Following the publication of the Mayor of London’s Draft London Plan, a new report from the
Plans to build more houses and better infrastructure in London will only be delivered if the sources of essential construction material supply are properly protected.
The Draft London Plan takes a very welcome and robust approach to the safeguarding of wharves and rail depots . These policies now need to be fully implemented, particularly by London Boroughs, to ensure housing is in the right place and designed to avoid conflict with operation of these critical sites.
London needs 10 million tonnes of sand, gravel and crushed rock every year to build, maintain and improve housing, buildings and infrastructure. Without an effective supply chain delivering around 30,000 tonnes every single day, construction in the capital city would become increasingly restricted.
97% of these raw materials are transported into London by river and rail and delivered to wharves and rail depots that handle these aggregates for onward distribution across the capital.
The use of water and rail freight to deliver materials to the heart of the city reduces the need for long distance lorry movements, with every aggregates train the equivalent of 75 lorries and every dredger the equivalent of 250 lorries.
The supply chain for construction materials are increasingly being threatened by other types of development, especially housing, adjacent to wharves and rail depots, which can lead to restrictions being put on site operations. Once lost these strategically important sites won’t be replaced, cutting off supplies of the raw material that feeds construction in London.
Effective safeguarding of these sites, together with manufacturing facilities such as concrete batching and asphalt plants, is critical to the delivery of the London Plan and the Mayor’s transport, environmental and air quality strategies.
Mark Russell, MPA executive director of planning and mineral resources, said: “This report is a wake-up call for every planning authority in London to protect London’s vital wharves and rail depots to enable delivery of the housing, transport and other improvements our capital desperately needs. Delivering essential construction materials into the heart of the city on ships and trains has wider environmental benefits for all Londoners, through reducing lorries and improving air quality. Don’t make bad planning decisions which would threaten these critical sites.”
