UK Freight Port Hosts Housing Minister to Discuss Contribution to Plans and Further Developments



Growth of South East Impacts Construction and Container Cargo 

UK – The Port of Tilbury hosted the Minister of State for Housing, Gavin Barwell MP, at the port last week to discuss the impacts of the significant investment programme that the Port authorities are undertaking and how the facility will assist in the plans that the government has for alleviating the housing crisis in the UK. Tilbury is currently the UK’s number one port for construction materials, handling over 40 million bricks last year destined for the housing market and is also the leading handler for aggregates, construction materials and timber volumes in support of the house building and wider construction programmes in the country. 
The port has doubled in volume size in the past ten years and currently handles half a million Twenty-foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) in addition to bulk and deliveries from car carriers. A £1 billion investment, for which permission is expected this year, will see the creation of a new 152-acre deep-water port facility, Tilbury 2, adjacent to the current port. The minister was also briefed on the progress of the construction of the UK’s largest warehouse at Tilbury for Amazon UK. These two major projects, coupled with opening of Europe’s largest chill store at the port in partnership with NFT and the completion this year of Tilbury Green Power, the 40MW energy-from-waste power facility, are expected to contribute to the continued growth of the port. Gavin Barwell MP said: 
“It’s been fantastic to visit the Port of Tilbury to discuss their ambitious plans for growth in the Thames Gateway area. Their planned extension will help make sure the port continues to be the UK’s number one supplier of building materials. As we set out in our Housing White Paper, investment in infrastructure is crucial to ensuring that many more homes are built quickly, in the places that people want to live.” 
Commenting on the visit Charles Hammond, Group Chief Executive, Forth Ports (owners of the Port of Tilbury) said: 
"Tilbury is at the heart of the South East’s growth and it was a pleasure to brief the minister responsible on the future of London’s major port. He heard for himself about our ambitious growth plans and the importance we play in the construction market as the number one port for handling building materials. This is an exciting time for Tilbury as we drive our expansion plans forward, which will generate further local jobs and substantial economic benefit.” 
Photo: Gavin Barwell MP (right) talks to Forth Port CEO Charles Hammond






Tilbury begins community consultation

23 Feb 2017
The Port of Tilbury will seek views from the local community on Tilbury2 in March.
The Port of Tilbury will seek views from the local community on Tilbury2 in March. 
The Port of Tilbury will begin its pre-planning community consultation at the beginning of March to seek local views on its proposal to build a new port terminal adjacent to the current port.
The proposed new port terminal, known as Tilbury2, will be built on a 152 acre site which was part of the former Tilbury Power Station, and will include a new pontoon and deep water jetty. 
Peter Ward, commercial director at the Port of Tilbury, said: “Our customers are looking for expansion opportunities in Tilbury and Tilbury 2 is part of the port’s overall investment strategy. The success of the port in recent years means that we now need more land close to the port to grow and our proposal for Tilbury2 will allow us to do this. 
“We are an active partner in the community. We are holding a series of public consultation events in March, and we hope that members of the community will come along and share their views with us there or through the online survey at www.tilbury2.co.uk.” 
A period of statutory/formal consultation will follow in the summer. 



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