Examination of Witnesses (Questions 9920
- 9939)
9920. Mr Philpott: I will try to be as
brief as I can. Mr Thornely-Taylor, I just want to stay looking
at this photograph here, looking at the Woodseer Street site.
I just want to get a little bit of help with this. Am I right
in understanding it has got industrial on three sides?
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) That is my understanding,
yes.
9921. Whereas if one looks at the Hanbury Street
site it has got residential in front of it and to the right-hand
side and behind, though acknowledging the point about the noise
barrier.
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) A picture speaks a thousand
words, and I do not think I can improve on the picture.
9922. We can see that difference between the
two. You gave your views about the noise impact of the Woodseer
Street site being used. Are there any figures that have been produced
that one could look at to examine its impact?
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) Some figures were produced
by RPS who did the construction noise modelling, but they translated
the whole of the Hanbury Street operations to Woodseer Street,
and when one takes into account the reduced scale now proposed
for the works at Hanbury Street they are not helpful; they do
not provide a like-for-like comparison.
9923. So if my clients, or any other Petitioner,
wanted to understand in more detail what those comparative impacts
were by looking at the figures—the number of properties
affected, the decibel levels of each individual property, the
effect of noise barriers—there is nothing published that
they can look at?
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) No. Therefore, they would
have to await the Environmental Statement that will accompany
the amendment of provision 3.
9924. Mr Philpott: Thank you, sir. Those
are my questions.
9925. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Thank you
very much indeed. Can I ask Dr Pedretti, do you have any other
questions you wish to ask?
9926. Dr Pedretti: Either of the witnesses?
9927. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Yes. Which
witness would you like?
9928. Dr Pedretti: Before that picture
disappears—
9929. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Dr Pedretti,
would you like one of the witnesses to stay?
9930. Dr Pedretti: Who was it who said
"the picture says a thousand words"?
9931. Mr Elvin: Mr Thornely-Taylor.
9932. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Dr Pedretti,
would you come as close as you can, so our scribes can hear you.
That is all we are asking. Carry on.
9933. Dr Pedretti: I have this image
which we received yesterday as part of my presentation that I
did not get round to, and I was describing it as tunnel vision
from a helicopter. These aerial pictures. Firstly, if you are
a noise expert, are you aware of the decibel levels of being subjected
to helicopters overhead for hours on end?
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) Yes, I have done many
helicopter inquiries.
9934. Last Sunday morning there were two helicopters
from 12 to 1 o'clock—maybe 10 past one—hovering above
us. So these images actually made noise. I am not saying that
was this image, I am saying one of the blighting effects—I
have described as this black thing—is that we have way too
much helicopter overhead—
9935. Mr Liddell-Grainger: Dr Pedretti,
I am going to stop you again. Please, this must be something that
is attributable to this Bill. Helicopters, unfortunately, are
not. Do you have any other questions that are attributable to
the Bill?
9936. Dr Pedretti: I am concerned that
the blocks that we are looking at on this thing are foreshortened
and, therefore, we cannot see how many people—many, many
people actually—live in them. A lot of them are very densely
populated.
9937. Mr Liddell-Grainger: That evidence
has already been taken, thank you.
9938. Dr Pedretti: What decibel levels
are you proposing?
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) The threshold for noise
insulation by day is a figure of 75 and in the evening it is 65
and at night it is 55, subject to it being 5 above the prevailing
ambient. The predictions that have been made for the ES scheme
show that there would be eligibility for noise insulation—and
this time, so that you can see, I will point to that one—there,
and there will be eligibility for temporary re-housing, which
takes place at levels 10 greater than the ones I have just mentioned,
in this block, and there will be lower levels which are regarded
as significant effects in the Environmental Statement but they
are not so great as to trigger eligibility for secondary glazing.
Those levels are visible in this plan.[64]
You need very good colour vision to be able to distinguish, but
to the right of Spital Street at its junction with Hanbury Street
is the eligibility for noise insulation which I have just mentioned.
Slightly to the right there is a thicker, blue line which indicates
that there is a significant effect but not so great as to trigger
eligibility for noise insulation. Then as you go further along
towards Greatorex Street there is a further thick blue line, which
signifies residual significant effect. To the west of the worksite
all those coloured lines will disappear because the retention
of the Britannia House building will prevent the opening up of
the gap that caused formerly, in the Environmental Statement assessment,
the eligibility for noise insulation on the south side of Princelet
Street.
9939. Can I ask you a question? How high is
the source of the noise that you have measured? At what level
do you expect? Assuming this is only the finished ventilation
you are talking about.
(Mr Thornely-Taylor) No.
64 Crossrail Environmental Statement, Volume 8, Whitechapel
Station, Construction Works and Impacts-Map C8(ii) http://billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(SCN-20060613-012). Back
| 
