Cory Decarbonisation DCO takes effect 27 Nov 2025

If you live, teach or study near Belvedere, here’s the headline: from 27 November 2025 the Cory Decarbonisation Project Order 2025 is in force. Signed by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 5 November, it grants permission to build and run a carbon capture facility alongside Cory’s Riverside energy‑from‑waste plants. Think of this Order as a legally binding instruction manual for what may be built, how it must be built, and how it should be looked after.

What is a Development Consent Order (DCO)? It’s the planning route used for nationally significant infrastructure under the Planning Act 2008. An independent Examining Authority tests the evidence, the Secretary of State decides, and the final Order sets conditions that cover construction, operation and decommissioning. This DCO also interacts with other regulators, so the Environmental Statement, flood plans and navigation safety measures all sit inside one decision.

What is actually being built? The Order allows a carbon capture plant to treat flue gases from the existing Riverside 1 facility and the consented Riverside 2 plant. It includes absorber columns, regeneration units, compression, dehydration and liquefaction so carbon dioxide can be turned into liquid CO2 (LCO₂). There is buffer storage for LCO₂ on site and heat offtake equipment so recovered heat can be exported to a heat network if a provider connects.

Because the site sits on the Thames, the project has a maritime side. The Order permits either modifying or removing the old Belvedere Power Station jetty and building a new jetty with pipelines to move LCO₂ to vessels. Dredging linked to these works is authorised, alongside rules to keep navigation safe and to coordinate with the Port of London Authority (PLA). On land, temporary traffic controls and carefully managed access are allowed during construction so heavy works can happen safely.

You’ll see the phrase “deemed marine licence” in the Order. That means the DCO itself grants a marine licence (under the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009) for the jetty and dredging, with detailed conditions baked in. The licence requires method statements approved by the Marine Management Organisation, soft‑start procedures for percussive piling to protect wildlife, a summer pause for water‑injection dredging, strict spill prevention, and disposal of clean dredged material only at an approved site. In short: one consent, but the marine safeguards still apply in full.

How does carbon capture at an energy‑from‑waste (EfW) plant work? Flue gases are cooled and cleaned, then passed through an absorber where a solvent binds with carbon dioxide. In a regenerator the solvent releases a concentrated CO₂ stream, which is compressed, dried and turned into liquid CO₂ for safe storage and transport. The stacks keep continuous emissions monitoring, and recovered heat can be fed to a local network, reducing wasted energy.

Nature is part of the brief. The Order requires a Landscape, Biodiversity, Access and Recreation Delivery Strategy that shows how the scheme will deliver at least a 10% biodiversity net gain in measured habitats and a 10% gain for watercourses, managed for 30 years. Intertidal measures are handled through a dedicated jetty environmental design scheme. Once the separate mitigation and enhancement works are complete, the Crossness Local Nature Reserve is extended and the council can make byelaws to look after it.

Access changes are spelled out so you can track what moves and what replaces it. One existing public footpath is stopped up only once a substitute is agreed and opened, and two new paths are provided to improve connections across the marshland. During construction, some paths may carry site vehicles under authorisation and then revert to public use. The definitive map is updated so paper maps and on‑the‑ground signs match.

Safeguards for everyday life are set in writing. Core working hours are limited to 07:00–19:00 Monday to Friday and 07:00–13:00 on Saturdays, with a Code of Construction Practice covering dust, noise, lighting, waste and engagement with neighbours. A Construction Traffic Management Plan must be approved, and a Noise Mitigation Plan fixes day and night limits before the plant is fully commissioned. Archaeology is covered too, including recording the historic Belvedere Power Station jetty if it is altered or removed.

Because this site sits behind tidal defences, flood risk is taken seriously. The river wall within the Order limits must be surveyed to a 100‑year design life and any remedial works delivered. The project must follow the approved Flood Risk Assessment, and if operations are expected to continue beyond 50 years, the Environment Agency must sign off updated measures before that point. This is future‑proofing in action rather than after‑the‑fact repair.

Land and utilities are protected through clear rules. The Order includes compulsory purchase powers and temporary possession powers but only with security in place for compensation, and there is a seven‑year time limit to use them. Protective provisions safeguard the PLA, the Environment Agency, Thames Water, gas and electricity undertakers, and the neighbouring Riverside EfW operators so essential services and access keep running while works proceed.

You’ll also see community‑focused extras. There is a requirement for a skills and employment plan, a heat strategy that maps how heat could be exported off‑site, and a decommissioning plan that restores habitats and watercourses when the plant is retired. For teachers and students, this is a live case study in how energy, waste, climate and ecology are balanced inside one consent.

What biodiversity net gain means for you. BNG is a simple promise: after development, nature should be measurably better than before. Here that means more, better‑quality habitats and watercourse improvements that are tracked for three decades. Expect new planting, habitat creation, improved ditches and signage, plus raised walkways so people can enjoy the marshland without trampling it.

What to look for next. Although the DCO is now in force, detailed designs, construction codes, traffic and drainage plans, the jetty environmental design scheme and the biodiversity strategy all need local approval before spades hit the ground. The certified plans are available to view at Bexley Civic Offices, and the Order requires ongoing notices to the regulators at key milestones, including final commissioning. We’ll keep watching those steps so you can follow along and ask better questions.