No doubt you already know that developers Morgan Stanley decided to do the decent thing and withdraw plans for the terminal at Enderby Wharf.

Yet it won’t be all plain sailing from now on.

The win came about, not because our government decided to do something, but because the developers listened to our concerns.

Sadly, throughout our three year campaign for onshore power or no cruise port at all, many of our public servants at DEFRA (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs ) seemed unwilling to engage.

We pay their wages, yet despite impassioned and very well reasoned argument from respected scientists, and us, they have seemed disinclined to put our health above the interests of the shipping industry.

Currently legislation isn’t in place to protect people who live near ports around the UK. We took our case to the High Court but failed, not because we were wrong, but because by law, there were no rules in place on Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) or particulate matter in relation to shipping vehicles.  What legislation does exist is out of date.

A lot of facts and figures have surfaced in recent years, proving that pollution is a silent killer. Politicians are keen to reduce pollution on the roads but there’s an abject failure to tackle shipping, even when it has a reputation for failing to observe the rules. A French captain was fined £100,000 for using dirty fuel only recently.

Currently pressure group, Mums for Lungs (@MumsForLungs), are asking the Mayor of London to allocate money from the Air Quality Fund to fund a website on Idling Engines.

While residents of Greenwich and Tower Hamlets will still have to contend with two other Port of London Authority piers in their midst -Tower Bridge and The Greenwich Ship Tier – in spitting distance of a child’s playground! Greenwich Ship Tier is only expected to host 12 cruise ships a year, not the 55 planned for Enderby Wharf, but it’s still 12 too many when you consider the effect emissions can have on children’s lungs.

Just recently Zac Goldsmith has tabled a question asking Michael Gove, Secretary of State for DEFRA, Michael Gove, what steps DEFRA re taking to protect children from toxic air.

We wait with baited breath ...

Of course pollution is by no means a new problem.  In 1952 the Great Smog of London claimed 12,000 lives and left 15,000 unable to work.

Professor Gary Fuller of Kings College, London has recently published a book entitled ‘The Invisible Killer: The Rising Global Threat of Air Pollution – and How We Can Fight Back.’ In the book he reports how a car manufacturer laughed in his face.

Only we’re not laughing. Not when it comes to cars, and definitely when it comes to giant cruise ships known for their abysmal record.

It’s a concern for passengers and for people who live nearby at ports such as Southampton and Hull.

According to Channel 4’s Dispatches the majority of cruise ships use heavy fuel oil, which, though much cheaper than other fuels, is vastly more polluting. By law, this oil is permitted to contain 3.5% sulphur, compared to 0.001% for road fuel. According to NABU’, a German pressure group, each cruise ship emits as much particulate matter per day as a million cars.

Since 2009, Friends of the Earth has compiled an annual Cruise Ship Report Card that grades each line on its environmental record. The grading takes into account sewage treatment, water quality compliance, transparency and air pollution reduction. 2016’s report card indicates that certain lines are doing a far better job than others. All but one are graded F for transparency, owing to a failure to respond to requests for information.

If they won’t volunteer information they must be made to.

Only government can make that happen.

We have a long way to go, and we need public figures like Mr Gove to make that happen.

At Enderby Wharf we may have won a battle, but we have not won the war. It’s up to people with real power to force industry to fall into line and take steps to protect our health and that of our children.

Mr Gove gave a speech on climate change at the end of 2018. At the end he concluded:

‘Scientific knowledge is, always, a good in itself. In that sense, there can never be too much information. The more we know, the greater our ability to shape events for the better. But also the heavier the responsibility to act. ‘

We look forward to finding out what that action will be.