Examination of Witnesses (Questions 11620
- 11639)
11620. Except you will always have to have a
batching plant for Crossrail itself.
(Mr King) Correct. We were always hoping—and
we understand why this cannot be possible—that the existing
facility would be taken over by the contractor, nominated undertaker,
and that would obviate some of the problems we now seem to find
ourselves with. We understand, for reasons of restrictions of
trade, why that cannot be promoted in the legislation. It is a
great pity. What we are interested in is the knock-on impact to
our area and that of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
and the local conditions. That is what we are seeking to minimise.
11621. If you have no temporary facility—and
I cannot remember how long it is, but say for three years—the
inevitable consequence of that is that concrete or cement—I
am not good on the difference—for Central London construction
sites will have to come from further away by road. Therefore possibly
the people of Westminster may be better off—because there
is no batching plant next to them for perhaps three years—but,
overall, you increase the amount of road use for moving concrete
around.
(Mr King) As Westminster is the heart of most
construction activity in Central London, we are probably going
to get it anyway. It would be very interesting to see that analysis.
If we saw the analysis, we could make a judgment. We do not have
the analysis.
11622. Thank you very much, Mr King.
Re-examined by Mr Clarkson
11623. Mr Clarkson: I have one question,
if I may, which carries on from that last point. You did not have
a concrete batching interim analysis. Have you had the detail
of what the model is representing before? Have you any detail
at all?
(Mr King) We had some A4 photocopies of line
drawings ten days ago—about three, I think.
11624. How were they presented to you? Was it
an evolving process in a meeting or suddenly?
(Mr King) At the so-called stakeholders workshop
of 7 June was the first time and it was rather oddly presented
to the design and view workshop on 12 June for the second time—at
neither with any supporting information and in both cases a degree
of confusion amongst some of the audience present as to exactly
what this was.
11625. Mr Clarkson: Thank you, Mr King.
Does the Committee have any questions of Mr King?
11626. Mr Liddell-Grainger: No, we do not. Would
you call your next witness, please.
Mr Don Murchie, Sworn
Examined by Mr Clarkson
11627. Mr Clarkson: You are Mr Don Murchie?
(Mr Murchie) I am.
11628. You are the Policy Manager in Transportation
in Westminster City Council's Transportation Department.
(Mr Murchie) That is correct.
11629. You are going to deal with the two aspects:
operational railways: Heathrow link; and operational railways:
impact at Paddington—the first two boxes on A130.[10]
Let us deal with the operational railways: Heathrow link. What
is it the council seek?
(Mr Murchie) The council seeks
that Crossrail serves Heathrow Airport and that it does so from
the first day of Crossrail operation. Discussions to date have
suggested that Crossrail is constructed on a phased basis and
that the first phase to become operational would be between Paddington
and Abbey Wood only. The Council objects to this proposal as our
support for Crossrail is based on having a direct link to Heathrow
Airport from the start of operation. The Council therefore seeks
an undertaking from the Promoter to ensure that the connection
to Heathrow is operational from the first day and is maintained.
11630. Why is the Council concerned?
(Mr Murchie) The Council's concerns relate
in particular to the impact on road traffic in the residential
areas around Paddington Station. Traffic flows in this area, particularly
taxis, have increased substantially since the commencement of
Heathrow Express Railway in 1998 and this has led to an increased
number of taxis on those roads and associated concerns about road
safety, pollution and visual impact on unsuitable residential
roads leading to and from the station.
11631. You are seasoned campaigners, to some
extent, on this, are you not? You went before Parliament as petitioners
on Heathrow Express Railway Bill.
(Mr Murchie) That is correct. We petitioned
against the Heathrow Express Railway Bill and appeared before
the House of Commons select committee in 1991. That select committee
shared the City Council's concerns and the Council entered into
a select committee undertaking at that time with the promoters
of the Heathrow Express Railway that long-term arrangements should
be provided for the flow of traffic to and from Paddington Station
which focused station traffic, particularly taxis, on to the strategic
road network and away from Parade Street and roads through the
residential areas to the south and west of the station.
11632. I can perhaps lead on this: there were
interim measures, culminating on the new road bridge that has
been constructed and was opened at the beginning of this month.
(Mr Murchie) The new road bridge was only opened
last week, on 14 June.
11633. I have no doubt it is working phenomenally
well.
(Mr Murchie) It is early days, but it appears
to be working very well and it achieves the objective of reducing
taxi traffic from residential areas.
11634. What is the anticipated flow of airport/Heathrow
traffic through Paddington Station in the future and what is it
now?
(Mr Murchie) Heathrow Express Railway currently
carries approximately five million passengers per annum. This
is forecast to somewhere between 10 and 15 million passengers
per annum when Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport is operational.
It is possible that a further increase in the patronage of Heathrow
Express Railway would result in the provision of any additional
airport capacity at Heathrow resulting from the Government's White
Paper The Future of Air Transport dated December 2003,
which sets out a framework for the future of aviation and airports
particularly in the South East. The White Paper concluded that
the first priority is to make better use of existing runways at
airports, following which provision should also be made for two
new runways, the first to be at Stansted and the second at Heathrow,
by the year 2020. The White Paper also recognised that this additional
runway capacity should be matched by additional transport infrastructure.
11635. Did you bring forward a suggestion at
the Terminal 5 inquiry that it should require that Crossrail services
go to Terminal 5?
(Mr Murchie) The provision of a number of additional
rail services to Heathrow were discussed at the Terminal 5 inquiry,
some of which subsequently have not developed. As far as Crossrail
is concerned, the City Council and the local residents also gave
evidence at that inquiry into safeguarding for the provision of
Crossrail to Terminal 5, but the inquiry inspector concluded,
when he reported in July 2001, that at that time, " ... in
view of the remoteness of the prospects for Crossrail, I see no
justification for any safeguarding."
11636. What it is you seek now, as I understand
it, is that there be a Crossrail link to Heathrow generally from
day one.
(Mr Murchie) That is correct.
11637. You also a comprehensive number of links,
in the sense that all the terminals are linked. Am I right?
(Mr Murchie) Yes. Ideally, all terminals at
Heathrow would be served by both Crossrail and the existing Heathrow
Express Railway services.
11638. What is the latest information from the
Mayor's office? What was his view when the campaign for Crossrail
initiative was launched? I think that has been circulated, but
would you outline what the Mayor said.[11]
(Mr Murchie) The Mayor and other
business leaders and trade unions and various stakeholders across
London launched this initiative a couple of weeks ago. The Mayor
is quoted in the press release as saying, "Crossrail is the
transport system vital to underpin London's 21st century economic
engine. It is an underground rail system starting at Heathrow,
going under the heart of the West End to the great job centres
of the City of London and Canary Wharf."
11639. And it continues: "Before going
south of the river to open up the new areas of housing development
in Thames Gateway." What do you say that is telling Westminster
City Council? Is it likely to invoke any support?
(Mr Murchie) Yes, it clearly shows the Mayor's
support for Crossrail to serve Heathrow. He has subsequently written
to the leaders of all London boroughs, including the leader of
Westminster City Council stressing this initiative and the need
for Heathrow to be linked to Central London in this way.
10 Committee Ref: A130, City of Westminster's position
in respect of the Petitioning Points made by the City Council
in September 2005 in Response to the Crossrail Bill proposals,
p1 (WESTCC-32105-009). Back
11
Committee Ref: A130, Greater London Authority, Press Release:
Crossrail even more important for London than the Olympics, says
Mayor, 6 June 2006, www.london.gov.uk (SCN-20060621-001). Back
| 
