Outrage over sewer threat to riverside
Monday March 21, 2011
BIG DIG: Thames Water works in Woolwich show what Carnwath Road residents can expect during the construction of a super sewer
Plans to dig a massive entry shaft for a 20-mile long sewer in a residential road on Fulham riverside have caused outrage.
Furious residents have lashed-out at Thames Water’s plans and the council has accused the company of threatening new homes and jobs and failing to properly disclose the details of their plans.
Despite claims from Thames Water that they are targeting a ‘brownfield’ site the plans also threaten businesses on a busy industrial estate.
Have your say
A meeting for residents to hear about the possible impact of the super-sewer will be held at Hurlingham & Chelsea School, in Peterborough Road, on Wednesday 6 April. Come along at 7.30pm. H&F Council leader Stephen Greenhalgh, Greg Hands MP, and assembly member Kit Malthouse will attend.
The water-utility giant wants to use Hurlingham and Whiffin Wharves as well as the Carnwath Road Business Park as the main entrance for their £3.6 billion storage tank under the Thames. Thames Water claim the pipe – which will be bigger than the Channel Tunnel – is needed to comply with an EU directive and prevent some sewage getting into the river after heavy rain.
Objectors are worried that the 24 hour-a-day works, which would last for around seven years, will blight the residential neighbourhood and stop the river walk being opened up. The construction site would cover 14,000 square metres and when finished the giant hole will be given a concrete cover. A 15-metre high ventilation column will be built to discharge gases that are caused by the raw sewage and can smell of bad eggs. At-least 2,300 people have signed a petition opposing the plan.
Carnwath Road resident Dr Anthony Jelley, 41, says: “In one foul swoop Thames Water are flushing all of our aspirations down the drain. New jobs, homes and facilities will all be lost or delayed if they get away with this. Opportunities like opening up the river walk might be lost forever. It doesn’t make sense especially when you consider that Thames Water is basically spending nearly £4billion on stopping half-a-dozen rowers getting jippy-tummies.”
Thames Water originally earmarked land at Barn Elms, on the Richmond side of the Thames, as the main west London compound but revealed earlier this month that they are now ‘considering alternatives’.
Sylvia Henley, 46, a foster carer, said: “I feel quite sick actually. They shouldn't be doing it in a residential area where there are children. It’s not the right area for this. Couldn’t they have it the other side of the river where there’s a refuse site anyway?”
In a letter, which was distributed to residents last week, Thames Water’s Phil Stride confirmed the u-turn. He writes: “Previously, we had assessed the Carnwath Road riverside area as too small for our needs but following a review of our tunnelling strategy this is no longer the case.”
A second tunnel is also set to be dug underneath the site by National Grid. Although the electricity tunnel will not surface at the wharves it will run around 20 metres below the ground to carry cables from substations at Kensal Green and Wimbledon.
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader, says: “Our worst super sewer fears are now being realised. There are very real concerns over the loss of new jobs and homes not to mention Thames Water’s so-called ventilation tower which will pump out gases and unpleasant smells close to residents’ windows. It is also a bizarre decision to target this area as National Grid already has plans to run large electricity cables under the ground here and the two projects are likely to be in conflict.”
Hammersmith Embankment has also been targeted for a second smaller sewer construction site. Thames Water wants to dig-up land opposite Frank Banfield Park, on Chancellors Road, as one of their ‘intermediate’ sites. The company has written to residents to say that the work will ‘inevitably cause disruption’.
Cllr Greenhalgh concludes: “The large sewer entry compound can only be justified in a large open area well away from existing homes and businesses. Thames Water needs to think seriously about the havoc their current plans will wreak and consider the alternatives before it is too late.”
Super sewer Q&A
What is the super sewer?
The £3.6 billion Thames Tunnel is a sewer the width of three buses. It will run 20 miles from west to east London, up to 75 metres below ground, broadly following the route of the river.
Why is it needed?
Thames Water says London’s Victorian sewer system cannot cope with the capital’s waste meaning that in times of heavy rainfall it becomes overloaded and some raw sewage flows into the Thames.
When will it be built?
Thames Water plans to submit a planning application in mid-2012. Initial construction of the Thames Tunnel is provisionally scheduled to start in 2013 and finish in 2020.
Why have the plans changed?
Thames Water has altered the way it plans to build the tunnel. Rather than building a section of the tunnel from Barn Elms to Battersea, it will reverse the direction. This means alternative sites for access points to the tunnel are needed.
Are the plans final?
Not necessarily. The council is lobbying hard on residents’ behalf to persuade Thames Water to rule out Fulham riverside as a potential site for the entrance compound. The council is also pushing Thames Water to minimise disruption at their smaller intermediate sites. Thames says it is evaluating several options and no final decisions have been made.
How can I complain?
Sign the petition at: www.lbhf.gov.uk/sewerpetition (opens new window).
Go to the drop-in session at Hurlingham and Chelsea School, Peterborough Road, SW6 3ED on April 6 & 7 between 4pm-8pm.
For details of Thames Water public consultation on the plans, visit www.thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk (opens new window).
