DEPARTMENT FOR
TRANSPORT News Release (056) issued by The Government News Network
on 30 May 2007
Transport Minister
Gillian Merron has given final approval to the proposed London
Gateway Port at Shellhaven, Thurrock, in the Thames estuary.
This follows agreement between the Port promoters, P&O (part
of Dubai Ports World) and local planning and highway authorities
to ensure that the impact of the full development on the local
area highway network is adequately catered for.
The Department for Communities and Local Government is, in
addition, today granting planning permission for the adjacent
London Gateway logistics and commercial centre and Business Park
on the Shellhaven site.
Commenting on the decision Gillian Merron said:
"London Gateway will be able to provide much needed capacity
for handling the UK's growing international trade in containers.
"This substantial development has the potential to provide
many new jobs in the Thames Gateway Growth Area - already one of
the Government's priority growth areas in England - including
a possible 1,900 jobs which the promoters forecast for the port alone.
"It has taken time to finalise this decision. But it was
right to consider carefully, and make appropriate provision for,
the significant impacts that this major development will have in
the growth area.
"This outcome reflects the hard work by the promoters, the
local authorities, transport bodies, environmental organisations
and others to reach agreement on ways to mitigate the impacts of
the development."
NOTES TO EDITORS
1. London Gateway port, when fully developed, will comprise up to
seven container vessel berths and a ro-ro facility along 2.7km of
quayside on the site of the former Shell oil refinery at
Shellhaven in the borough of Thurrock, Essex. The planned
adjoining commercial and logistics centre will utilise the rest of
the landside, brownfield site of the decommissioned oil refinery.
2. P&O applied to the Department for Transport for a Harbour
Empowerment Order in 2002 to establish a new harbour authority and
construct a deep water container port on the north bank of the
Thames estuary. P&O in partnership with Shell also applied to
the local planning authority for planning permission to develop an
adjacent logistics centre and business park. The promoters'
appeal against non-determination by the planning authority was
considered by the then Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
P&O was acquired in 2006 by Dubai Ports World, which has
continued to take the project forward.
3. A public inquiry was held into the applications for the port
and business park, and into a Transport and Works Act Order for
rail access, between February and September 2003 under an
independent Inspector who reported in 2004. While agreeing with
the development in outline the Inspector recommended significant
conditions to mitigate the large scale impacts of the development,
not least on the area's highway network. The Government
agreed broadly with the Inspector's recommendations.
4. The Departments for Transport and for Communities and Local
Government issued "minded to approve" letters for the
full combined developments in 2005, requesting further work on
agreeing the highway impacts, with further "minded to"
letters in 2006 requiring the submission of binding legal
instruments to address the substantial impacts on the highways
network, which include the M25 Junction 30, and sections of the
A13 and A1014. The Departments are also requiring a substantial
travel plan to manage the development's traffic.
5. The project's promoters have reached agreements, in
different forms, with Thurrock Council, Thurrock Thames Gateway
Development Corporation and Essex County Council. This has enabled
the Government to give final approval to the project as stages of
the development are now firmly linked to delivery of highway
infrastructure enhancements.
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Department for Transport
Website: http://www.dft.gov.uk