In February 2019 we submitted a planning application and environmental statement to Medway Council to allow for the erection and operation of a cement production plant, ancillary facilities and access on land at London Thamesport, Grain Road, Isle of Grain, Kent.
The application was presented to Medway Council’s Planning Committee on 04 March 2020, where the committee resolved to grant permission for the Proposed Development.
The application was submitted on behalf of Thamesport Cement Limited, a recently established company which has been incorporated to facilitate the production of cement at London Thamesport. The majority of shares of Thamesport Cement Limited are owned by Cem’In’Eu SAS which is an organisation that has developed a new cement production and marketing concept in Europe, with an innovative and flexible business approach. Cem’In’Eu has already launched a number of similar projects in France and Europe, with the aim of supplying local construction markets with cement products.
The recent permission will see its first UK plant built on land on the Isle of Grain, Kent. Each of the plants requires a similar investment of around £18 million and the cement grinding mills are based on an identical model and are simply adapted for local topographic and space requirements. The consented plant at Thamesport will have two mills capable of producing up to 485,000 tonnes of cement products per annum and will create up to 70 full-time jobs.
The products to be manufactured at the Site consist of a range of cements which have different properties based upon the blending of the raw materials and the way in which they are ground. The overall process, involves the accurate mechanical grinding of carefully blended input materials.
Cement is an essential raw material for the construction sector and it is a fine powder which hardens when mixed with water. Cement is mainly used to produce concrete and mortar after mixing it with aggregates. In the case of this development, all the mineral raw materials shall be imported by sea and the resulting products shall be transported off site using HGV’s in either a bulk form or in bags.
The consent is fantastic news as it will allow Thamesport Cement Limited to manufacture a range of cement products to satisfy existing and projected customer demand in Greater London and the South East markets via road transport.
We are now progressing with further submissions to discharge the pre-commencement planning conditions and with only 19 conditions attached to the consent and no legal agreement required, it shouldn’t be too long until works are commenced on Site.
