Objection to planning application 2022/3853/P (Camden Lock Market)

Dear Alex,

I am writing on behalf of the Friends of Regent's Canal to object to planning application 2022/3853/P because it has missed some opportunities to sustain the function of the canal. This plan assumes that the only practical means of transport during construction is a road vehicle, yet the site is at an optimal location on a national waterway network.

In section 8.8.3 of the Construction Management Plan, it is proposed to deliver the Ferris wheel by road in sixteen shipping containers. No mention has been made of the canal or the River Thames as a means of transport for these containers. The consultants must rethink this proposal. The containers will travel by water from mainland Europe to the UK and it is in everybody's interests that they remain on the water until they reach their destination.

In section 10.4 of the Construction Management Plan, it is stated that the applicant is considering waste removal by barge. There should be no justification for using the road because this market is already using barges to transport waste to a recycling plant that specialises in handling construction waste.

In section 3.1 of the Servicing Management Plan, under the heading "Delivery & servicing vehicles", no mention is made of canal boats. Even if there are no immediate plans to deliver or collect goods by boat, there is no good reason for excluding boats from the list of transport modes.

There are some outstanding issues in the Service Management Plan and if these are not resolved at this stage then I anticipate problems in the future running of the site. Currently the recycling barges are towed away once they are filled up, which happens about twice a week, but if the passenger boats need to share this basin, as proposed, then the barges are expected to be towed away every morning, even if they are half empty. It seems to be a very inflexible arrangement to expect the industrial barges to vacate the space every morning when there is capacity in the basin for them to move to the other side. This needs further thought and this document needs to be updated.

Please ask the applicant to review the logistics to ensure that maximum possible use is made of the canal.

Best wishes,
Ian Shacklock
Chair, Friends of Regent's Canal
25th October 2022

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