If you are proposing to undertake work in, on, under or over the tidal River Thames a number of consents and/or licences may be required from the Port of London Authority (PLA). These could take many forms and could include:
In addition, planning permission may be required from the local planning authority for the works and the PLA is a consultee in the planning process.
It is therefore important that early discussions take place with the PLA about any works that are proposed. To assist this, the PLA provides free initial advice in response to any preliminary enquiries about proposed developments but the PLA reserves the right to charge for substantive and intensive pre-application discussions. Please note any response provided by the PLA will be an officer's initial view based on the information provided and as such must not be regarded as definitive.
The PLA will aim to respond to all initial enquiries within 4 weeks of receiving sufficient information to assess a proposal. If it is not possible to provide a response within this time, the applicant will be advised in writing and will be provided with an alternative date by which the PLA will aim to respond.
A number of studies may need to be carried out in order to enable a full assessment of any proposed development. When responding to an initial development enquiry the PLA will set out the studies which it considers will be required. A guide to the types of studies which may be required can be found here.
In addition to any consents and/or licences that are required from the PLA, it may be necessary to obtain permission or consent from a number of other organisations. Sufficient time should be allocated for obtaining these and developers may wish to obtain any other permissions or consents concurrently with the required PLA consents and/or licences. A list of the other permissions or consents that may be required can be found by clicking here.
Under Section 5(1) of the Port of London Act 1968 (as amended) it is the "duty of the Port Authority to take such action as they consider necessary or desirable for or incidental to the improvement and conservancy of the Thames." As such, the PLA believes that works which are proposed on, under or over the Thames should have a river related use and that the River should not be regarded or used as an extension of developable land.
There are 50 wharves in London which are safeguarded by Ministerial Direction. 25 are located downstream and 25 upstream of the Thames Barrier. Policy 4C.9 of the London Plan (2008) protects safeguarded wharves for cargo-handling uses and any development next to or opposite safeguarded wharves should be designed to minimise the potential for conflicts of use and disturbance. Policy 4C.9 of the London Plan makes it clear that the redevelopment of safeguarded wharves should only be accepted if the wharf is no longer viable or capable of being made viable for cargo handling.
Full details of the wharves which are safeguarded can be found in the London Plan Implementation Report Safeguarded Wharves on the River Thames (2005) (opens in a new window).
All residential moorings on the tidal Thames are privately operated. The PLA does not itself operate any residential moorings.
Should you wish to have a residential mooring you will need to contact the operators of licensed residential moorings to see if there are any vacancies. It should be noted that demand far outstrips the number of moorings available.
There are also areas of water in the London area which are not on the tidal Thames (and thus outside the PLA area) where there are also residential moorings. Examples include the inland waterway (canal) network and the non-tidal Thames above Teddington Lock.
There are also some privately run 'marinas' just off the main tidal river which may have some residential moorings.
Information on certain types of mooring on the tidal Thames can be found under "Moorings" on this website.
If you are looking to live on a vessel on the tidal Thames, it will need to be part of a licensed works with planning permission with safe access to your craft 24/7 (the Thames in London is very tidal and rises and falls by up to 7 metres). You will also need to be 'plumbed in' safely for electricity, water, and sewage. (It is not permitted to discharge raw sewage into the Thames from a residential houseboat)
Should you be successful in locating a residential mooring it is absolutely essential that you check that there are appropriate local authority planning permissions in place in addition to the appropriate PLA consents and/or licences.
It is possible to apply for a River Works Licence to put in a residential mooring provided that a suitable location is found, the permission of the riparian landowner is given and all of the necessary consents are obtained. Further guidance on the PLA's approach to residential moorings can be found here.
There are a number of common misconceptions relating to PLA consents and licences. If you wish to undertake work on, under or over the River Thames please note that the following criteria apply:
Further information about land ownership and whether a licence or consent is required can be obtained on request.
Further information can be obtained from:
Planning Officer
Port of London Authority
London River House, Royal Pier Road, Gravesend, Kent DA12 2BG.
Telephone 01474 562384 or Fax 01474 562398 or use this Enquiry Form