Super sewer ‘human cost too high’ says council
Thursday February 2, 2012
H&F residents, including Cllr Nick Botterill, wearing their 'I am not a brownfield site' t-shirts
Take part in Thames Water's consultation
The human cost of Thames Water’s super sewer plans for south Fulham will be ‘too high and too much to bear’ if they are not reversed, according to the local council.
In a stark warning Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council’s deputy leader, Cllr Nick Botterill, has spoken out against Thames Water’s plans to dump the main west London ‘drive shaft’ on the tight-knit residential community around Carnwath Road.
Warning that the elderly, vulnerable and the young will be the hardest hit by the major construction site – which will be the size of six football pitches – Cllr Botterill urged residents to respond to Thames Water’s consultation before it closes on Feb 10. He said: “We are approaching D-Day for the super sewer and if residents do not make their voices heard now we could all be facing a decade of construction misery.
“10 minutes of your time now, spent responding to Thames Water, could stop 10 years of super sewer hell for the whole of Fulham.”
The warning comes as a local head teacher and local mums also voiced their fears for children in SW6.
In a dramatic u-turn in November 2011 Thames Water named the Fulham riverside as their new preferred site for their controversial £4.1billion concrete tunnel – after originally naming a patch of open space in Barn Elms, 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 that the consultation form was deliberately over complicated and asked leading questions. The Mayor of London, backed by the council, called for the consultation to be extended but Thames Water ignored the pleas.
The devastating sewer proposals would see south Fulham homes blighted, roads congested and school children and vulnerable residents all at risk from noxious fumes, according to the council. At least five local schools are all within a mile of the residential site.
Annette Dobson, Headmistress of Thomas's Fulham School on Estcourt Road, said: “Even the youngest pupil in my school, and they start aged four years old, is intelligent enough to know that the preferred choice for a main drive shaft for this massive engineering project cannot be here at Carnwath Road.
“The proposed site is adjacent to people's homes, near children's schools, on top of people’s places of work and alongside an already congested road. It is plain and simple madness.”
The council is formally responding to Thames Water’s phase 2 consultation to argue that Carnwath Road is a completely unacceptable site as:
- Light, noise and vibration pollution associated with the major construction site will last for a minimum of 24 hours a day, seven days a week for at least six years – the length of a child’s primary education
- The 29,000 lorries needed at the site will endanger elderly and vulnerable pedestrians and the thousands of children who attend schools in the area. The local road network will not be able to cope without significant improvements
- 75 existing jobs and six businesses will be displaced for no regeneration gain
- The regeneration proposals that residents, community groups and the Prince’s Foundation helped shape will be blighted for at least 10 years
- Plans to reopen the Thames path along the river will be lost for a decade or more
- The 50ft ventilation tower for noxious fumes will permanently scar the riverfront
- Many of the 15,000 homes and 2,000 businesses located within 2,000 yards of the proposed site will suffer from dampened property values
- The super sewer will not solve a single basement flooding problem
Friston Street resident Tara Anne says: “As a mother of two children who attend a school just yards from the site and who also play in South Park which is just two blocks away, I am very concerned about the impact this proposal will have on their health and the health of all children in the area. Scientific studies have shown that children are more affected by pollution than adults and I cannot imagine a worse choice for a major construction project that is going to go on for at least six years – which is a school child's entire primary school education. There has to be a better solution to the problem. A cleaner Thames is a noble goal but are we willing to sacrifice our children's health to attain it? I would say no.”
Meanwhile, as part of the council’s draft supplementary planning document – which outlines how the south Fulham riverside could be regenerated – the local community has been helping to help shape a vision to transform the area from its industrial past into a new residential mixed use area.
In a series of workshops, which were co-ordinated by the Prince’s Foundation, local residents were able to put forward their views on the future regeneration of the area.
There was overwhelming support for a mixed use scheme including the desire to provide better access to the Thames Path, high quality urban design and a renewed focus on the river. There is a second round of public consultation with the Prince’s Foundation due next week.
Cllr Botterill says: “To add insult to injury, local residents and community groups have invested considerable time and effort into shaping the future regeneration proposals for the south Fulham riverside and will strongly oppose the derailment of the proposals at this late stage by Thames Water’s controversial super sewer.
“The densely packed residential area around 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 – especially when there are far less disruptive options available.”
The Prince’s Foundation is running two public drop-in sessions about the possible future of the south Fulham riverside (if the super sewer is rejected) on:
Monday, February 6, 6:30-8:30pm at Hurlingham and Chelsea School
Wednesday, February 8, 6:30-8:30pm at Hurlingham and Chelsea School
Chief Executive of the Prince’s Foundation, Hank Dittmar said: “This is an opportunity for real community engagement and to develop a shared vision for the future of this important river site. We will be inviting a range of local stakeholders and experts to work with us to create this vision.”
In a separate development local authority engineers say that the sewer construction site that Thames Water has earmarked for Kirtling Street, in Wandsworth, could be expanded instead of using Carnwath Road.
To respond to Thames Water’s consultation click the button below:
Take part in Thames Water's consultation
Or, fill out the simplified consultation form, as prepared by residents, which is available at www.stopthesewer.com (opens new window).
To find out more about the Prince’s Foundation please visit: www.princes-foundation.org (opens new window).
