s an example of the river’s potential as a green superhighway, reducing carbon emissions and air pollution in the capital,” says Trimmer. The role of the PLA in this was “more than just a cheerleader”: the deliveries’ starting point was the former Dartford International Ferry Terminal, which the PLA has since formally acquired as part of its long-term investment strategy to increase opportunities for cargo handling on the river.
“The potential to use the river for ‘just in time’ logistics, last-mile deliveries and for retailers is such a big, untapped opportunity,” Trimmer says. “We are doing all we can to encourage the trend.”
A key strand to this will be investment into the existing infrastructure of piers to make them more suitable for the roll cages and cargo bikes that will be integral to growing light freight on the river. With potential operators in mind, the PLA is also exploring the idea of a “green, sustainable transport premium on deliveries”.
“People actually now understand that there is a premium for being more sustainable, rather than being wasteful,” Trimmer says.
The potential to use the river for ‘just in time’ logistics, last-mile deliveries and for retailers is such a big, untapped opportunity
James Trimmer, Port of London Authority
Buying back land
The greening of bulky freight deliveries is also a priority. The river’s wharfs – described by deputy mayor Jules Pipe as “the essential ‘slip roads’ on and off this uncongested marine superhighway” – are vital to handling and growing bulky cargo on the river.
This has led to a complete reversal in the PLA’s policy of divesting its landed interests. The PLA has long had a remit to safeguard protected wharfs from development into non-port uses and is now doing everything it can to buy them back – putting further momentum behind the greening of freight deliveries to the capital.
Important gains within the past five years include the acquisitions of the 3.7-acre Royal Primrose Wharf in Newham, east London, from developer Ballymore, and the adjacent eight-acre Peruvian Wharf. Together, these form a cargo handling core, operated by tenants on this stretch of the river, near to other industrial uses, including the Tate & Lyle refinery and Tarmac concrete batching plant.
“We would be looking to get more of those [wharfs] in the near future, certainly over the next year or so,” says Ben Fanning, head of estates at the PLA. That could include using its compulsory purchase powers when it can’t acquire by agreement. Ownership is preferred – “We want to be in charge of our own destiny,” Trimmer says – but the PLA is also well-practised in working with developers to create a “wharf box with residential over the top”. This is the approach it is taking in Fulham, where Henley Investments is seeking to develop close to 300 flats at Albert Wharf and Swedish Wharf, two industrial shipping sites. The PLA is expected to take over the working Swedish Wharf.
To give an idea of the scale of activity, Trimmer says the estates team is typically in discussion on five or six sites at any one time. “We are constantly looking at opportunities for land or infrastructure that we can use to develop and benefit the river,” he says. “The disparity in value between cargo and industrial uses on the one hand and residential on the other is so vast that without some form of intervention, there would be nothing left to facilitate and encourage freight.” As a result, Fanning is on a recruitment drive to expand the estates team.
Growing demand for moving cargos of all types on the river is also paving the way for the re-establishment of a boatyard at Albert Island in the Royal Docks through a partnership between the PLA, the Greater London Authority, the London Borough of Newham and developer London & Regional.
The creation of the Thames Freeport – announced a year ago – is another significant step for commercial activity on the river and for meeting the capital’s net zero targets.
The PLA is also working with the City of London Corporation on the planned relocation of Smithfield, Billingsgate and New Spitalfields markets to a new site in Dagenham Dock, Barking, which sits within the Thames Freeport. To improve the efficiency of the markets and reduce their environmental impact, the City Corporation is exploring opportunities to use the River Thames for transporting produce.
These and other developments are covered in the consultation, with the property sector expected to be among those taking part. The publication of the PLA’s Thames Vision 2050 is scheduled for midway through the year.
I wonder what my Victorian ancestor would have thought of its plans. The hoped-for boom in river freight would no doubt put him at ease, and I think he would have enjoyed having a new cravat or pocket watch delivered to his door by cargo bike after making its way upriver.
To send feedback, e-mail julia.cahill@eg.co.uk or tweet @EGJuliaC or @EGPropertyNews
