Kirtling Street could save Fulham Riverside

Wednesday December 21, 2011

Pressure is building on Thames Water to extend their super sewer consultation as an alternative and less disruptive construction site emerges.

The Mayor of London has written to the Water Minister, Richard Benyon MP, asking him to ‘instruct Thames Water to extend the consultation period to the end of March 2012’.

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is backing the Mayor’s calls as local authority engineers say that the sewer construction site that Thames Water has earmarked for Kirtling Street, in Wandsworth, could be expanded.

Kirtling Street is already one of three main construction sites needed for the 20 mile long concrete tunnel and council engineers say that by expanding it slightly the threat to Carnwath Road and Barn Elms could be minimised – or even removed completely.

In a dramatic u-turn last month, Thames Water named the Fulham riverside as their new ‘preferred site’ for their controversial mega tunnel – after originally naming a patch of open space in Barn Elms in Richmond.

The bombshell stunned Fulham residents in the tight knit residential community. The change of heart from Thames Water bosses gave the council and local people just 14 weeks to mount a challenge and prompted accusations, at a public meeting earlier this month, that the consultation form was deliberately over complicated and asked leading questions.

The devastating proposals would see south Fulham homes blighted, roads congested and school children and vulnerable residents all at risk from noxious fumes. Other areas, that were named in the phase one consultation – unlike Carnwath Road, were given more than 18 months to mobilise themselves and build a convincing case.

Cllr Nick Botterill, H&F Council Deputy leader, says: “The Mayor of London’s intervention is very welcome as the current consultation process is deeply flawed. How can it be fair to give Fulham residents just 14 weeks to save our tight knit residential neighbourhood when other areas have been given more than 18 months?”

The news broke as it emerged that it could be possible to build the super sewer, or Thames Tunnel as it is also known, without using either Carnwath Road or Barn Elms.

H&F Council engineers say that by driving directly from Kirtling Street, in Wandsworth, to Acton Storm tanks Thames Water might be able to bypass the need to use either of the two currently threatened sites and minimise disruption to residents in the process.

The council says the total drive length would only be 2.7milles longer than the current Thames Water plan and money could be saved by buying just one giant boring machine, which cost around £20million each, and there would only be one construction site set-up cost.

Cllr Botterill concludes: “If there is a way to build the sewer without affecting Carnwath Road or Barn Elms then Thames Water must get the best engineering minds together to seriously look at these options. By using Kirtling Street for a slightly longer tunnel drive, that would still be a fraction of what was needed for the Channel Tunnel, the huge disruption to our densely packed residential area could be minimised.

“In the meantime, it is essential that residents respond to Thames Water’s consultation as soon as possible.”

In a letter to the council Thames Water said it had initial health and safety concerns about the proposal but world renowned water expert Chris Binnie has said there is no ‘fundamental problem’ with the idea. Thames Water also refused to say how much the expanded Kirtling Street option would save or add to the £4.1billion super sewer bill. Phil Stride, Head of London Tideway Tunnels, wrote ‘The cost of acquiring, constructing and operating each site is treated as commercially confidential information.’

Around 500 residents packed into Hurlingham & Chelsea School on December 7 to tell Thames Water bosses that the Fulham riverside is not suitable for the main super sewer drive shaft, and school children and vulnerable residents should not be put at risk to boost profits for Australian bankers. Residents and Council Leader, Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, also posed a series of questions to Thames Water’s Richard Aylard and Phil Stride. To view the highlights of the meeting click here to watch the video on YouTube (opens new window).

For more information visit www.lbhf.gov.uk/supersewer.

To respond to Thames Water’s consultation visit www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk (opens new window) or to fill out the simplified consultation form, as prepared by residents, click here (pdf 100KB).