Examination of Witnesses (Questions 6620
- 6639)
6620. If time permits this afternoon, Mr Michael
Schabas who has been an expert in the field of railway structure
for the last 25 years, including planning and promoting the Jubilee
Line extension on behalf of the Canary Wharf Developers, extensive
work on the Channel Tunnel rail link and, as you will hear, being
retained by the then Department of Transport to evaluate the 1992
Crossrail Bill and he will explain how the Promoters and their
Agents have only superficially considered alternatives for the
safeguarded route from Paddington to Liverpool Street, which is
the sole section with which we are concerned.
6621. Finally, although I think this may be
after the Easter recess, I will be calling Mr Norman Winbourne
who has practised as a chartered surveyor for nearly 50 years.
He has particular expertise in dealing with compensation claims
arising from rail projects and his evidence will be from the focus
of two areas, but again the context in which we put this matter
before the Committee, firstly the inadequacies of the compensation
system for those affected by the Crossrail scheme which is why
alternatives need to be considered much more extensively in this
instance and also, by way of example, the significant improvements
that could be made to many London tube stations which would ease
pressure on key central London interchanges which might well avoid
the need to actually the Crossrail route in the position in which
it is proposed at the present time.
6622. That is all I wish to say, Mr Chairman,
by way of an opening statement. You will see that Mrs Morrisson-Atwater
already sits at the witness table and, with your permission, I
will call her.
6623. Chairman: Thank you for the recall
on the environmental statement. All the members of our Committee
are well versed.
6624. Mr Pugh-Smith: Mr Chairman, we
do have a number of exhibits which we will be referring to and
some slides.[67]
If those could please be put before you and Mrs Morrisson-Atwater
has only a very brief presentation which requires you to look
at documentation, but they are there more for your assistance
but they will also be put on the screen as well.
Mrs Marina Morrisson-Atwater, sworn
Examined by Mr Pugh-Smith
6625. Mrs Morrison-Atwater, would you please
give your name to the Committee and brief details about yourself?
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) My name is Marina Morrisson-Atwater
and I have lived in Mayfair for the last 37 years. I have been
a committee member of the Residents' Society of Mayfair &
St James' for the past three years (following the merger with
the Residents' Association of Mayfair). I was previously a committee
member of RAM for 15 years. I am Chair of the Society's Crossrail
committee and I am also a member of the Society's council.
6626. Mrs Morrisson Atwater, could you briefly
outline to the Committee the role of the society?
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) The Residents Society
of Mayfair & St James'—which was known as the Residents
Association of Mayfair—was established in 1974. For the
sake of brevity I will refer to the Society for the remainder
of my submission to the Committee. The Society is formed of a
voluntary group of local residents who are concerned about preserving
and enhancing the character of Mayfair & St James' and in
particular its history, established tradition, architecture and
buildings and environment affecting those who live, work and visit
the area, thereby creating a balanced community. The Society currently
represents a cross-section of approximately 1,000 residents and
200 business members. The Residents' Association of Mayfair (as
the society was then known) played an active role in opposing
the original Crossrail Bill running through Mayfair and we petitioned
against the original Crossrail Bill and gave evidence before the
House of Commons Opposed Bills Committee which was successful.
That was in 1994.
6627. Mrs Morrisson-Atwater, what I would like
to do now is turn to the people who live and work in the area.
Can we have slide number 3 please, which is a map? Can you tell
us very briefly about where the various residents are to be found
in relation to the proposed Crossrail route?
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) I just wanted to say
one little thing, that most people who have never visited Mayfair
think that the residents living in Mayfair are just a group of
rich, well-to-do, privileged individuals. Nothing could be further
from the truth. There are a lot of people who live in social housing
and you have them on the lines in pink which are the streets where
social housing is very much in evidence. They are all concentrated
south of Oxford Street along North Row, Balderton Street, George
Yard, Lumley Street, Binney Street, Gilbert Street, Weighhouse
Street, Providence Court, Brown Hart Gardens and Dukes Yard. All
these streets lie above the proposed Crossrail tunnels and are
situated close to Bond Street station. The residents of these
properties will be severely affected by the proposed Crossrail
Bill and the scheme of works should the scheme be approved. They
will have to be relocated and they are very worried about it.
They are losing all their facilities and they are very vulnerable
residents, most of them, and will require protection and we want
to stand up for them. There is also a very good state school in
the area, St George's Hanover Square Primary School, which has
200 pupils. There is a medical centre in Weighhouse Street and
the relocation of the Mayfair Medical Centre will mean that a
large and vulnerable population will lose access to this facility.
There is also something called the London Institute, which is
an educational and cultural centre of excellence which benefits
the whole community, and there are various art galleries and hundreds
of people will need, again, as I said, to be relocated. There
are also many beautiful buildings and three fragile churches which
need protecting—St Mark's in North Audley Street, the Ukrainian
Church in Duke Street and St George's in Hanover Square.
6628. Mr Pugh-Smith: What I would like
to do now is to ask you to outline briefly the Society's concerns.
6629. Chairman: Before we do that, could
I mention that this document is A76 for the record?[68]
6630. Mr Pugh-Smith: Could we have up
on the screen the two slides that summarise the specific matters
that the Society wishes to seek protection for?[69]
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) Because
you have heard before about the American Embassy and all the things
that concern us greatly and are all around us, our first point
is proper security checks to be carried out on the drivers, the
contractors, the builders and all the people that are going to
be used on the scheme. We would also like an assurance that further
environmental impact assessments will be carried out with respect
to the properties located in all the streets which I have just
mentioned. I will repeat them. They are the properties located
in Binney Street, Gilbert Street, Green Street, St Anselms Place,
Duraven Street, North Audley Street, Balderton Street, Brown Hart
Gardens, Dukes Yard, George Yard, Upper Brook Street, Lumley Street
and Duke Street.
6631. Mr Pugh-Smith: Chairman, we will
provide a list.
6632. Chairman: A copy of the notes afterwards
would be helpful.
6633. Mr Pugh-Smith: By all means.
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) We would like an undertaking
from the Promoter to prepare a noise and vibration mitigation
package to satisfy us as regards to noise, vibration, disruption
and disturbance during the construction of Crossrail and the running
of trains after the completion. We would also like an undertaking
from the Promoter that the residents will be notified in advance
when the time the boring machine is to pass under our properties.
6634. Slide number 5.[70]
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) We would
like an undertaking that the Promoter will contact affected residents
to ensure that they will receive the appropriate protection provided
for in the settlement deed. We would also like an undertaking
from the Promoter that a small claims procedure will be incorporated
into the Bill.
6635. Thank you very much, Mrs Morrisson-Atwater.
By way of concluding remarks, is there anything you want to say
to the Committee about why the Society is so concerned and that
is why it has been here?
(Mrs Morrisson-Atwater) Yes. One of our greatest
worries was the fact that we find ourselves forced to fight a
Bill for a scheme that is not funded. We just do not understand
how long this will take or why we are being blighted for all these
years for something for which there are no funds.
6636. Mr Pugh-Smith: Thank you very much,
Mrs Morrisson-Atwater.
6637. Ms Lieven: I have no questions,
sir.
6638. Chairman: Do you want to give a
summary of your witness's evidence?
6639. Mr Pugh-Smith: That is very kind
but I think we have said what we need to say.
The witness withdrew
67 Committee Ref: A76, Map Location of Petitioners
in Mayfair and St James' (WESTCC-32605-035). Back
68
Committee Ref: A76, Presentation of The Residents Society of
Mayfair and St James' Back
69
Committee Ref: A76, Specific protection that the society seeks
(WESTCC-32605-036). Back
70
Committee Ref: A76, Specific protection that the society seeks
(WESTCC-32605-037). Back
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