Examination of Witnesses (Questions 1820
- 1839)
1820. Walk along here (indicating) on the north
side of the tracks to rejoin the existing footpath, yes?
(Mr Graham) Yes.
1821. So they do not have to share a busy road
bridge as they did under the Chequer Bridge proposal?
(Mr Graham) That is right.
1822. Can we look then at another of your photographs,
photo K?[28]
This is a photograph taken from the footpath, is that right, of
Dog Kennel Bridge?
(Mr Graham) That is right.
1823. Can we put up our 23, please, and just
establish exactly where this is taken from. My understanding is
that it is just there?[29]
(Mr Graham) Yes, to the railings of the fence.
1824. If I could put up our photo, please, I
would suggest that it is slightly deceptive, your photograph K,
is it not, because in order to have taken that photograph you
would have to put the camera through the fence?[30]
(Mr Graham) Yes. I said that just now.
1825. In terms of the human view, you see Dog
Kennel Bridge only through this closed metal fence, do you not?
(Mr Graham) It is not closed.
1826. You see Dog Kennel Bridge through that
fence, do you not?
(Mr Graham) Yes.
1827. The last point relates to what you said
at the end of your statement because it may be there is a slight
misunderstanding here. You suggest at paragraph 22 that we have
failed to produce the costs of a simple replacement footbridge.
(Mr Graham) I did not say that, well I hope I did not. I
hope I did not mean that.
1828. What you say is, you asked the Promoter
to provide a detailed cost break of providing a simple replacement
footbridge but they have not done so. We did produce costs in
the House of Commons of providing a simple replacement footbridge,
did we not?
(Mr Graham) But not a breakdown.
1829. What you want is a detailed breakdown,
is it?
(Mr Graham) It was difficult to argue with an overall estimate
of cost, which I think was in the region of £1.2 million
or something.
1830. Mr Berryman will give evidence on that
in a minute.
(Mr Graham) Well, funding in that order. It was a single
figure and it was difficult for us as laymen. I am not a railway
person, I am hardly even a footpath person, but it was difficult
to criticise an overall figure. All I know is that in 1990 the
County Council engineers produced a figure of £150,000 and
I was trying to reconcile the two and I found it impossible to
do so.
1831. To be absolutely clear, there is no issue
that we have consistently produced figures for the cost of the
replacement bridge. What you are concerned about is the breakdown
of that cost, is that right?
(Mr Graham) Yes.
1832. MS LIEVEN: Thank you very much.
1833. MR SUGGETT: My Lords, I have no
re-examination.
1834. CHAIRMAN: Has anybody got any questions?
Re-examined by THE
COMMITTEE
1835. CHAIRMAN: Mr Graham, can you tell
me a bit more about the Colne Valley Regional Park Authority.
You say in paragraph eight that maintaining, if there is one,
a right of way across Dog Kennel Bridge is one of their key objectives,
what are their other key objectives?
(Mr Graham) They have a raft. It extends all
the way from Staines in the south to Rickmansworth in the north,
a distance of about 25 miles.
1836. How does this fit in with the other key
objectives? Have you got any document at all which shows this?
(Mr Graham) Mr Suggett has the whole document.
1837. MR SUGGETT: That said, I must confess
I do not have it with me.
(Mr Graham) Briefly, the Colne Valley Regional Park is an
association of all the local authorities in the area—Surrey,
Buckinghamshire, Hertfordshire et cetera and London ones as well
and voluntary groups and businesses that combine in a lower level
kind of national park way to produce the best possible outcome
for that urban fringe Colne Valley area for both local people
and for people in London and major conurbations coming to use
it as green belt land. Part of that includes public access. I
have said in my evidence that this is one of the narrowest parts
of the Colne Valley. I said it is 25 miles long, in places it
is barely a couple of miles wide and at this particular point
in Iver there are only two paths that run north and south through
the Colne Valley between Slough on one side and West Drayton,
part of Hillingdon Borough on the other; Iver 15 is one of the
only two paths that go through open countryside.
1838. It is for exactly this sort of reason
that I wanted to know some more details and you have not got anything
to show us?
(Mr Graham) Not to hand.
1839. LORD BROOKE OF ALVERTHORPE: Why
do they want to maintain vehicle access when there is no vehicle
access at the moment, as far as I can see?
(Mr Graham) Sorry, I have to go back to that particular page,
page eight. I must confess, I do not know. I included the quote
in full. The only person who has vehicle access rights are the
owners of the land either side. We are certainly not campaigning
for vehicle access rights and I do not know why that is in there.
28 Committee Ref: A11, View of Dog Kennel Bridge from
Footpath 15A (BUCKCC-10_05-011) Back
29
Crossrail Ref: P17, View of railway fence from Footpath 15A (SCN-20080303-004) Back
30
Committee Ref: A11, View of Dog Kennel Bridge from Footpath 15A
(BUCKCC-10_05-011) Back
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