Council in New Row over Super Sewer
LibDems slam "obstructive actions and scaremongering"
Hammersmith and Fulham Council is once again embroiled in a row over its opposition to the Thames Tideway Tunnel, nicknamed the super sewer.
H & F, along with neighbouring Tory council Kensington and Chelsea have accused ministers of attempting to bypass the local democratic process to secure planning permission for the £2.2 billion project.
The councils are determined to fight the government’s move to pass the plan onto the Infrastructure Planning Commission, or IPC, a quango for projects of national significance.
The councils claim the tunnel, which will take eight years to build, does not reach the threshold required for the IPC and that the Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) is invoking special powers to bring the tunnel into its remit.
A DEFRA spokeswoman said any decision to refer the project to the IPC would be taken in 2011 at the earliest, so all interested parties would be able to take part in the consultation process.
She added: "We have to deal with the overflow of raw sewage into the Thames from the London sewerage system – the environmental damage it causes is unacceptable.
" The Thames Tunnel project will deal with the problem and as well as being essential, it is of a scale and complexity that we have not seen before. Because the tunnel crosses 13 London Boroughs, it won’t work if individual councils decide whether they want it or not."
The tunnel aims to bring the Thames up to standards required by the European Union, and is backed by Mayor Boris Johnson.
However, Hammersmith and Fulham Council has consistently campaigned against the sewer, calling it a "threat" and a "white elephant" and has even set up its own petition against it.
In its latest statement, the council says it believes the scheme will prove too damaging to the lives of residents and not bring enough improvements to justify the colossal cost.
H& F cabinet member Paul Bristow said: "The council is appalled at the proposed use of the IPC as all along we have been told that this is a London project that should be paid for by Thames Water customers. However, it now appears that when it comes to gaining the necessary planning permissions the views of Londoners can simply be ignored."
Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats, however have slammed the council's statement saying: " The complaints that the project may be referred to the new Infrastructure Planning Commission would have more force if the Council had not demonstrated over the last year by its obstructive actions and scaremongering, that it could not be depended on to consider the matter in an objective and rational way in the light of information available.
" Residents along the Thames WILL find their amenities restricted by the proposal to construct a major piece of infrastructure in the area, and the cost may well be seen as excessive, but the £ 2.2 billion will take our sewage system straight from the 19th century to the 21st.
" If the Conservative administration in Hammersmith and Fulham had the interests of residents in mind rather than their own amour-propre, they would admit that their initial opposition was ill-founded and agree to cooperate with Thames Water to mitigate the impacts of a necessary project."
The LibDems also noted that the council's latest statement includes a proposal for a "shorter, smarter super-sewer". This, they say, is an oblique acknowledgement that something has to be done to improve our 150-year-old sewage system.
Thames Water meanwhile, have issued their latest update on the project. Says Phil Stride, Head of London Tideway Tunnels: " Later this year we will launch our public consultation on our proposed route for the Thames Tunnel and the sites we think we will need to for its construction and operation.
"Work is in progress to identify the best route and most suitable available sites.
" We must stress that at this stage we have not made any decisions."
January 20, 2010
