H&F Council starts petition, but Labour says they are 'scare-mongering'
The controversial 'Super Sewer' has hit the headlines again in Hammersmith after Thames Water obtained a court order to dig bore-holes in Hammersmith.
The works are being carried out in preparation for a proposed £2.2bn tunnel which will runfrom Beckton in East London to West London, in order to prevent storm water and sewage pouring into the Thames when it rains heavily.
In total, 32 million cubic metres of untreated sewage overflows into the River Thames from London's sewers every year.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which is Conservative-led, has voiced concerns about the project.
Shaun Bailey, Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Hammersmith, said that the council refused permission for Thames Water to carry out preliminary exploratory work in December last year, over fears that should Hammersmith be chosen as the site of the river crossing,
Hammersmith and Fulham Council claims, if the tunnel is built under the river in Hammersmith, Thames Water will create a 30-metre-wide crater at some point along the Hammersmith riverside, which would remain a construction site for a minimum of 8 years.
It also claims, smaller construction sites (perhaps the size of half a football pitch) would have to be built close to points along the river where sewage occasionally overflows, and points out there are three of these in Hammersmith.
However, Thames Water has now obtained a court order to drill bore holes in the following areas.
The council has launched a petition urging people to protest at this work being carried out, at http://www.gopetition.com/online/21660.html. Mr Bailey also says he opposes the project as he does not wish to see residents footing the bill for the 'Super Sewer.'
However, Labour councillor Steve Cowan has dismissed the council's position as 'scaremongering'. Writing in his blog, the Cowan Report, he said: "Thames Water has written into H&F Council in a bid to correct some of the blatantly dishonest scaremongering the Council has published about the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
"H&F Council has frequently misinformed residents saying that Thames Water were going to put a giant bore holes into Furnival Gardens and Ravenscourt Park. This has since all been proved to be complete nonsense - which the Council itself now admits was based upon nothing other than “speculation”.
The letter from Thames Water reads: "Currently we are undertaking an exhaustive programme of investigative survey work to help us assess all the possible options.
"This work is underway in all boroughs potentially directly affected by the Thames Tunnel's contruction, apart from Hammersmith and Fulham, a result of the council's calculated tactics of non-cooperation with us.
Regrettably, the council's decision to block our essential investigative field work on land it owns is also creating entirely unnecessary extra costs. The council's approach is at odds with its desire to keep householders' bill as low as possible, which we share."
For more information on the project, please call 0800 096 5678.
May 14, 2009