Category Archives: River Thames

“Expensive and environmentally intrusive” – Canary Wharf owners don’t want a bridge to Rotherhithe

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The owners of Canary Wharf have criticised plans for a bridge across the Thames linking the Isle of Dogs with Rotherhithe.

Canary Wharf Group’s hostility to the scheme has been known for some time but is now a matter of public record thanks to the firm’s submission to the London Plan examination in public currently being held at City Hall

“We are concerned about the proposed walk and cycle river crossing between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf,” says CWG in its written statement on transport schemes in London.

“This is a very expensive and environmentally intrusive scheme and we believe the significantly cheaper ferry proposal should be properly considered as a more viable and attractive (to users) proposition.

“With public finances heavily constrained, it is vital that investment in infrastructure is spent wisely on the most important, beneficial and deliverable initiatives.”

Last month Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said: “Transport for London (TfL) is continuing to develop the scheme, including aspects of design, construction and operation of this important new crossing.

“As part of this, TfL is engaging directly with a number of stakeholders, including the Port of London Authority, London boroughs, land owners and local community groups.

“This work is helping to develop greater detail on the scheme, which TfL will share as part of a formal public consultation, which is currently planned to launch in spring 2019.”

In its London Plan EIP submission, Canary Wharf also argues that greater capacity is needed on the Jubilee line in order to meet future demand.

Rotherhithe lighting project exceeds its crowdfunding target

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Plans to light up some of Rotherhithe’s landmark buildings to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the sailing of the Mayflower in 2020 have moved a step closer.

More than £30,000 has been raised to allow a feasibility study to be undertaken. £20,000 has been contributed by the Greater London Authority with the balance coming from local people, businesses and organisations.

WE HIT OUR TARGET TODAY – 3 DAYS BEFORE MONDAY’S DEADLINE – AND WE’VE EXCEEDED IT!  We never believed for a moment that it would be possible to raise such a significant sum in such a relatively short space of time, but thanks to YOU and all the other 176 generous pledgers we have actually managed to achieve our goal.  
 
We are now in overfunding mode!  This is a wonderful – and very unexpected – position to be in.  It will still be possible to make a pledge for the next couple of weeks, and as stated on our Spacehive project page all the additional funds will be held in reserve to put towards the cost of the installation of the lighting scheme later on, after the technical feasibility study has been completed.  

It’s been suggested that there is potentially funding available in another mayoral funding pot to cover part of the cost of the installation, and last week I was given a promise of corporate financial support for the installation, which is very exciting! But there is lots more work to do.

We want to move the process forward as quickly as we can now, and we are still hoping that there might be time for this legacy lighting scheme to be installed by July 2020 when the Mayflower 400 celebrations/commemorations begin.  We have already arranged to meet with the conservation architect and the lighting designer in January to discuss next steps.  And if you would like to learn more about the proposed scheme, evening lighting demonstrations will be available for local friends and neighbours – and for anyone else who’s interested – before design development.
 
Please help us by sharing this good news with all your networks and your social media.  
 
THANK YOU AGAIN for your support and for your enthusiasm and for making it possible for us to take our exciting vision forward to the next stage.
 
Festive greetings and very best wishes for 2019.
 
Clare and the Illuminate Rotherhithe! campaign team

Here’s the update that Clare Armstrong – who devised the project – shared with backers on the Spacehive crowdfunding site:

New timetable for Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf ferry

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Ferry at the Hilton

A new timetable has been introduced this week on the Thames Clippers ferry service between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf, with two extended gaps in service during the day.

This is the email sent to passengers:

The RB4 Doubletree Docklands ferry timetable is changing from 5th November 2018.
There will be a break in service between 1053 and 1157 and between 2103 and 2140 weekdays.
Your journey may be affected as follows:
Morning break:
Last boat before break: 1050 from Canary Wharf to Doubletree Docklands
First boat after break: 1157 from Doubletree Docklands to Canary Wharf
Afternoon break:
Last boat before break: 2100 from Canary Wharf to Doubletree Docklands
First boat after break: 2140 from Doubletree Docklands to Canary Wharf
See the new timetable here: https://www.thamesclippers.com/servicechanges
We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your continued and valued support.

Thames Clippers email

Mayor backs Rotherhithe lighting scheme with £20k

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Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has given a £20,000 boost to plans to light up six historic Rotherhithe buildings with a pledge of City Hall cash to the crowdfunding campaign.

Funding is being sought to examine the technical feasibility of illuminating six historic buildings in time for 2020, the 400th anniversary of the
sailing of the Mayflower from Rotherhithe to the New World.

Now the scheme’s backers have until 17 December to raise the final £8,280. 

The minimum pledge is £2 and backers will only be charged if the target is reached.

Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills, Jules Pipe, said: “All Londoners should feel that they are part of the regeneration of their neighbourhoods and crowdfunding is a really effective way of giving people a stake in their part of the city.

“The Mayor’s Crowdfund London programme empowers Londoners to bring about positive change in their local area and I would encourage people to support these innovative projects.”

Canada Water towers ‘could spoil views of Tower Bridge and St Paul’s’

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Historic England – the Government’s heritage watchdog – says that the tall buildings proposed in the Canada Water masterplan would have “a profound and far-reaching impact on the London skyline” and would harm the setting of two of the capital’s most famous landmarks.

Historic England’s Alasdair Young wrote: “… we have identified the impact of the development in views along the northern half of London Bridge towards the Grade I listed Tower Bridge as being particularly harmful.

“This is because the cluster of tall buildings, as accentuated by the 162m tower in Plot D would block the silhouette of Tower Bridge’s south bastion in kinetic views along London Bridge, visually competing with its monumental character and reducing its landmark status along the Thames.”

Historic England is also concerned about the impact on the protected view of St Paul’s Cathedral from Greenwich Park.

“We consider that the encroachment created by the tall buildings would cause harm to the landmark status of St Paul’s Cathedral,” wrote Mr Young.

He adds that the proposed tall buildings would also spoil the view of the spire of St Mary’s Church in Rotherhithe from Waterside Gardens in Wapping.

The watchdog acknowledges that the proposed tall buildings “largely” [their italics] accord with local planning policy.

Read Historic England’s comments in full here.

The townscape assessment documents referred to in the HE response are available on the planning file for the masterplan application.

 

Quietway 14: plans for Canada Water to South Dock section approved

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A £1.3 million section of cycle route between Canada Water and the the Southwark/Lewisham boundary at South Dock has been approved by Southwark’s cabinet member for transport.

The scheme includes £500,000 for a new ‘rollout’ bridge across the lock at South Dock and £115,000 to widen a bridge over the Albion Channel.

This scheme is part of the much larger Quietway 14 route which stretches from Blackfriars Road in the west to the Thames Barrier and beyond in the east.

Further details are available in these documents on the Southwark website.

 

Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf bridge: update from TfL

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On Wednesday a Transport for London committee will consider a report on the proposed walking and cycling bridge across the Thames between Rotherhithe and Canary Wharf.

You can read the committee report here.

“The Rotherhithe to Canary Wharf crossing will provide a much needed new cross-river walking and cycling connection between the two key areas of London; Rotherhithe in my constituency and Canary Wharf, which between them are expected to accommodate over 36,000 new homes and 112,000 new jobs by 2030. That is a huge number and better connections are urgently needed to match growth,” said Florence Eshalomi, London Assembly member for Lambeth and Southwark.

“The next stages will see TfL considering further options for landing points, opening and operating mechanisms, height and access arrangements. I am very pleased that TfL are determined to ensure that the development process for this scheme is transparent and robust, building on the lessons learnt from the Garden Bridge. The public will be able to feedback again during the second public consultation in the summer and I look forward to seeing further responses to this fantastic project.

“The new crossing will provide my constituents with a safe, attractive and direct route to Canary Wharf, reducing journey times and encouraging healthier travel in line with the vision set out by the Mayor in his draft Transport Strategy.”