APPENDIX 18
Memorandum submitted
by Greenwich Friends of the Earth
1. Friends of the Earth exists to protect and improve
the conditions for life on Earth, now and for the future. Friends
of the Earth is one of the largest international environmental
networks in the world, with over 50 groups across 5 continents.
It is one of the UK's most influential national environmental
pressure groups of which the Guardian (4/6/97) said is "currently
the UK's most effective environment group". Friends of the
Earth has a unique network of campaigning local groups, working
in 250 communities throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
2. Jennifer Bates is currently co-ordinator of Greenwich
& Lewisham Friends of the Earth, and also speaks for national
Friends of the Earth on Greenwich Millennium issues.
3. A recent survey of 35,500 children in Greenwich
and Bexley showed that, compared to a national average of 10%
of 5-17 year olds suffering from asthma, 12% of 5-12 year olds
are diagnosed with asthma. This figure rises to 13.3% in the northern
section of the area which have SE postcodes (the area of the Millennium
site). The figure for 11 to 12 year old boys was 21% (research
by Bexley Community Health Council).
4. With constituents of vehicle emissions known to
at least exacerbate asthma suffering, and with the Department
of Health's report (Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants,
January 1998) showing that up to 24,000 people may die prematurely
every year as a result of air pollution, clearly air quality is
of utmost importance.
5. For particulates, an asthma relevant type of air
pollution, Government experts have shown that when particulate
levels exceed health standards, then road traffic's contribution
(to such particulate emissions) is in the range of 75-85%. (Quality
of Urban Air Review Group 1996.)
6. Items 3-5 indicate the need not only to make road
vehicles cleaner (ie "techno-fix"), but also to reduce
road traffic. Draft guidance has been issued under the Road Traffic
Reduction Act, and the Road Traffic Reduction Bill is due to require
national targets being set (unless the Government thinks that
other targets or measures would be more appropriate).
7. In view of the above item any needless traffic
generation is a step in the wrong direction, and we have several
areas of concern.
8. The New Millennium Experience Company (NMEC) proposed
a transport strategy that was designed to make the Dome site itself
virtually car-free. However, it included a 28% figure of visitors
to come by park and ride or sail, which together with total visitor
projections, led to a "predict and provide" type approach
and to NMEC searching for 8,400 car parking spaces (later revised
to about 6,000). NMEC developed a ridiculously high dependence
on inner as compared to outer London provision (6,800 to 1,600),
and was only looking for inner London sites that were larger than
three hectares. This led to five proposed sites, of which Falconwood
Field (supposedly protected Metropolitan Open Land) was the most
inappropriate. We understand that this has now been dropped, but
feel that NMEC should never have suggested it and that Greenwich
Council (which would have leased the site) should never have recommended
that the Council committee approve the scheme.
9. There is real concern that whereas planning permission
for the park and ride/sail sites was sought on a temporary 2-year
basis, there would be pressure to keep them if the Dome stays
on the site after the duration of the Millennium Exhibition (MEX).
10. The main concern that we and others have
with the park and ride/sail scheme is that it would generate
traffic—ie induce some people to drive to close to the site
rather than use public transport from their starting point.
11. We are also concerned over the coach aspect of
the strategy. I am not in receipt of the planned routes, but understand
that there may be a heavy dependence on a particular route. A
debate with an open remit and the full involvement of the local
people is needed to arrive at the best solution for what will
inevitably be a part of the transport plans (although we would
still question the predict and provide levels).
12. The A102M (Blackwall Tunnel approach) is subject
to an approved scheme which includes widening the road in parts
from 3 to 4 lanes. The Highways Agency calls this "upgrading
and improving", but we feel this will further degrade the
area and is not real improvement. MEX is directly linked with
this scheme: "The transport infrastructure needs generated
by the redevelopment including the Millennium Exhibition …
highway improvements are necessary to link the motorway network
to the redevelopment site". The widening is supposedly needed
to allow weaving based on the design speed of the road. We would
rather see the road downgraded from an M-road whereby reduced
speeds would, we understand, make widening unnecessary. Whatever
happens one lane should be a bus lane (in each direction)—see
below.
13. A further scheme with which we are most unhappy
is another part of the Greenwich Peninsula site designated as
food and non-food retail with an adjoining leisure facility. The
food retail has been awarded to Sainsbury's (whose large scale
superstore will undermine existing and proposed local shops),
and permission is being sought for 1,400 parking spaces (to
cover the food and non-food retail and leisure). Such massive
car parking will undermine the adjoining Millennium Village's
relatively low car dependency strategy and make a mockery of its
eco credentials, as well as add to the chaos during MEX. This
traffic generating scheme must not get the go ahead.
14. We propose that a proper legacy from MEX is
to set in place comprehensive and integrated transport plan for
the whole region (north and south-east London) that would
build traffic reduction rather than traffic generation. It
should be developed with the full participation and involvement
(not just consultation after a plan has been drawn up) of local
people, as well as planning authorities and transport providers.
15. We hope that the imminent Integrated Transport
White Paper will help towards traffic reduction by taxing company
car spaces (a "stick" measure), and enable greater use
of public transport and cycling and walking ("carrot"
measures).
16. We feel that, instead of park and ride/sail,
a better solution and a proper legacy of MEX would be to develop
a comprehensive network of local buses to feed the people of the
region into their local transport hubs—ie train or tube
station or pier so that they can travel to MEX by public transport.
17. There needs to be re-allocation of road space
to give safer pedestrian facilities, segregated cycle routes,
and to create segregated bus lanes. The Blackwall Tunnel approach
road should have a bus lane in each direction, and the desirability
of MEX coaches using this should be explored. The MEX transit
link from Charlton station must be segregated, and must be planned
to extend to Greenwich and Woolwich/Thamesmead.
18. Train services should be upgraded to include
more and late-running trains which would be a decent legacy to
the area. The Angerstein link should be fully considered in view
of the Dome probably remaining on site semi-permanently. River
services are a very welcome part of the transport strategy and
must be secured.
19. Controlled Parking Zones (CPZs) should be considered
to be blanket across a wide area surrounding the MEX site, with
full involvement of local people—particularly on whether
they should stay after MEX.
20. It must be made clear that to visit MEX is
to leave your car at home.
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