Dagenham Dock


Dagenham Dock is a place in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham in London, England. It is located to the south of Dagenham and on the River Thames. It was once the site of a large coaling port and continues to be the location of a small terminal licensed to handle coal off-loading. Today the site is used for a number of river-related uses including a TDG depot with around 200 tanks for storage of petrol, distillates, aviation fuel, biofuels, tallow, ethanol, fertilisers, urea etc.

History

The dock was constructed at the site of Dagenham Breach, an area of flooded marsh caused by the breaching of the sea wall in 1707, and repeatedly flooded in the 18th Century. After a number of failed attempts, in 1865 Sir John Rennie built a jetty and a branch railway, but the company failed financially. The site was acquired and Dagenham Dock was constructed over from 1887 by Samuel Williams.
Early in the 20th century, HMS Thunderer, the last major warship built on the Thames, was fitted out at a new jetty, still known as the Thunderer Jetty.
Barking Reach Power Station was constructed between 1992 and 1995 on Chequers Lane, and was the first major generating station to be built in London for many years.

Geography

The area is planned to be the site of an environmentally sustainable business cluster, part of the London Riverside section of the Thames Gateway zone. Expansion of the little-used Dagenham Dock railway station is expected to aid the development including services on the Docklands Light Railway and East London Transit.