London scoping - ukcip

Final Report
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development on brownfield sites, in order to achieve wealth creation and social inclusion. The
Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, has articulated this vision as follows:
"All my life activity has been in the west. Now it is the turn of the East. Almost
all the growth and economic dynamism has been in the sector to the west of
London. East London has been neglected for so long but it will be a major
engine for growth". (TGLP 2001:3).
The London Development Agency has stated that:
"The Thames Gateway is one of the key locations best placed to deliver large
scale sources of new employment to London’s major concentrations of deprived
communities in inner east London" (LDA, 2001).
The draft London Plan (GLA 2002a) outlines the drivers which are likely to shift development
from the west to the east, both north and south of the river. These include:
The high cost of offices and housing in central, north and west London;
The support by government for the Thames Gateway and the existence of wellestablished
partnership mechanisms;
The existence of 10 square kilometres of development land adjacent to the greatest
concentrations of deprivation in London;
Opportunities in adjacent North Kent and South Essex;
Radically improved public transport networks, including phase 2 of the CTRL and
new rail and river crossings.
The existence of good examples of success such as Canary Wharf, where investment and
infrastructure (especially transport) has led to high quality business accommodation which
supports, and builds upon, the success of the adjacent City.
The London boroughs of Lambeth, Southwark, Greenwich and Lewisham - all of which are
adjacent to the River Thames - thus have a combined target of providing accommodation for
approximately 93,000 households in the next 15 years. Similarly, the demand for office space
in the East sub-region of Greater London is estimated to increase from 8.1 million square metres
to 12 million square metres, accompanying a continuing shift away from manufacturing and
towards service industries.
6.10.2 Flooding and Rainfall Intensity Impacts
The proposed Thames Gateway development occurs upstream (Canary Wharf, Isle of Dogs,
Stratford, Leaside, Royals, Greenwich Peninsula, Lewisham, Deptford, Greenwich) and
downstream (Barking, Havering Riverside, Woolwich, Belvedere and Erith) of the Thames
Barrier (TGLP 2001, MCA 2001). The flood defences of the river downstream of the Thames
Barrier include the Barking and Dartford Barriers, which operate at the mouth of tributaries into
the Thames, privately operated smaller barriers, and refurbished sea walls and embankments. In
the 1980s the sea walls along the Thames Estuary were rebuilt and the crest levels were raised
by 2.5m. The Thames Barrier and the defences which are located downstream of the Barrier
were designed to provide protection from flooding of a 0.1% risk in the year 2030.