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Who funds big infrastructure in London?
Here are five major infrastructure projects related to London. Do you know how the initial capital cost of each was funded?- The Thames Tidal Barrier was primarily funded by
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the UK Government. - The Elizabeth Line (aka Crossrail) was chiefly funded by London and TfL fare-payers. But the UK Government met about
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30% of the costs. - It is said that the Lower Thames Crossing will be the largest road tunnel in the UK at a projected cost of up to £10 bn. Most of the cost of the project is expected to be private-sector funded: to be recovered from toll-payers, some of whom will be Londoners. However, the UK Government has contributed
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more than £1.2 bn in planning, with a further £0.9 bn announced in the November 2025 Budget. - The Thames Tideway Tunnel (aka London supersewer) was primarily funded by the private-sector. Its capital cost of ≈ £5 bn is being recovered through what is said to be a mortgage-like arrangement. The mortgage-payers are Thames Water bill-payers
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throughout their wastewater service-region. TW say it adds around £25 annually to average bills. [I'm uncertain whether this includes the recovery of costs for earlier phases of the overall Thames Tideway scheme: i.e. for the Lee Tunnel and the major upgrades to five sewage treatment works in London.] My coarse estimate is that 20% of the total cost of Tideway is being met by TW bill-payers outside London. - Then there was the London Ring Main an 80km tunnel system constructed in 1988-93 at a c.1990 cost of £248 m.
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Was this also funded by TW bill-payers throughout the region or did Company flotation in 1989 contribute?
And then there's the minor matter of the giant reservoir being plonked on southern Oxfordshire ... to meet London's needs and extravagance with water. On top of that, TW bill-payers outside London are expected to help pay for it through a further dodgy mortgage arrangement. No UK Government funding needed when you have mugs west of London to tap.
You couldn't make it up. This would not have happened with the geographical arrangements prior to 1974: when London still ruled but at least paid its way. London has taken a Golden Ticket.
Botley badly botched
Why has a railway infrastructure project at Oxford Station closed road access between Botley and Oxford: for nearly three years? There is no effective alternative route. Unless you're a cyclist or a fit pedestrian, you're cut off from the city if you live in Botley. If you're a local business or tradesperson serving Oxford-wide customers, you're stuffed if you happen to be based west of the railway line.Of course, Network Rail does what Network Rail does. But this would not have been allowed in London. You know that. I know that. It's Londonism.
Shard maths
You've been patient to read this far. Here's a bit of fun to end with.OSPs and Shard maths
Don't you just hate it when the media express volumes of water in terms of an Olympic-sized swimming pool? What is typical about an Olympic swimming pool? It's just lazy. Even Ofwat does it. For those who like the currency, the typical Olympic swimming pool (OSP) is said to hold 2.5 million litres.Abi-Res is planned to hold 150 Gl or 150 million m3. Just how big is that? We want something easier to visualise than 60,000 OSPs.
The Shard building in London is an almost complete pyramid with a height of 310m and a base of 40m x40m. The solid volume of such a pyramid is 165,333 m3.
If you take 900 Shards and pack them tightly together in a square arrangement of 30 x 30 buildings. The total solid volume of these 900 buildings would be 148.8 million m3. Just about the 150.0 million m3 of water planned to be held in Abi-Res.
The 900 Shards would occupy an area of 1.44 km2. So a smidgen greater than the 1.42 km2 of London's Hyde Park.
Save on all the commuting. Squeeze 900 Shards into Hyde Park. You'd have a billion m2 of floor space: enough to house 30 million souls at an allowance of 33 m2 per person.
Hang on. They might need some extra water. Delete this section!