There has been a concrete plant on our site at Kirtling
Wharf in Cringle Street, Battersea for almost 50 years. We will
shortly be submitting a planning application for a new concrete
batching plant on part of the existing site. The remainder of the
existing site is to be used by Thames Water in connection with the
Thames Tideway Tunnel project.
Who are CEMEX?
We are a leading producer
of ready-mixed concrete and operate a number of wharves along the
River Thames for the import of marine dredged aggregates. Today’s
concrete plant is sustainable in that it takes imports of aggregates
via the river, and is located within one of the largest regeneration
areas in Europe. It is, therefore, an important element in promoting
economic growth. The plant supplies ready-mix concrete to local
construction sites within approximately one-and-a- half hours
‘drive-time’, which is the ‘life’ of fresh concrete.
Background
In June 2012, Wandsworth Council granted
planning permission (ref: 2012/0764) for an additional temporary
concrete batching plant on the southern part of the site. This southern
end of the site would be used for the provision of the proposed plant.
The existing and recently permitted plants currently produce
approximately 90,000 cubic metres of concrete a year and sales of
100,000 tonnes of processed aggregates, with approximately 43,000 heavy
goods vehicle movements to and from the site.
Thames Tideway Tunnel
The Thames Tideway Tunnel (TTT) is
identified in the National Policy Statement for Waste Water as a
nationally significant infrastructure project. It is also identified by
Government as a vital piece of infrastructure in the Top 40 Priority
Infrastructure Projects within the National Infrastructure Plan (2012).
Thames Water propose to use the northern third (river end) of
the Cringle Street site for the construction and continued operation of
the TTT. The land will be included in a site known as Kirtling Street,
one of 24 sites along the Thames required for construction of the
tunnel.
Thames Water’s development consent application for the tunnel,
accepted for examination by the Planning Inspectorate on 27 March 2013,
includes a provision for a new concrete plant for CEMEX on the
remainder of the site they currently occupy. This will allow continued
CEMEX operation at Cringle Street.
Why a separate application?
To ensure continuity of our existing
business in Battersea, it is important that this new plant is
operational before the end of 2014. This may not be achieved within the
expected timetable for determination of Thames Water’s development
consent application.
Therefore, we will shortly submit a
separate full planning application to Wandsworth Council for the new
concrete plant. If approved, work could commence in early 2014, with
the plant ready for operation six-to-eight months later.