Examination of Witnesses (Questions 12020
- 12039)
12020. MS LIEVEN: I assume the Committee
is not expecting us to set out every substantive commitment, but
just the topics that are covered and where the answers are.
12021. CHAIRMAN: Yes, the topics that
are covered and, for instance, I think it might be worth explaining
in the settlement case that there are stages in the assessment
of a building. Yes, there have been some inspections, but there
will be more and there are different categories of buildings according
to whether they are listed or not, nothing more detailed than
that, but that sort of thing.
12022. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: It would
help if they provided the reference to where the better description
is.
12023. CHAIRMAN: Yes, the reference and,
if possible, the date since which these things have been in force.
12024. MS LIEVEN: The dates will not
be a problem; we can put the last date of each Information Paper
and the date when undertakings were given. I am just a little
nervous in terms of summarising, for example, if we take settlement
as the policy, the stages and so on for two reasons. One is that
the list that the Committee has asked for is a long list. There
are a lot of topics of environmental protection and there are
a lot of mechanisms for environmental protection quite apart from
the substance, so it is quite a major enterprise. We can do it
in terms of a list for tomorrow morning, but in terms of summarising
what the policies say, I think we may be struggling to do that
by tomorrow morning. The other problem, the more substantive problem,
is that I am extremely nervous about summarising what are complicated
documents. The IPs are written so that members of the public affected
by the scheme can understand them. They are not enormously technical.
12025. LORD JAMES OF BLACKHEATH: My Lord
Chairman, I have not heard you use the word "summarise".
"Listing the issues that are covered" is what I thought
I heard you say.
12026. CHAIRMAN: Well, I did, but then
I went and elaborated on it and that is what Ms Lieven is objecting
to.
12027. MS LIEVEN: Well, I am not really
objecting, my Lord. It is just that the one thing that I am very
concerned about is that we do not end up by confusing people so
that they look at something which, as it were, they perceive to
be a summary, then they have the main thing and they get the wrong
end of the stick. We have written those documents with huge amounts
of care to try to be as clear as possible, so could your Lordships
trust us to come up with the most sensible solution by tomorrow
morning?
12028. CHAIRMAN: Yes, certainly, and
tell them how they can get to see these things because it is perfectly
evident that they have never even looked at them.
12029. MS LIEVEN: Well, possibly; I will
not comment.
12030. CHAIRMAN: Well, I cannot believe
they have, judging by what happened yesterday evening!
12031. MS LIEVEN: I will not comment!
12032. BARONESS FOOKES: My Lord Chairman,
what we are looking for is that, if somebody were coming fresh
to this, they would be then given a good idea of what it is all
about, if you see what I mean. Somebody is coming to it, they
know nothing about it and you are just giving a very simple listing
and references to where the fuller information can be found.
12033. MS LIEVEN: Yes, I understand that.
Could your Lordships just give me one minute to set in train that
work being done because every moment is important, I suspect?
12034. CHAIRMAN: Yes, indeed. That is
why I raised it this morning.
12035. MS LIEVEN: (After taking instructions)
The request is being set in train, my Lord.
12036. CHAIRMAN: Well, now we come on
to today's business.
The following Petition against the Bill was read:
The Petition of Westbourne Park Villas Residents'
Association.
LADY MARGOT
BRIGHT appeared on behalf of the
Petitioner.
12037. MS LIEVEN: The first business
of today is the Westbourne Park Villas Residents' Association,
my Lords, and perhaps I may make a brief introduction before turning
to Lady Bright to present the Petition. Perhaps I can have put
up Exhibits 027 and 028 from yesterday. This covers issues that
I touched upon yesterday. Westbourne Park Villas, the Committee
will remember from the site visit and from the introduction yesterday,
is the area that lies to the south of the railway tracks covering
the area, I am not sure of the precise parameters of the Residents'
Association, but basically covering the residential properties
which lie to the south of the tracks from the Great Western Road
bridge along here (indicating) and then on to page 28, if we can
put that up.[2],[3]
This road, the one that runs along the south, is actually Westbourne
Park Villas.
The Petition of Westbourne Park Villas
Residents Association
12038. Now, I understand, and I hope I have
not got this wrong, that there are three principal issues that
the Residents' Association are going to raise today: the footbridge;
the batching plant; and a noise barrier along Westbourne Park
Villas. There may be other subsidiary issues, but I have picked
those as what appear to me to be the three principal issues.
12039. If I can start with the footbridge very
briefly, which is back to 027, I told the Committee where the
footbridge was yesterday, and those who went on the site visit
will remember walking backwards and forwards over it.[4]
I touched yesterday on the fact that it is an important pedestrian
link, we perfectly accept that, which goes from the residential
area to the south across to the area to the north of the tracks
and, in particular, now into the newly built Westminster Academy,
and it goes underneath the Westway here (indicating). Now, all
Crossrail, and Mr Berryman can tell you far more about this than
I, but all Crossrail needs to do to that bridge is to heighten,
to raise, the northern span to allow new tracks to go underneath
approximately here (indicating). The House of Commons Committee,
in the light of the Petition that was presented to them by the
Residents' Association, asked us to do work to the southern side
of the bridge in order to allow disabled access up on to the bridge.
As far as the northern side is concerned, Westminster Academy
have rebuilt, and the Committee will remember seeing this on the
site visit, part of the northern span, so there is disabled access
on the north side. In the light of the House of Commons' recommendation,
we agreed, and we promoted an AP to allow us to do this, to provide
disabled access on the south side, so the precise configuration
of that has not been determined yet, but there will be step-free
access now on the south side provided by Crossrail.
2 Crossrail Ref: P79, Westbourne Park-Crossrail proposals
(WESTCC-56_04-027) Back
3
Crossrail Ref: P79, Royal Oak Portal-Crossrail proposals (WESTCC-56-04_028) Back
4
Crossrail Ref: P79, Westbourne Park-Crossrail proposals (WESTCC-56_04-027) Back
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