| Thamesfield Ward E-Bulletin Thames Tunnel Update | ||||
An update from your local ward Councillors
We wanted to let you know that the phase two consultation for the Thames Tunnel project started today, Friday 4 November 2011. Since the initial proposals, we have been working with local residents to influence the proposals. Your local MP, Justine Greening, set up a residents’ working group to scrutinise the Thames Tunnel proposal for the main drive shaft site at Barn Elms and the Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) sites at Putney Bridge Foreshore and King George’s Park. The residents’ working group met regularly with Thames Water and other organisations involved including the Environment Agency, Wandsworth Council and the Port of London Authority, to discuss all three sites. The group is also instructing its own independent experts to look at aspects of the proposals. Justine Greening led the ‘I love Barn Elms because' campaign to tell Thames Water why protecting the green space at Barn Elms was so important. As your local councillors we worked with colleagues in the Town Hall to ensure a constructive dialogue with Thames Water. This resulted in our concerns being effectively considered. We joined forces to campaign with our local GLA Member Richard Tracey AM and colleagues in Richmond including Zac Goldsmith MP, Richmond Council and Tony Arber AM together with local residents’ groups such as Stop the Shaft to establish the ‘Save Barn Elms Alliance’. In July we had a rather wet rally and fun day to protect Barn Elms. Despite the weather this was attended by hundreds of local residents. What we have achieved The phase two consultation officially opened on Friday 4 November. A number of changes have been made following the hard campaign fought by so many locally.
What we still need to do The phase two consultation marks a great improvement to the Thames Tunnel Project. The aim of this is to stop 39 million tonnes of untreated sewage from being discharged into the Thames every year. Although Thames Water have listened to our concerns and responded we still have work to do. We still have concerns about the disruption locally from this major project and will be studying the detail of the new proposal very carefully before responding. We will be working with Thames Water to ensure maximum use of river barges to minimise the impact on our local roads. We also need to ensure that the construction timetables are realistic and do not disrupt residents’ lives. Importantly, where we believe Thames Water have got things right, we should tell them so – for example the use of the brownfield site at Carnwath Road as the main draft shaft instead of the green playing fields at Barn Elms. The full details of the consultation are available now online at www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk . The consultation will run for 14 weeks until 10 February 2012. The consultation is open to everyone, so please be sure to have your say. We will continue to work with local residents through Justine Greening’s residents’ working group. We will be maintaining active communication with Thames Water to ensure the final project is the best it possibly can be for our local community. Dates for forthcoming meetings will be announced. Justine Greening has organised a public meeting with Thames Water at St Mary’s Church on the 8 December 2011 starting at 7.30pm. The aim is to give residents an opportunity to find out more about the second stage of this project. Finally, thank you, and well done! Residents have worked very hard and most effectively to raise concerns and to work with Thames Water to resolve issues and minimise the impact of the Thames Tunnel construction. Thanks to this Thames Water has recognised the importance of Barn Elms, Putney Bridge and King George’s Park to the local community. We will continue to work with Thames Water throughout the phase two consultation process to secure the best possible solution for our local community and environment. A big thank you for all the effort put in by so many and for all the ‘I Love Barn Elms’ cards, the emails and letters of support. Yours sincerely Cllrs Jim Maddan, Mike Ryder & Rosemary Torrington Thamesfield Ward Councillors Justine Greening Member of Parliament for Putney, Roehampton & Southfields Cllr Ravi Govindia Leader, Wandsworth Council Richard Tracey AM GLA Member, Merton & Wandsworth
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November 10, 2011 |