PLA chairman Christopher Rodrigues CBE has outlined a bright future for the Thames after identifying strong prospects for growth and a new skills academy that will train young people to work on the river.

Addressing stakeholders onboard Silver Sturgeon, at the PLA’s annual reception, Mr Rodrigues highlighted a year of increasing river use, with port trade surpassing 45 million tonnes as well as more than 10 million passenger trips. He added that activity on the river is expected to grow further over the next 20 years, as the Thames Vision project recently identified six growth goals:

The biggest ever Port of
London
20 million passengers on
the river
More freight moved on
the Thames
Greater participation in sport
An improved environment
More people enjoying the
river than ever before.

He said: “The Vision is a perfect device for gathering together all river users behind a program that ensures the development of a vibrant, safe, commercially successful river – not just in the next year or two, but for 20 years ahead.”

“Perhaps just as important, the Vision is starting to change what people say about the Thames. It is the beating heart of our city and a great future beckons for all its future stakeholders.

“The Vision represents a major project for the PLA, but it cannot

be delivered by the PLA alone.
If ever there was a ‘we’ project, this is it. There is unanimous support for pushing ahead and for the PLA to play a leading role in driving the vision forward. We are grasping the baton you have given us and asserted that we are the Custodians of the Tidal Thames.

“There’s still a lot of work to do. We’ll start with the low hanging fruit this year and work with interested parties to develop implementation plans for the strategic projects and to confront the trade-offs those projects will require. It is an exciting time for the Thames and there's never been a better time to work on the river.”

Well-trained, skilled people are vital to making the most of the new opportunities highlighted in the Thames Vision. The Thames Skills Academy, a new initiative by the PLA, Transport for London, Tideway and the Company of Watermen & Lightermen, will be taking on its first group of apprentices in September.

Three quarters of flounder found in the Thames and studied by scientists,
have plastic fibres wedged in their
guts. That’s because litter dropped
on the streets of London ends up in
the Thames.

The shocking evidence is revealed in
our latest Cleaner Thames campaign film.

In it, polar explorer Paul Rose visits boffins at Royal Holloway, University of London, to find out more about the scale of waste that’s been discovered inside a range of Thames fish. Everyone taking part in the campaign is urging visitors and anyone else

working on the river to make sure
their rubbish goes into a bin, to be
recycled where appropriate.

Please add your support to the campaign by sharing our latest film
on social media using the hashtag #cleanerthames (see link to film below).

Artist Michelle Reader is working on
a sculpture to form part of a Cleaner Thames roadshow. It will be displayed for a short time in the offices of organisations backing the project.