London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, Val Shawcross, has welcomed the launch of the Thames Vision, a framework for developing greater use of the river for trade, transport and leisure over the next 20 years.
Available atwww.pla.co.uk,The vision for the tidal Thameshas been produced by the Port of London Authority (PLA) and covers 95 miles of the tidal Thames, running through London to the North Sea.
Currently, up to 5 million tonnes of freight is moved on the river every year, keeping more than 250,000 lorries off the roads. The UK’s busiest waterway for freight, it is home to the country’s second biggest port.
The vision report sets out a number of goals for increased river use including increasing business at the Port of London to its highest ever level (handling 60-80 million tonnes of cargo a year) and more goods being moved by river so that over 400,000 lorry trips will be taken off the region’s roads.
Ms Shawcross said: “This blueprint for the future of the Thames can make an important contribution to the Mayor’s aim of encouraging greater use of the river for the transport of passengers and freight.”
With 96% of UK imports/exports by volume coming in or leaving by sea, the port is seen as an essential part of the UK’s infrastructure, both now and in the future.
The port handled over 45 million tonnes of goods and materials in 2015 and provided employment for 43,000 people, of whom 27,000 were directly employed in port operations.
The report includes forecasts that total inter-port trade will increase to between 56 and 93 million tonnes in 2035, depending upon low or high assumptions. For comparison, the largest tonnage ever handled in the Port of London was 61.6 million tonnes in 1964.
