Examination of Witnesses (Questions 11220
- 11239)
11220. MR CLARKSON: We had it this morning,
my Lord, as Eastbourne Terrace.
11221. CHAIRMAN: It is Eastbourne Terrace.
Which side of it?
11222. MR CLARKSON: I cannot remember
the reference. It follows to the south of Eastbourne Terrace.
11223. LORD BROOKE OF ALVERTHORPE: When
do you want this to be effective from?
11224. MR CLARKSON: Immediately, my Lord.
All we can do is ask this Committee to beat the drum, so to speak,
saying to TfL, so that the message goes back: "Make sure
the City Council is involved or you involve the City Council and
inform the City Council so they can form a view".
11225. LORD BROOKE OF ALVERTHORPE: Surely,
Crossrail's involvement does not start to emerge until they get
works under way, does it?
11226. MR CLARKSON: My Lord, that is,
of course, the refinement, but if this Committee is prepared to
be as robust as the other Committee; we are not asking for the
same form of words but just to say, please, that TfL keep the
City of Westminster involved and consulted from now on on this,
because we see it as important.
11227. BARONESS FOOKES: Does the City
Council have a view as to what would be desirable?
11228. MR CLARKSON: We do not know until
we receive the material, my Lady, but we want to know what the
material is.
11229. BARONESS FOOKES: What I am saying
is, you have no preconceived view as to what would be desirable?
11230. MR CLARKSON: No.
11231. LORD YOUNG OF NORWOOD GREEN: The
penultimate paragraph on the first page there does reflect your
concern, does it not?
11232. MR CLARKSON: That is our draft,
my Lord. " ... prior to this decision." "TfL will
also liaise with Westminster City Council and other relevant parties
prior to this decision". We wanted something firmer than
that; we wanted "consult". "Liaise" was too
limp, really, because all they had to do was send a letter saying:
"This is what we are going to do or not going to do".
11233. CHAIRMAN: The difficulty seems
to me why this is relevant to this Bill. It may be very nice to
be consulted but what difference does it make to the terms of
the Bill?
11234. MR CLARKSON: It is an area that
is being looked at as a consequence of the Bill, my Lord, and
we, as the local authority, are very interested what happens to
any change that is going to be the product of it by TfL. We are
very interested to have the information up-front, now. That is
how it is relevant.
11235. CHAIRMAN: It has nothing to do
with the Promoter.
11236. MR CLARKSON: Not really, my Lord,
other than in the other Place there was a linkage. However, Crossrail
is jointly promoted by TfL and we remain firmly of the view that
this matter is within the influence of the Promoter. That is all.
11237. CHAIRMAN: I was told the other
day that TfL are not promoting the Bill; they are only sponsoring
it.
11238. MR CLARKSON: My Lord, the semantics,
of course, are correct. All I can do is declare the anxiety that
is with the City Council that they are very interested in this
and want to receive the material as soon as possible. It is now
in the public forum and I hope that TfL will take careful note
of what I said to the Committee. If the Committee were prepared
to say that is a good idea, I am sure it would be influential.
11239. CHAIRMAN: I do not know to what
extent the Promoters can deal with this.
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