Examination of Witnesses (Questions 18000
- 18019)
18000. Mr Bishop: I will see that that
is done, sir, yes.
18001. Chairman: Thank you very much.
Now we move on.
18002. Ms Lieven: Now we move on to the
opening on the additional provisions which some may feel is a
little after the event given how long it is since we started the
additional provisions.
18003. Mr Elvin: Sir, during the course
of the Bill, three sets of additional provisions have been deposited
with the Private Bill Office together with environmental statements
for the additional provisions, called APESs, and they fall to
be considered of course in accordance with the instructions of
the House. AP1 was deposited on 18 January 2006, AP2 on 9 May
2006 and AP3 was deposited on 7 November 2006. Of course each
of the APs requires your approval, although some of the items
in AP3, as you will be aware already, sir, arise from the Committee's
interim decisions given just before the summer.
18004. I have already explained to the Committee
last Tuesday that we do not pursue the Barbican crossover, which
is part of the APs, either as originally proposed or as proposed
to be revised in AP2, and we ask the Committee to support the
removal of the crossover from the Bill, and that point was dealt
with again yesterday when the Barbican Residents' Association
shortly presented its Petition to the Committee.
18005. Since the Committee has already heard
the Petitions concerning AP1 and AP2, I do not propose to deal
with them at any great length because the Committee will be familiar
with many of the proposals which are contained in them, for example,
the diversion of the Ham and Wick sewer and the Eleanor Street
gypsy site, and many of those matters have already been dealt
with by the Committee or resolved by agreement.
18006. I am going to touch on briefly, and spend
a little bit more time on, AP3 which really is the new material
which the Committee is about to start hearing. As I have said,
you have had the various AP environmental statements which accompany
the APs and they assess the likely significant effects of the
additional provisions and revise the assessments of the effects
previously made where they are altered or might be altered by
the proposed additional provisions. There are also some supplementary
environmental statements which provide additional information,
for example, the recent SES which I am going to deal with at the
end because there is something I need to tell you about that,
which includes further material, including a comparative assessment
of the shaft sites in the Spitalfields area which we agreed to
carry out during the hearing of the Spitalfields Petitions last
summer. Can I say, for the Committee's reference, that there is
a ready reckoner, an easy reference point for all of the additional
provisions in each of the non-technical summaries for the AP environmental
statements. There is a table close to the front of each of the
non-technical summaries which sets out the various additional
provisions and summarises what they are, so there is an easy reference
point in order that you can see, in very quick form, what is proposed.
In the first AP non-technical summary, it is pages 4 to 8 of table
1, in the second it is table 1.1, pages 4 to 7, and in the third
it is pages 4 to 11, table 1.1.
18007. AP1, as the Committee may recall, included
a number of features, and I will touch on them very briefly. There
were proposed amendments to the proposals at Paddington Station
to improve circulation between the temporary taxi facility and
the platforms to avoid conflicting movements. At Whitechapel Station,
there was an enlarged western ticket hall, a new pedestrian plaza
at Fulbourne Street and the replacement of two outer bridges carrying
the District Line over the ELR with footbridges. There were amendments
to the conveyor at the Isle of Dogs Station and there were temporary
diversion works proposed at Romford depot (west). At the Blackwall
Way and Limmo Peninsula shaft, proposals are made for the additional
temporary mooring to improve barge access and to remove the jetty
from the Limmo Peninsula. At Manor Wharf, an alternative site
layout is proposed to avoid conflict with proposed new energy
from waste facilities.
18008. AP2 included the following: a revised
scheme at the Westbourne Park sidings at the Royal Oak portal
to enable the reinstated plant to continue to operate at its current
capacity; at Farringdon Station and Liverpool Street Station,
of course the crossover was proposed to be revised to bring it
under the Barbican, but, as the Committee already know, we seek
the Committee's agreement not to pursue it and not to include
it within the Bill. As I mentioned on Tuesday, the access point
at Finsbury Circus worksite has also been amended and that is
required in any event with the agreement of the City of London
in order to reduce the impact of the access on the trees at Finsbury
Circus, and there is also an alternative route for the sewer diversion
which runs through the middle of Moorgate. As you also are aware,
at the Eleanor Street site, the Mile End Park and Eleanor Street
shafts have been revised because of the impact on the gypsy/travellers'
site, and you are also aware of the proposals to divert the Ham
and Wick sewer. There are also amended construction methods for
Dog Kennel Bridge and Chequer Bridge on the western line, details
of which of course are all set out and, I think, are now agreed.
18009. Turning in more detail to AP3, which
the Committee has yet to hear, perhaps I could ask for document
AP3a, which is the environmental statement, the overall key map
to be put up. There are various amendment proposals in fact along
the route in most parts of it. I will deal with the central area
first.
18010. The first proposal I intend to refer
to is the Royal Oak portal where a new ramp is to be constructed
from Westbourne Park Villas to the southern span of the footbridge,
following the Committee's recommendation, and there is a photograph
on page 13 of the AP3ES.[3]
The reversing facility has been moved further north to avoid greater
independence between the existing operational railway and Crossrail.
18011. Moving a little further east to Paddington
Station, page 25 please.[4]
Eastbourne Terrace is to be lowered, so Chiltern Street needs
to be regraded which removes the need for stairs and lifts between
Eastbourne Terrace and Departures Road. There is a relocation
proposed west of the station entrance and certain aboveground
structures are to be relocated.
18012. More significantly, at Bond Street Station,
which is page 37, what is proposed is an additional London Underground
station entrance and ticket hall which is proposed to be located
at 354-358 Oxford Street.[5]
The Committee can see, I hope, that that is outlined in white
with an arrow pointing at it, the building that requires to be
removed, along with a series of underground passages, escalators
and lifts which will increase capacity and reduce predicted congestion
in the interchange concourse on London Underground. In fact we
have an axonometric from AP3a, map C4(v) and you can see in red
the additional congestion relief infrastructure which will create
greater capacity within Bond Street.[6]
18013. Moving then to Tottenham Court Road Station,
page 55, there is a revised construction methodology requiring
an additional building to be demolished and we can see the revised
extension of the demolition in a sort of beige line extending
out to Denmark Place.[7]
The building to be demolished is 138-146 Charing Cross Road. The
eastern entrance to Centrepoint has been revised to enable it
to be used as the main entrance during the construction period
and, if you look at map C5(ii), that shows the extent of the revised
demolition.[8]
It shows the extent of the demolition now proposed and that will
assist in the creation of the new plaza to the west of Centrepoint
and the new traffic system which we have put up as map C5(viii)
from SES3a.[9]
You can see there that the proposed arrangement is that there
will be a plaza concourse to the east of Centrepoint with station
entrances both north and south and the realignment of the highway
that is proposed and the new development which will take place
along the southern side of the plaza. I was going to point out
where the Petitioner this afternoon was going to be, First Out,
but since they have withdrawn, I do not need to, but they were
about where the words "St Giles High Street" are.
18014. Jumping a mile or two to Farringdon Station,
page 75, this is the Fox and Knot Street Site.[10]
In accordance with the Committee's views, the shaft has been located
further to the east enabling 38 Charterhouse Street to be retained,
although numbers 40 to 42 still need to be demolished.
18015. Moving to Liverpool Street, again following
the Committee's recommendations, an additional Crossrail ticket
hall, which is referred to as the Broadgate ticket hall, is to
be provided.[11]
Ms Lieven is pointing to the proposed entrance which is in front
of the British Land site. The AP will also include the provision
of extra ticket gates in ticket hall B as to which you heard much
evidence just over a year ago.
18016. At Whitechapel the issue of the school
and access to the staff car park has been dealt with. The access
to the staff car park has been restricted and an additional access
is to be provided from Trahorn Close.[12]
You can see there is an arrow as Ms Lieven is pointing out.
18017. Without a picture, the Stepney Green
shafts are proposed to be amended allowing vertical limits for
the westbound tunnels to be raised which will allow the shaft
structures and the caverns for the tunnels to be constructed under
better geological conditions and therefore reducing the construction
risks.
18018. The Isle of Dogs Station—map C11(iv)
from AP3a—what is proposed there is a revised station design
with two ticket halls giving improved links to the north and the
south sides of the dock.[13]
We can see the entrances now proposed. The construction methodology
for the station has been revised to avoid extensive piling works
within the dock which would have significantly affected neighbouring
properties through construction noise, so that reduces the impact.
18019. Pudding Mill Lane—map C13(ii) from
AP3a—the worksite has had to be reconfigured and an additional
worksite provided between Cook's Road and River Lea to accommodate
the loss of the Bow Midland Yard (East) worksite.[14]
The new area is the purple hatch that Ms Lieven is pointing to.
The site that has had to be lost to accommodate the Olympics is
the roughly triangular patch just to the east of the River Lea.
Between there and the dotted lines further along you can see the
words "Bow Midland Yard" at the top. That has been removed
to accommodate the Olympics. The site has been reconfigured and
the purple area has been included so that will avoid any conflict
with the proposed Olympics which of course the Committee will
recall the Bill was deposited before the successful Olympic bid
was awarded to London.
3 Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement,
Chapter 2, Route Window C1: Royal Oak Portal, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP302-003). Back
4
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Chapter 3,
Route Window C2: Paddington Station, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP303-003). Back
5
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Chapter 4,
Route Window C4: Bond Street Station, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP304-003). Back
6
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Bond Street
Station, Amendment of Provisions-Axonometric, Map C4(v), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP3C4-006). Back
7
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Chapter 5,
Route Window C5: Tottenham Court Road Station, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP305-003). Back
8
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Tottenham
Court Road Station, Denmark Place and Centrepoint- Revised Scheme
and Impacts, Map C5(ii), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk (LINEWD-AP3C5-003). Back
9
Amendment of Provisions 3 Supplementary Environmental Statement,
Tottenham Court Road Station, Traffic Management Permanent Arrangement-Outline,
Map C5(viii), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk (LINEWD-SES3C5-009). Back
10
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Chapter 6,
Route Window C6: Farringdon Station, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP306-003). Back
11
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Chapter 7,
Route Window C7: Liverpool Street Station, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP307-004). Back
12
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Chapter 8,
Route Window C8: Whitechapel Station, billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(LINEWD-AP308-003). Back
13
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Isle of Dogs
Station, Transport Links, Map C11(iv), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(SCN-20070118-004). Back
14
Amendment of Provisions 3 Environmental Statement, Pudding Mill
Lane, Revised Scheme and Impacts, Map C13(ii), billdocuments.crossrail.co.uk
(SCN-20070118-005). Back
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