Examination of Witnesses (Questions 17340
- 17359)
17340. At the southern end of the sewer diversion,
the construction works necessitate the demolition of a McDonald's
restaurant and the loss of on street parking bays. These parking
spaces are important to attracting visitors to the adjoining Greenlight
Youth Centre and helping to maintain its financial viability.
The Promoter has therefore agreed to work with the council to
identify alternative parking spaces for use by visitors to the
centre. Although not a construction site as such, the council
would also like to draw attention to the concerns expressed by
the residents of the Fairfield Road Conservation Area who will
be affected not just by the Crossrail tunnel running underneath
their properties but also by the tunnel sewer diversion. In order
to provide adequate protection to the area the Promoter has given
an undertaking that the protection of the Ground Settlement Policy
(leading to the availability of settlement deeds) will be available
to local residents. Once again, some further detailed discussions
on the wording may be necessary.
17341. Finally, in this connection, there will
be construction impacts arising at the four other smaller work
sites in the area. Most of these will be covered by the Construction
Code of Practice and other generic policies but there are particular
concerns that could arise as a result of traffic diverted by the
night time closures of the Blackwall Northern approach.
17342. The Council is aware that residents will
shortly be advancing a case in front of you stressing the need
to ensure that the Promoter maintain pedestrian access through
the Wick Lane work sites at all times. Of course this is a busy
pedestrian link between the Bow Flyover and Old Ford. The council
sees the force of this case and would like to place on record
its support for it.
17343. Finally, before I conclude, a word on
consultation. We return to the issue of consultation. The council,
as we have made it clear throughout, supports the Crossrail project
but is extremely anxious to ensure that it is carried through
with all available mitigation measures and on the basis of the
fullest possible consultation with those who will inevitably be
affected by its construction. The letter of 11 October indicates
that the Promoter is committed to working constructively with
the council on an ongoing consultation on Crossrail proposals
in the Tower Hamlet area. For its part, the council is committed
to attempting to ensure that full consultation machinery is set
up by the Promoter and operated across the borough as a whole.
17344. Conclusion: as will be clear to the Committee,
the construction impact of the H.A.M & Wick Sewer will be
very severe and effective mitigation is essential. The council
acknowledges that the revised proposals deal with the construction
and sustainability objections to the original proposals that would
have required a much longer diversion in a new pumping station
at Abbey Mills. However, we repeat, this must not be at the expense
of further disruption to the residents of Tower Hamlets. Thank
you.
17345. Mr Mould: The issues arising in
relation to H.A.M & Wick Sewer proposals are to be the subject
of a more detailed examination through the Petitioners you are
going to hear tomorrow, and in the light of that, I am not proposing
to say anymore at this stage than this. The Promoter acknowledges
the points that have just been made by Mr Drabble on behalf of
the London Borough of Tower Hamlets and it is right to say that
those matters have been the subject of recent correspondence and
the substance of that correspondence is reflected in remarks that
he has just made to the Committee. The Promoter welcomes the fact
that in the light of recent correspondence, particularly the letters
sent to the borough council on 11 and 16 October this year, we
have now reached a position where matters of substance in relation
to the concerns raised by the local authority, and other matters
which you have heard today, have reached a common position and
that matters of detailed wording are all that effectively remains
for some further consideration. We are content that the matter
should remain on that basis. Sir, one or two other matters, if
I may. One particular matter is the borough council has raised
a question if the Promoter could make efforts to develop proposals
to reduce the scale of the work site at the Manhattan building
location and the result of construction impacts on local residents
arising from that work site. I can confirm that, as was made clear
in the letter of 16 October from the Promoter to the local authority,
the Promoter will ensure that the nominated undertaker limits
the physical area of each proposed work site in Tower Hamlets,
that would include the work sites to which reference has just
been made, to that is reasonably required for the construction
of the works and the Promoter shall release each site for reinstatement
as soon is reasonably practicable after the construction work
there has been completed. That is an undertaking in relation to
the work site across the borough. It embraces these sites as well.
Sir, I think unless there are any matters that the Committee wish
to raise that is all I would wish to say in response to the borough
council and the statement made Mr Drabble.
17346. Mr Drabble: I have nothing further
to add.
17347. Chairman: Thank you very much.
We now move on to the next Petition, Eleanor Street Travellers
All Resident Group.
17348. Mr Mould: Perhaps I should outline
the position in relation to the Eleanor Street site because you
are going to be hearing from two or three Petitioners in the course
of the next few moments in relation to that. What I will do is
set out our position in relation to that.
17349. Could we have our document number AP2-9—04-009.[1]
The Committee is now concerned with what is known as the Bow Street
Triangle. You can see that the Bow Street Triangle is now being
shown with lines along Eleanor Street and other streets in the
surrounding areas. Presently within the Triangle area itself there
is a very well established travellers' site, outlined in red,
which we understand from Tower Hamlets is an important travellers'
site facility. There are also some industrial units—Bow
Business Units 1-3—which are outlined in green; and what
is known as the Laundry site, another industrial site to the north
of the travellers' site.
17350. The proposals for the scheme in relation
to the travellers' site are that there should be an access and
ventilation shaft (which is being pointed out) to the south-east
corner of the Bow Street Triangle. Proposals under the amended
provisions AP2 are designed to mitigate the impact of the construction
of that shaft particularly on the travellers who occupy the travellers'
site. The clear preference and policy of the Borough Council as
planning authority in discussions with the Promoter was that the
travellers' site should remain in itself a settled location—the
reasons for that I will go through. This is a site which is very
well settled and it clearly accords with Government policy that
sites of that kind, which are often very difficult to locate,
should be protected where possible, if it is possible to do so.
17351. In relation to that site, the Promoter
has looked at a number of options for relocating the site within
the Triangle, with a view to trying to accommodate the need to
locate the shaft and to minimise the impact on the travellers
during the construction phase. Could we go to 04-10; this is the
construction phase.[2]
This involves the acquisition of numbers 39-41 Eleanor Street,
and Units 1-3 of the Bow Business Park, which I pointed out to
you earlier, just to the south-west of the Triangle, and the realignment
of Business Park Road and the phased construction of new caravan
pitches to be carried out before the construction of the shaft;
we would carry out those works to relocate the travellers within
the site prior to construction of the shaft. After construction
of the shaft the Crossrail work sites would then become available
for redevelopment in accordance with our policies. That is the
area broadly to the south-east of the Triangle site. The advantages
of that are that the disruption to the travellers is minimised
through the construction process.
17352. If you go to page 011 we can see the
permanent rearrangement.[3]
You can see the travellers' site, the access road and then the
surplus land which is shown in purple, and the permanent operational
landtake to the south-eastern corner just adjacent to the land
that would be available for disposal. That is the position in
relation to the travellers. I think it is the travellers whom
the current Petitioner is speaking on behalf of.
17353. I will deal with this a little later
when the relevant Petitioner appears so that he is not disadvantaged.
I should just foreshadow, you are going to hear from Petitioner
Paperback who are the business occupiers of one of the business
units at the Bow Business Park. They would be displaced by these
proposals and would need to secure alternative premises for their
business. I will deal with the nature of their business and the
details in relation to what we can do for them in terms of compensation
and assisting in the relocation process later. The Committee ought
to note that that is one of the consequences of the arrangements
that we are proposing and would be asked to confirm later on today.
17354. Chairman, I think that is a brief overview
of the proposals in relation to the Bow Street Triangle, and I
will hand over to the Petitioner.
The Petition of Eleanor Street Travellers All
Residents Group
Mrs Marian Mahoney appeared as Agent
17355. Chairman: If this is your first
time here, however worried you may be about this it is probably
nothing compared with the dread that Mr Mould felt on his first
day here! Just take your time.
17356. Ms Mahoney: Greetings, ladies
and gentlemen of the Committee. My name is Marian Mahoney. I am
a resident of Eleanor Street Gypsy and Traveller Residential Site,
and I am also the secretary of the Eleanor Street Residents Group.
For the past two years I have represented our site at all meetings
and negotiations with Crossrail and the London Borough of Tower
Hamlets.
17357. I am here today to speak on behalf of
all the residents on the Eleanor Street site to explain to the
select committee how Crossrail's proposals will affect our community.
I would like to explain the agreement we have come to with Crossrail
and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets since our Petition was
lodged, and to ask the select committee to consider the Additional
Provisions 2.
17358. Our existing gypsy and traveller residential
site, which is run by the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, has
been home to 20 families for the last 24 years. Three generations
of our children have attended the same schools in the Bow area
for the last 24 years. We have children of all ages from nursery
upwards attending local schools. We feel that any disruption to
their education at this time would be devastating. We have built
up very good relations with the local community.
17359. We also have residents with health problems,
such as heart problems and mental and neurological problems, and
residents who are terminally ill. These residents need to be near
to doctors, hospitals and clinics at all times.
1 Crossrail Ref: P122, Eleanor Street Shaft-Current
Site Plan, Aerial Photograph (TOWHLB-AP2-9-04-009). Back
2
Crossrail Ref: P122, Eleanor Street Shaft-Proposed Traveller's
Site During Construction (TOWHLB-AP2-9-04-010). Back
3
Crossrail Ref: P122, Eleanor Street Shaft-Proposed Traveller's
Site Post Construction (TOWHLB-AP2-9-04-010). Back
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