WHAT A WASTE - millions of tons of recoverable materials are flushed out to sea everyday. Not only is our throwaway society inefficient, but we're also killing animals by the millions without a care in the world, because systems are not in place to cope with non-degradable plastics. Yet much of the debris in this picture is recyclable. Of course it should not have got this far North in the first place. Our carelessness is turning the magnificent polar bear into a garbage scavenger.

Enterprise Europe South East UK organised a superb B2B event during Resource, a major exhibition for organisations involved in better resource strategy and environmental solutions.

Resource will took place alongside Ecobuild running from 3 - 5 March, 2015 at London’s ExCeL. Visitors will had access to both exhibition areas. Our delegated enjoyed talking with several exhibitors and is pleased to report a confident upsurge in sustainable building products.

Resource challenges existing perceptions of resources through key themes – supply chain, waste and recycling and energy from waste - and considers how they can be utilised better to contribute to a vibrant, resource efficient and environmentally responsible economy, the so-called Circular Economy.

The venue was ideal to meet companies who provide business recycling solutions and services to help you reach zero waste to landfill status. BMS made new contacts and got the latest information about logistics and transportation of commercial or construction wastes. 

We were present to promote re-use of plastics recovered from the world's oceans. At the moment this resource is almost completely untapped - all 8 million tons of it and rising according to the latest study from California.

We learned more about the latest in technologies such as Biomass, Anaerobic Digestion & Composting and ways to minimise the environmental impact of these wastes. We also saw the latest methods of 

using less energy to provide the same service, but most importantly, we found potential partners for businesses collaboration and spread the word about a concept that holds the potential to reverse ocean pollution. On this front the Enterprise Network provided a seating area and made sure that speed networking bookings were confirmed. Our delegate had two afternoon meetings with a third cancelled. 

SPEAKERS

Prof. Dr. Michael Braungart

One of the forefathers of cradle to cradle and circular economy thinking. A provocative thinker, one of the best respected authorities on eco-effective product design and advisor to countless major companies. The list could go on. Suffice to say, a history of the circular economy could not exclude Michael Braungart.

Michael Braungart appears at Resource on the morning of Tuesday 3rd March – he will discuss whether product standards are productive, and the business case for organisations to invest in progressing towards new models.

Arthur Kay

Co-Founder & CEO, Bio Bean

Bio Bean recently won half a million Euros in the Post Code Lottery Green Challenge to enable them to take to scale their ingenious process to upcycle coffee beans into biofuel. Waste coffee granules are 20% oil – and in London alone, an incredible 200,000 tonnes are created every year. The output form this single waste stream is potentially massive.

Arthur joins Resource on Wednesday 4th March in a discussion on how we recover energy and value from food waste.

Benita Matofska

Chief Sharer, Compare and Share

When someone has a job title of ‘Chief Sharer’ – you know they’re committed. And in case you think sharing is the ‘uncommercial’ part of the circular economy – think again. One estimation states that the UK sharing economy is worth £22.4 billion. Benita is the absolute authority on sharing, her website is the world’s definitive directory of sharing companies. Benita also runs ‘The People Who Share’ – a social enterprise in Brighton.

Benita joins Resource on Wednesday 4th March to discuss the role of sharing, how this affects retail strategies, and the wider impact of the next generation’s willingness to share rather than own.

Professor Steve Evans

EPSRC Centre for Industrial Sustainability

It’s no surprise that engineers and manufacturers listen to what Steve has to say. Steve led the launch of the UK’s first masters in sustainable design. He has a breadth of experience ranging from collaborative projects in sustainable factories, sustainable city redevelopment through to specialist expertise in sustainable car manufacturing.

Steve joins Resource on Tuesday 3rd March to look at the future of manufacturing and supply chains.

Jan Jongert

Superuse Studios (Netherlands)

What’s Superuse? Superuse is what Jan and his team name the process of starting to design buildings or infrastructure by looking at the properties of existing used materials available, and reusing these. Superuse refers to a smart recognition of available, existing resources as the start of design. Design therefore becomes part of the cycle – not the beginning of a linear process = the circular economy. Superuse are designers and architects, and have created some brilliant designs that have become blueprints of ingenuity.

You can hear from Jan on Tuesday 3rd March when he will join us to discuss how material flows can be the precursor to building design – achieving a truly sustainable approach to construction.

Paul Crewe

Head of Sustainability, Energy & Engineering

Sainsbury’s

Paul is the man responsible for reducing the operation and embodied carbon footprint of Sainsbury’s. Food waste is a massive global problem – and a major headache for everyone involved in retail, food manufacturing, waste management and recycling. A circular economy demands that energy is recovered in the biological cycle, and that resources are kept in perpetual loops through recovery. Has Sainsbury’s created the store of the future at Cannock? The premises is powered through its own waste.

Paul joins Resource on Tuesday 3rd March to explain how this blueprint can be extended – and what’s needed for efficient handling and processing of food waste.

Professor Bruce Hood

Professor of Developmental Psychology in Society

University of Bristol

What makes us want to own things? And is that changing? What makes us hate the idea of ‘second hand’, or embrace the idea of sharing? These are all fundamental questions for retailers considering the circular economy, and there are many know unknowns in today’s consumer behaviour. So if anyone is likely to be able to tell us, it’s Bruce. Bruce has written three books about the brain – looking at the science behind why we do what we do. Bruce will demystify human attitudes to ownership and by doing so, will shed some light on how consumers will react to new circular economy models and products.

Bruce joins Resource on Thursday 5th March to work out the facts from the fiction on how consumers behave today, and what this means for tomorrow.

Adrian Haworth and Ravish Jain

Sales & Marketing Director and Senior Project Manager

Recycling Technologies

Adrian was with GE for 30 years during which time he ran GE Energy in Russia and GE Energy's strategic marketing department in Europe. As Sales & Marketing Director he provides an invaluable insight into developing potential revenue streams and identifying new uses for recycled plastic oil. 

Ravish worked in project management and finance at Reliance where he was responsible for acquiring environmental permits, securing EPC and PPA contracts and raising finance from domestic and foreign lenders. Ravish has an MBA from Warwick Business School and a degree in engineering.

Recycling Technologies came into being to commercialize the development of the plastic recycling technique developed originally by the University of Warwick. Some of the UK’s leading experts on Plastics, Waste Management and Engineering Processes make up this company's business team.

In the first phase of the conversion process, the WarwickFBR™ system shreds and dries the Mixed Plastic Waste [MPW]. It then injects blended product into a fluidized bed where, in an oxygen depleted environment the long hydrocarbon chains in the polymers are broken down by Pyrolysis to form an energy rich gas that is filtered and cooled to provide a type of heavy fuel oil. This fuel - PlaxOil - can be resold into the hydrocarbons market and is particularly suitable for MARPOL compliant bunker fuel.

Each installation is tailored to the material to be processed and the site at which it is installed. If the host facility uses a lot of steam the MPW can be used via this system to produce that steam. Alternatively using an engine, electricity is generated. 

Unit 6, Woodside
South Marston Park
SWINDON, SN3 4WA

Tel. +44 1793 827 965   Email: info@recyclingtechnologies.co.uk

Adrian and Ravish were at Resource on Thursday the 5th of March talking about and exhibiting PlaxOil and the raw material that the fuel was recycled from.

B2B matchmaking event on Thursday 5 March at Resource, a major event for the Circular Economy (alongside Ecobuild)

CONTACTS

Enterprise Europe South East^UK

Jeff Pedley     J.B.Pedley@gre.ac.uk

Andy Hebb     A.K.Hebb@gre.ac.uk

Sue Ramsden  S.M.Ramsden@gre.ac.uk

Tel: +44 (0) 1634 883751/883615/883950

http://www.enterpriseeurope-se.eu

You may have walked on a beach and noticed this kind of waste, and disgusting as it is, not though too much about it. You may also have been reading about a patch of garbage the size of Texas floating in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for years now, dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, and again not given it much more than passing attention. But, basically, any trash that gets dumped in the water rides the currents to this one spot and joins an ever-increasing flotilla of toxins that is killing marine life and poisoning the oceans. For all the breathless accounts of the mess and its impact on the area’s sealife, no one seemed to have a picture of the buildup. While the above is quite alarming, what is an international problem, is also a potential resource, in that plastic can be recycled into oil and useful products. Thus, the problem that no country wants to admit liability for, could become an opportunity, provided that the technology is developed to "make it happen." Yes, we are fans of Sir John Harvey-Jones and we have a plan. But we need industrial development partners and seed funding.

VENUE & CONTACTS

The exhibition is being held between the 3 - 5 March 2015 at the ExCeL London.

ExCeL London
One Western Gateway
Royal Victoria Dock
London, E16 1XL

General enquiries and event Information

T: +44 (0)20 7069 5000
E: info@excel-london.co.uk

SCULPTURE - Marking the entrance steps to London Excel, is this superb bronze depiction of life on the docks in yesteryear.

ExCeL London, the international exhibition and convention centre, is the host venue for a variety of events from award winning exhibitions and conferences to international association meetings, product launches, banquets, award ceremonies, sporting events and more. ExCeL London is the UK capital's largest exhibition centre.

London is the natural meeting point for the world’s business networks. It is a leading city in the world’s economy and a centre of international trade and finance. Located in the London Borough of Newham, this exhibitions and conference centre is an excellent venue in England. 

Lying adjacent to Canary Wharf, ExCeL London is the latest cultural quarter which possesses every facility that an event demands. Accommodating thousands of visitors in its huge event halls, state of the art conference suites and 45 meeting rooms, this multifaceted event venue is often preferred for flexible selection of space.

ExCeL London is owned by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC). Its portfolio also includes the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre and the Al Ain Convention Centre.

ADNEC Group's portfolio currently includes the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the Gulf's largest exhibition centre; the Al Ain Convention Centre, a brand new development in the historic city of Al Ain, Capital Gate, the UAE capital's iconic, gravity defying tower and a number of hotel projects.

OLYMPIAN - A little further up river, the Millennium Dome is a reminder that great events can generate lasting reminders. Another famous structure that was built for an exhibition and still remains, in the Eiffel Tower in Paris. You can see the airport runway at the centre of the picture above and in more detail in the picture below, with the Millennium Dome and Canary Wharf in the background.

Canary Wharf is a major business district located in Tower Hamlets, London. It is one of the city's two main financial centres – along with the traditional City of London – and contains many of the UK's tallest buildings, including the second-tallest, One Canada Square.

Canary Wharf contains around 14,000,000 square feet (1,300,000 m2) of office and retail space, of which around 7,900,000 square feet (730,000 m2) is owned by Canary Wharf Group. Around 105,000 people work in Canary Wharf and it is home to the world or European headquarters of numerous major banks, professional services firms and media organisations including Barclays, Citigroup, Clifford Chance, Credit Suisse, Infosys, Fitch Ratings, HSBC, J.P. Morgan, KPMG, MetLife, Moody's, Morgan Stanley, RBC, Skadden, State Street and Thomson Reuters.

Canary Wharf is located in the West India Docks on the Isle of Dogs in the Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. The West India Docks once formed part of the busiest port in the world. After the docks were closed in 1980 the British Government adopted various policies to stimulate the redevelopment of the area, including through the creation of the London Docklands Development Corporation in 1981 and granting the Isle of Dogs Enterprise Zone status in 1982. In 1987 the Canadian company Olympia and York agreed to construct a major office development on the Isle of Dogs, with construction commencing in 1988.

HOW TO GET TO EXCEL

The Jubilee Line is recommended as the quickest route to ExCeL London and the ICC. Alight at Canning Town and change onto a Beckton-bound DLR train, for the quick 2-stop journey to Custom House for ExCeL (West) or Prince Regent for ExCeL (East) and ICC London.

When driving to ExCeL London follow signs for Royal Docks, City Airport and ExCeL. There is easy access from the M25, M11, A406 and A13. Contact the AA for information on planning your journey and 24-hour live traffic reports, by calling on +44 (0) 906 888 4322.

For a map of ExCeL London's location visit www.streetmap.co.uk and search for ExCeL London by postcode - E16 1XL. For Sat Nav purposes, we recommend using postcode - E16 1DR.

ExCeL London offers on-site car parking for 3,700 cars, which is pay and display at £15 for 24 hours.

JUST THE TICKET - Parking charges are £15 for 24 hours at a flat rate. So make the most of it.  The car park was almost full to capacity on the 5th March, netting the owners of the site around £50,000 a day, or £10 million a year. Not bad. Never mind building boats, let's get into events. The machines are fully automated, accepting credit cards and cash. Joking aside, event organizers have their work cut out.

EXCEL HISTORY

The centre was built by Sir Robert McAlpine and first opened in November 2000. In May 2008, it was acquired by Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company. Phase II was completed on 1 May 2010. This expansion created The International Convention Centre London (ICC London) adding to ExCeL's event space, as well as further meeting space and banqueting facilities.

The Royal Victoria Dock closed to commercial traffic in 1981, but it is still accessible to shipping. The centre's waterfront location allows visiting vessels to moor alongside the centre (for example, the 2005 London Boat Show was visited by HMS Sutherland).

The exhibition building itself consists of two column-free, rectangular, sub-dividable halls of approximately 479,493 square feet (approximately 44,546 m²) each, on either side of a central boulevard containing catering facilities and information points. There are also three sets of function rooms, one overlooking the water, another above the western end of the central boulevard, and the third on the north side of the building. These are used for smaller meetings, seminars, presentations, and corporate hospitality. There are six hotels, more than 30 bars and restaurants, plus 3,700 parking spaces on the campus.

ExCeL London has hosted numerous consumer and trade, private and public events including exhibitions, conferences, concerts, weddings and religious events since its opening in 2000. Among these have been WorldSkills London 2011, London Boat Show, British International Motor Show, Grand Designs Live, Carole Nash MCN Motorcycle Show, The MCM Expo, London International Music Show, Star Wars Celebration Europe, London Marathon registration, World Travel Market, London Wine & Spirits Fair, The Clothes Show London, The Redeemed Christian Church of God's Festival of Life, Defence Security and Equipment International (DSEi), The Dive Show, and Global Peace and Unity Event. In April 2009, ExCeL played host to the 2009 G-20 London Summit.

In 2011, ExCeL London was awarded the Business Superbrand 2011. On 18 June 2014 ExCeL London welcomed its 20 millionth visitor.

Maps from 1872 and 1908 showing how the site developed to cope with more goods being transported by sea. All was well until the advent of the standard steel container and container ships that revolutionized the cargo industry. International trade depends on low cost marine transport, hence the clipper ships that were developed for the spice trade.

ABU DHABI NATIONAL EXHIBITIONS COMPANY

Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) owns and operates the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, which is the largest exhibition venue in the Middle East. It is part of an international venue development and business management company overseeing the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, ExCeL London, the Al Ain Convention Centre, Capital Gate, and Capital Centre. It can also be referred to as ADNEC Group.

ADNEC was established in August 2005 under a decree issued by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi. ADNEC's initial task was to develop a venue that would replace the old Abu Dhabi International Exhibition Center and attract more meetings, incentives, conferences and events into the emirate . It had the broader goal of enhancing Abu Dhabi's image as a business, leisure and lifestyle destination.


FOUNDING PARTNERS

Four international exhibition organizing companies, namely, IIR Middle East, Reed Exhibitions, CMP Information, and dmg world media, have signed up for long-term agreements for shows at ADNEC's Exhibition Centre. This Foundation Partner strategy helps maintain a mutual commitment to developing trade events and expanding Abu Dhabi's exhibition sector.


EXPANSION MARCH 2015 - EXHIBITION NEWS

ExCel London has opened six new board rooms in the International Convention Centre (ICC), as part of plans to expand as clients demand more executive suites.

The £500,000 ICC Capital Lounge Rooms have been built as the venue reports a 40 per cent increase in corporate bookings.

The self-contained suite of six executive board rooms include a reception area for delegate catering and registration, balcony access, LED curved screens and an integrated PA system.

Executive director for ExCel London, James Rees, is quoted as saying: “In response to client feedback, we recognised that we needed a 5-star facility for smaller events, including private briefings and senior level one-to-one meeting." “Last year, 52 per cent of new corporate contracts won at ExCel represented a switch from a traditional hotel environment to a flexible venue format." “Our initial bookings reflect the demand for this type of facility.”

OTHER EVENTS

ExCeL London has hosted the following events:

* The G20 London Summit on Stability, Growth & Jobs in April 2009
* Each May and October, The London MCM Expo multi-genre convention is held at ExCeL.
* Since 2001, the biannual U.K. arms fair DSEi, most recently on 08–11 September 2009.
* In 2005, the Bollywood cultural event, the 2005 Zee Cine Awards.
* British International Motor Show 2006 & 2008 attracting over 400,000 visitors to the venue.
* Between 27–29 April 2007, the 2007 London Guitar Show (LGS).
* Between 13–15 July 2007, the Star Wars Celebration Europe attracted 40,000 visitors over 3 days.
* In October 2007, the 2007 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, the first time it was held in the U.K.
* In 2007, was the Permanence (media headquarters) for the Grand Départ of the Tour de France.
* On 26 April 2008, the Bollywood cultural event, the 2008 Zee Cine Awards for the second time.
* On 27 May 2008, the Ahmadiyya Khilafat (Caliphate) Centenary was held.
* 31 October 2008, Stuff Live, a yearly show sponsored by What Hi-Fi? Sound and Vision magazine.
* 2 April 2009, annual G-20 Leaders' The London Summit 2009.
* Between 1–2 May 2010, The X Factor held open auditions which attracted over 10,000 people.
* Between 29–31 May 2009, Clothes Show London returned to the capital.
* In 2009 and 2010, it played host to the London audition stages of The X Factor.
* In February 2010, the One Young World Summit.
* On Sunday 16 December 2012 it played host to the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
* In late 2012 Olly Murs filmed the video to Army of Two here.
* 22–24 Nov, ExCel hosted the Doctor Who Celebration convention, the 50th anniversary.
* In April 2014, 49th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver.
* King's College London use ExCel for many of their exams, most recently in May 2014.
* Between 14–18 August 2014, Loncon 3, the 72nd World Science Fiction Convention.

ExCeL London is due to be the hosting venue for IPEX 2018, the largest English-speaking global technology event for print publishing and media.

ROYAL VICTORIA DOCKS

The Royal Victoria Dock is the largest of three docks in the Royal Docks of east London, now part of the redeveloped Docklands. The dock area has experienced major redevelopment under the London Docklands Development Corporation. The dock itself still exists and is accessible to ships, although its western entrance has been filled in and it is now used chiefly for watersports. Its transport links have been greatly improved with new roads and Docklands Light Railway lines running along both its north and south side.

Most of the original warehouses have been demolished but the historic 19th century K-S and W Warehouses – both listed buildings – have survived.

The dock is dominated by the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, constructed on the north quayside and opened in November 2000, and by the adjacent high level Royal Victoria Dock Bridge. The waterside location of ExCel is used to its advantage when it hosts the annual London Boat Show, with visiting vessels moored alongside the exhibition centre.

On the south side of the Dock is Britannia Village. The award winning development, which included the high level footbridge, was commissioned by LDDC and carried out by Wimpey Homes, the Peabody Trust and the East Thames Housing Group between 1994 and 2000. Phase II of the project was left to the LDDC's successors. This was a development around the Pontoon Dock to include a village centre with mixed development of business, retail and leisure facilities and up to 700 new homes.

DOCKLAND VIEWS - Ibis London Excel, with 278 rooms, is located adjacent to the Excel Centre and Custom House Station. Ibis Excel just 2 stops on the Docklands Light Railway to the O2 Dome and the Indigo destinations. Good base for attending concerts at the O2 or exhibitions at Excel. Restaurant and Wi-Fi available and private underground parking. London City Airport, University East of London, Docklands and Canary Wharf nearby.

LOCATION - Situated within a 20-minute walk from Royal Victoria Docklands Light Railway Station, Ibis London Excel Docklands offers guests a convenient base while in London. It is conveniently located minutes on foot from Custom House for Excel DLR Station.  The Ibis hotel features: Elevator / Lift, 24-Hour Reception, Dry Cleaning, Currency Exchange, Multilingual Staff, Safe-Deposit Box, Wake-up Service, Laundry service, Photocopier, Luggage Storage, Shoe Shine, Self Laundry, Wifi.

9 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1AB, England. 

Tel 0207/0552300 Fax : +44 207/0552310

NAVIGATION

Although the docks are now closed for commercial shipping, most of the water area of the docks still exists and is still navigable by craft of all sizes up to and including sizeable ships. The docks' principal use is now water sports, but they do see occasional visits by naval and merchant vessels, especially during the annual London Boat Show and the biannual DSEi arms fair, both of which are held at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. Cruise ships including Fred Olsen Lines' Braemar (24,300 GT) were moored there during the London 2012 Olympics.

The management of the water areas of the Royal Docks, including locks and bridges, is now the responsibility of Royal Docks Management Authority Limited (RoDMA), which is owned and funded by the owners of the surrounding development land.

Another view of the superb bronze docklands theme sculpture at the ExCel

DOCKLAND HISTORY

Although the structure was in place in the year 1850, it was opened in 1855 on a previously uninhabited area of the Plaistow Marshes, it was the first of the Royal Docks and the first London dock to be designed specifically to accommodate large steam ships. It was also the first to use hydraulic power to operate its machinery and the first to be connected to the national railway network via the Eastern Counties and Thames Junction Railway section of what is now the North London Line. It was initially known as "Victoria Dock"; the prefix "Royal" was granted in 1880.

The dock was connected through a line which ran between Canning Town and North Woolwich. When the Royal Dock was first built the railway cut along the docks; to correct this a swingbridge over the entrance to the dock was built. This however slowed down journey time, and so a new line was built in 1855 to take the route around the north side of the dock to Silvertown, and a station at Custom House opened where it re-connected with the original line. The older southern line was kept to serve local factories, where it was known as the Silvertown Tramway.

HISTORY - 1934, Spillers Millennium Mills

The Royal Victoria Dock consisted of a main dock and a basin to the west, providing an entrance to the Thames on the western side of the complex. The dock was deeply indented with four solid piers, each 152 m long by 43 m wide, on which were constructed two-storey warehouses. Other warehouses, granaries, shed and storage buildings surrounded the dock, which had a total of 3.6 km of quays.

The dock was an immediate commercial success, as it could easily accommodate all but the very largest steamships. By 1860, it was already taking over 850,000 tons of shipping a year – double that of the London Docks, four times that of St Katharine Docks and 70% more than the West India Dock and East India Docks combined. It was badly damaged by German bombing in World War II but experienced a resurgence in trade following the war. However, from the 1960s onwards, the Royal Victoria experienced a steady decline – as did all of London's other docks – as the shipping industry adopted containers, which effectively moved traffic downstream to Tilbury. It finally closed to commercial traffic along with the other Royal Docks in 1980.

ROYAL DOCKS

The Royal Docks comprise three docks in east London - the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are more correctly called the Royal Group of Docks to distinguish them from the Royal Dockyards, Royal being due to their naming after royal personages rather than Crown ownership. The three docks collectively formed the largest enclosed docks in the world, with a water area of nearly 250 acres (1.0 km2) and an overall estate of 1,100 acres (4.5 km2). This is equivalent to the whole of central London from Hyde Park to Tower Bridge. The area was designated a special enterprise zone in 2012.

The three docks were completed between 1855 and 1921 on riverside marshes in East Ham and West Ham (now the London Borough of Newham). The Victoria and Albert docks were constructed by the London & St Katharine Docks Company, to provide berths for large vessels that could not be accommodated further upriver. They were a great commercial success, becoming London's principal docks during the first half of the 20th century. They specialized particularly in the import and unloading of foodstuffs, with rows of giant granaries and refrigerated warehouses being sited alongside the quays.

The docks' great size and provision of numerous finger quays gave them a collective span of over 12 miles (19.3 km) of quaysides, serving hundreds of cargo and passenger ships at a time. Following the opening of the Royal Albert Dock in 1880, giving the Royals access to Gallions Reach, 11 miles (17.7 km) below London Bridge, the rival East & West India Docks Company responded with the construction of Tilbury Docks even further down river. The ruinous competition led eventually to all the enclosed docks being taken over by the Port of London Authority (PLA) in 1909. The PLA completed the King George V Dock in 1921 and reserved land to the north for a fourth dock, never built.

BASICS - We can see where Herbert Wells got his ideas from for War of the Worlds. They remind us of his Tripods.  These cranes are a lasting reminder that without mechanization modern society would be unable to advance.

The General Strike of 1926 hit the Royal Docks hard, with 750,000 frozen carcasses threatened by the docks' electrical supply being cut off. Fortunately for the dock owners, the Royal Navy were able to save the day by connecting the generators of two submarines to power the warehouses' freezers.

Although the Royal Docks suffered severe damage from German bombing in World War II, they recovered after the war but suffered a steady decline from the 1960s onwards, following the adoption of containerization. Nonetheless, they survived longer than any of the other upstream docks, finally closing to commercial traffic only in 1981. The docks' closure led to high levels of unemployment and social deprivation in the surrounding communities of North Woolwich and Silvertown.

YOUTUBE

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