Press Release

Sea and Water welcomes the decision to invest in water-freight transport to make the 2012 Olympics a truly “green games”

28 February 2007

Sea and Water, the industry-lobbying body backed by Government to promote waterborne- freight transport, has welcomed today’s announcement by British Waterways of an £18.9 million investment in a new lock to give access to the waterways around the Olympic Park site.

This investment will take many thousands of lorries off London’s roads, relieving congestion and local air pollution, and sharply cutting carbon emissions.  It is the most significant decision that can be made to make London 2012 the “green games”.

Today’s decision will also mean a legacy will be left after the Games, of a usable waterway which can be used to transport water freight in this part of the Capital.  As a result congestion and carbon emissions will be reduced for many years into the future.

Sea and Water has calculated that barges using the waterway could carry up to 7,000 tonnes of construction materials a day.  As a result, taking the Olympics construction phase as a whole, around 140,000 lorry journeys will be taken off London’s congested roads, and there will be a saving of 4,000 tonnes of CO2.

Once the Games are over, 12,500 lorry journeys a year will be removed from the roads as the site enters its legacy phase, reducing carbon emissions by around 44-tonnes a year.

Commenting on the decision, Gavin Devine, a Director of Sea and Water, said:

“We have been lobbying hard behind the scenes for the right decision to be made, so we are delighted with this announcement today.

“This is great news for the environment, for local communities – and of course for the water-freight industry.  It is also great news for the Olympic Authorities, who can now be sure that water transport will deliver materials directly to the site in good time and in sufficient quantities.

“Today’s announcement is a ringing endorsement of water freight as the reliable, congestion-free and environmentally-friendly transport option.  We commend the project partners for the decision.”

The Hon Gwyneth Dunwoody MP, Chair of the Transport Select Committee added:

“This is a real advance.  It will free the roads of large numbers of lorries and transform the situation for freight on water.  I am delighted with this development.”