Mass objection builds to three-storey lorry depot in Silvertown
Campaigning against a three-storey lorry distribution park in Silvertown has gathered pace in the past week.
The scheme, which is closely linked to plans for a new Silvertown Tunnel which includes a dedicated lane for lorries, saw a public meeting draw nearly 200 people this week.
At the time of writing 340 objections have also been lodged on Newham’s Planning Portal.
The meeting this week was north of the Thames with heavy presence among residents who have only just moved into new housing developments such as Royal Wharf.
There’s still thousands of homes in the area to become occupied in the near vicinity approaching completion. Many moving in have no idea what is planned. A new school was also approved last month very close to the site.
With 2,520 LGV’s and 961 other vehicle movements a day estimated it will also affect congestion and pollution levels through Greenwich and Eltham.
Large lorries are currently unable to run through Blackwall Tunnel. The proposed Silvertown Tunnel will have one lane dedicated to buses and large lorries currently restricted to the Dartford crossing.
Mayor Sadiq Khan is the only person who can now stop the tunnel. He continues to publicly support the scheme and makes a big play on “30 buses an hour” though TfL are only obliged to offer 20 an hour – and even then only for a set number of years.
It’s also unclear how an additional tunnel’s worth of traffic will feed into the existing two-lane A2 stretch Kent-bound from Falconwood through Eltham back to Greenwich. It is already at capacity and traffic queues each afternoon from 4pm. There are no plans to change the road – much of which is in a deep cutting.
