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River Thames masterplan outlined for 'busiest ever' Port of London

The Port of London Authority (PLA) has unveiled its masterplan ‘Thames Vision’ that it hopes will drive a transformation in the river’s ports and waterways.

Its new framework, which has been put together by PLA and river stakeholders over the last 18 months, has set out six goals which it will aim to achieve over the next 20 years that include facilitating the movement of more goods between different wharves and doubling the number of passenger journeys on the world-famous river.

Its six goals include:

• Achieving the busiest ever Port of London, handling 60 – 80 million tonnes of cargo a year
• Moving more goods and materials between wharves on the river to help take over 400k lorry trips off the region’s roads
• Doubling the number of people travelling by river with a target of 20m commuter and tourist trips every year
• Encouraging more sport and recreation on and alongside the river
• Ensuring the river is at its cleanest since the Industrial Revolution
• Retaining the Thames’ status as an inspiring spot for ramblers, historians and artists.

The report has been welcomed by London’s Deputy Mayor for Transport, Val Shawcross, who sees today’s report as a key plank in Mayor Sadiq Khan’s aim to encourage greater use of the river.

He said: “There has been a significant increase in river passengers but we will be looking at what else can be done to increase those numbers. We want everyone with a stake in the Thames to come together and help guarantee the success of this vital waterway.”

While the Thames is already the UK’s busiest waterway for both passengers and freight, and is also home to the UK’s second biggest port, both the Mayor and PLA believe there is still much to be done to maximise commercial and leisure usage of the river.

PLA Chairman, Christopher Rodrigues commented: “I’m delighted that we have such a large group here to officially launch the Vision. It underlines the importance that we have placed throughout on involving river users and other stakeholders in the development of the Vision.

“The Vision draws together all our collective ambitions for the Thames. Your support and commitment to taking forward the actions identified will be critical to the Vision’s success.”

Work has already begun on the major Thames Tideway ‘super sewer’ which will significantly reduce the accidental spillage of sewage into the river water, while recruitment of additional PLA pilots and training of the first cohort at the Thames Skills Centre are both already underway.

Rodrigues added: “Work on the actions is already well underway and I’m excited to see the progress we can make between now and next Spring when we have our first report back of progress.”

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