Examination of Witnesses (Questions 5520
- 5539)
5520. MS LIEVEN: My Lord, to some degree
there already is inasmuch as I know that at least two of the people
behind me have already been speaking regularly to London Underground
about works going on for the East London Line at Whitechapel.
The overlap will be in respect of our utilities works which are
anticipated to start next year, 2009, and the East London Line
works will not have finished by then. There is no overlap in terms
of works sites because the utility works are carried out in Durward
Street, but there will be an overlap for that period. Once our
main works start the East London Line project is finished and
is out of the site. I think Ms Singleton is entirely accurate
to say that Kempton Court will face in total something in the
vicinity of ten years of railway construction in their area. So
far as the overlap period is concerned, we will certainly work
closely with Transport for London and we will have to do so because
we cannot be blocking Durward Street at a point when they are
trying to get lorries into Essex Wharf. Can I say in terms of
information that we already have a system of producing information
flyers, leaflets, for local residents, and as soon as we have
any information on, for instance, the date that utility works
will start we will give that to the local residents through that
leafleting system. We are fully committed to a full and complete
level of information to local residents. As I say, so far as co-ordinating
with Transport for London is concerned, we are talking to them
all the time and we will certainly be doing so once the utilities
works are in closer anticipation.
5521. CHAIRMAN: I do not want to find
that a Kempton Court resident goes into the one-stop-shop and
says, "There is a major noise going on at the moment",
and they are told, "Oh, well, it is nothing to do with Crossrail.
It is Transport for London and the East London Line". You
know all too well, I am sure, from your own experience the way
that it is always somebody else's fault.
5522. MS LIEVEN: Yes, my Lord. That particular
form of buck-passing is unlikely to happen here because the overlap,
as I said, will be between the utilities work on Durward Street
and the construction work on the East London Line which is going
on on the tracks down on Essex Wharf and further north up to Bishopsgate
goods yard. It will be completely obvious as to which the noise
source is: is it a man digging outside my front window digging
up the electric lines, or is it a man down on the embankment of
the East London Line which will be totally physically different
and also different types of work? In that respect there is unlikely
to be the kind of passing of the buck which your Lordship is quite
right, does quite often happen. What I cannot say is whether or
not, once the main works site and somebody in Kempton Court hears
a nasty noise out of their window, it is a nasty noise coming
off the Royal London site on the other side of the road or it
might be us, so we cannot say we will always know it is us, but
I think the reality is that for the construction period of Crossrail
it will be pretty obvious that the noise impact on Kempton Court
is coming from Crossrail in the majority of circumstances. I cannot
sign an absolute guarantee.
5523. CHAIRMAN: I am just trying to make
sure that when it is not Crossrail the people who come to find
out about it and to say that it is intolerable or whatever are
not going to be sent away because it is not Crossrail.
5524. MS LIEVEN: I am absolutely sure
that if people come into the one-stop-shop and say that they have
been kept up during the night and the contractors' employees think
that it is nothing to do with Crossrail, they will tell people,
"That is noise from -" and the only other large works
site I can think of is the Royal London—"the Royal
London", and the one-stop-shop will do what it can to put
people in contact with the right contractors. That would be good
practice and I will take instructions but I am sure that is what
would happen in practice. That is what would happen, for example,
on Channel Tunnel Rail Link where some of the people who are working
with us on these issues previously worked on Channel Tunnel Rail
Link. Obviously, again, if you have got two construction sites,
then good practice is that if it is the other one, you put people
in touch with the right people. It is in everybody's interests.
5525. BARONESS FOOKES: It does not always
happen, does it?
5526. MS LIEVEN: My Lady, as I am sure
any Member of Parliament knows better than I, one cannot legislate
for individuals in every circumstance, but we have very well set
out and well thought out policies on these issues, and we have
relied very heavily on the precedent of the Channel Tunnel Rail
Link, which in the main was a very successful project in this
respect. I cannot say it will happen because I cannot know what
individuals will do in seven years' time, but I can say to your
Ladyship that there are well set out policies which we are fully
committed to implementing and which have proved in the past to
be in the main successful, which is, I would suggest, the best
we can do in this situation.
5527. BARONESS FOOKES: But we do not
want to be a case of hope over experience.
5528. MS LIEVEN: No, but I would suggest
that we are a case of experience because central London has gone
through the Channel Tunnel Rail Link project very recently. Many
of the staff from then have become our staff and we have learned
from what has been a good experience and we have every commitment
to making it a better experience. We are basing ourselves on a
good experience.
5529. BARONESS FOOKES: I hope the Petitioners
are listening to that and will act accordingly.
5530. CHAIRMAN: The other thing, Ms Singleton,
is that all this will be down in the transcript of today's proceedings,
so you can go into the one-stop-shop waving the papers and say,
"That is what they said they would do".
5531. MS SINGLETON: Thank you; good idea.
5532. CHAIRMAN: And you could not complain
about that, Ms Lieven, could you?
5533. MS LIEVEN: I certainly could not
and I am sure those behind me would not complain about it.
5534. CHAIRMAN: Thank you very much.
That is all you wanted to say, Ms Singleton, was it?
5535. MS SINGLETON: Yes, that is right.
5536. CHAIRMAN: We are very grateful
to you. I think perhaps I will adjourn formally now until tomorrow
morning at ten.
5537. MS LIEVEN: It may be worth my telling
your Lordship that I think we did have Mintel tomorrow but they
have settled, so they are not attending. Mintel have gone. Havering
I think have agreed the principal point. I think they may still
be turning up to mention it—they are coming to make a statement,
but on the only outstanding point of concern, I understand, to
be agreed, and then you have two Petitioners left over from last
week, Patricia Jones and Khoodeelaar!. Whether they attend and
in what circumstances, my Lord, I cannot comment on.
5538. CHAIRMAN: The local authorities
are all going to tell us about the generic issues that they have
been dealing with; is that not right?
5539. MS LIEVEN: They are, but I understand
them to be agreed, so I think they are going to tell you in short
compass. Kensington & Chelsea and Brentwood are supporting
Havering, so it is only Havering who are going to come and they
are, I think, going to make a short statement about fixed installation
noise.
| 
