Huge excavators positioned on jack-up barges on Deptford Creek have been dredging the riverbed to prepare for tunnelling in Greenwich.

The operation is a key part of Tideway’s work in south-east London to clean up the River Thames and will make it possible to park and fill barges with spoil from the tunnelling operation.

A giant tunnel boring machine (TBM) is set to begin tunnelling from Greenwich this year, creating a 4.5km connection to Bermondsey.

And as Tideway has made a commitment to move as much of the excavated material as possible away from site by river – instead of by road — this means utilising Deptford Creek.

The benefits of moving material by river are profound, reducing the need for HGVs on local roads and drastically reducing our impact on air quality.

Fewer HGVs on the roads is also good news for cyclists and pedestrians, and our neighbours in Greenwich.