Thames Tunnel decision – a blow for Deptford

You may have heard on the news that the government have given the go ahead for the Thames Tideway Tunnel. And if you visit this blog often you'll know there's been a local campaign to stop Thames Water building a 17m wide 48m deep shaft on the Crossfields green space on Deptford Church Street.

The campaign initiated by Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart started in 2011. This year we reported in detail the well attended Open Floor Hearings held by the Planning Inspectorate at Deptford Lounge in February. Also that month, along with a small number of Crossfields residents and others, we took part in some air quality testing to map the pollution levels on Deptford Church Street, surrounding areas and beyond. We announced the shocking results in May. The aim was show to how the partial closure of Deptford Church Street required to build a tunnel shaft at this site would have a severe impact on local residents.

Whilst the final decision on the Thames Tunnel was in the hands of the Secretaries of State, the Deptford High Street Garden Association began to develop a container garden on the Deptford Church Street site.

The campaign by Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart (with assistance this year from Joan Ruddock MP, plus Joe Dromey and Brenda Dacre who have since become New Cross councillors), the opposition of Lewisham Council, plus the work done by a few folk on Crossfields, all seems to have made an impression on the Examining Authority. In their view "the use of the Green as a work site would be a serious loss to the local community" and even with the mitigation measures proposed by Thames Water, there will be significant impacts on St Joseph's School and St Paul's Church. But...

The Secretaries of State Decision Letter and Statement of Reasons can be found here. A paragraph on Air Quality mentions the local air quality testing we did in February:

"(para 28) The independent Deptford air quality surveys contained within representations from J.Ruddock MP / S. Lawes agree with the findings of the Applicant that Deptford’s current air quality has pollutants in excess of EU targets. The Report states that the construction phase of the tunnel will add to pollution levels in Deptford. The ExA conclude that this increase will not be substantial and the Secretaries of State agree with this and are content that the impact is acceptable". 

The section on Deptford Church Street can be found in paragraphs 113-115:

"113. The Secretaries of State accept that the ExA’s examination revealed limitations with this site, particularly in terms of loss of open space in an area of deprivation and in respect of noise impacts on St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Primary School and on St Paul’s Church, for a period of three and half years during construction."

"114. The Secretaries of State acknowledge that the ExA consider the loss of open space at this site to be a matter weighing against making the Order. They agree with the ExA, that Crossfield Amenity Green is not surplus to requirements and that even the temporary period in which it will be used as a work site will represent a serious loss to the community. However, the Secretaries of State agree with the ExA that the impact will be mitigated and the adverse impact on the landscape will be reversed . They also note that it will be open to the local authority to secure with the Applicant through the consent process under section 61 of the Control of Pollution Act 23 1974, additional mitigation measures in the form of noise enclosures, to help minimise noise impacts predicted on receptors."

"115. The Secretaries of State agree that the alternative sites considered offer no less significant impacts, that the need for, and benefits of, the project overall outweigh the adverse effects and the temporary loss of open space, and are satisfied that impacts are mitigated as far as practicable since some disruption is unavoidable in a project of this scale."

The actual Planning Inspectorate's recommendations on which the Secretaries of State have based their decision can be found here. Skip through the huge report to page 357 to find out what they said about the site at Deptford Church Street.

Because campaigners had focused on the only alternative presented by Thames Water (another 'interceptor site' at Borthwick Wharf) the panel restricted themselves to considering only that alternative. They did not look in detail at previously suggested alternatives. And they did not think Borthwick Wharf was suitable either because it was so close to people's homes. Never mind that one residential home at Millennium Quay was given the same weighting (as a "receptor") as one whole school of a few hundred children at Deptford Church Street!

The panel noted that Thames Water had not presented the alternative "of avoiding the use of an interception site by redirecting the storm overflow direct to Greenwich Pumping Station, which is only approximately 400m from the Deptford Church Street site". Unbeknownst to us, the panel questioned Thames Water on this but they demonstrated that such a proposal was much worse – including the requirement to demolish the Birds Nest pub!

The Planning Inspectorate concluded that "a suitable alternative is not before us" and consequently the government have approved the Deptford Church Street site.

Now, as the news sinks in, there's a bit of fighting talk about judicial reviews on the whole project, or trying to get better mitigation locally. If you want to contribute to the debate, get in touch with our local councillor Joe Dromey.

But the Thames Tideway Tunnel isn't the only juggernaut heading our way. Whilst the development at Convoys Wharf (which, from a Crossfields point of view, will bring hundreds of HGVs thundering down our road) can be partly blamed on the policies of the current Mayor of London, Lewisham Council's own plans for our little area are not that short of a steamroller...

Deptford Garden Party and Press Call this evening 7pm

As reported in our previous post last Friday, the community garden which has a lease on the open land next to St Paul's Church planned to begin building their garden last weekend, but Thames Water's proposals to dig exploratory trenches in the area threatened to scupper their schedule.

They decided to go ahead and start building anyway, and on Sunday with eight volunteers in tow, they had managed to complete construction of six of the eight planned wooden containers that will become soil beds for vegetables and herbs that any locals who want to get involved may grow here. Two more containers will be built today, and in celebration...

'Deptford's Open Garden' will hold a Ceremonial Opening this evening at 7pm. 

Everyone is welcome to attend. It will be a lovely evening – bring a bottle and refreshments, a friend or two, blankets, musical instruments, outdoor games stuff, and enjoy this bit of open green space before it's gone! Arrive at 7pm sharp for a press photo call, if you can!

Since the news, the gardeners have negotiated with Thames Water to keep the willow circle space accessible during the works. TW's 5-week programme of digging exploratory trenches was postponed from Monday but will start tomorrow, so this is the last chance to see and use the space before it is fenced off and works start.

Locals have been opposed to Thames Tunnel's proposals to build a shaft for the super sewer on this site and wished it to be kept for communal use. The Secretary of State is still to decide on whether Thames Water (aka Thames Tideway Tunnel) can have permission to use the site.

In the meantime, with TW's full co-operation, the gardeners can start growing stuff alongside the company's trench digging.

Thames Tunnel Public Hearing: Thursday 21st November at the Ahoy Centre

Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart have produced a brief and very good document which contains the arguments against Thames Tunnel using the site at Crossfields Green. Download it here.

Apart from the demo being organised (8.45am) for the start of tomorrow's Thames Tunnel Pubic Hearing at the Ahoy Centre (click to find location), we understand the public may attend the inquiry itself even if they have not registered formally to speak at this "Open Floor Hearing", which is being held by the government's Planning Inspectorate (not Thames Water). If you decide to attend (registration is 9 - 9.30am), you will find the document useful.

HOW IT WILL AFFECT YOU: NOISE AND POLLUTION

Apart from the unacceptable rise in noise levels for the church, school and Crossfields residents, spoil from the shaft and tunnelling work will be removed from the site by hundreds of lorries, forcing the closure of the western carriageway of Deptford Church St, and reducing it to the two lanes closest to Crossfields. For three years.

Work will also start next year on Creekside at Faircharm Trading Estate, and Creekside itself will become the main route for up to 90 construction lorries per day. When the Thames Tunnel work starts in 2016, Creekside will be used as a rat run, so there will be no letting up on our exposure to gridlocked traffic on all sides.

In a recent survey by Greenwich campaigners "No to Silvertown Tunnel", it was revealed that Greenwich Council's own figures showed pollution levels at the top of Deptford Church Street where it meets Creek Road were on average 61.34 μg/m3 between Jan 05 and Jul 13. Readings above 40μg/m3 are in breach of EU air quality regulations.
www.silvertowntunnel.co.uk/our-study/
www.silvertowntunnel.co.uk/our-study/greenwich-borough-data/

Update: (And how could we forget!) If Hutchison Whampoa's application for Convoys Wharf is approved by the Mayor of London (see our previous post and sign the petition there), they will start work in 2014 (to go on until 2023), adding hundreds of construction vehicles to Evelyn St and Creek Road, and causing massive congestion which will of course tail back along Deptford Church Street. 

Thames Water's original site was at Borthwick Wharf on the riverside at Millennium Quay, where spoil could be removed by water. In a massive abandonment of their environment principles, they then switched the site to landlocked Deptford Church Street. We need to let them know we cannot tolerate the levels of pollution this scheme will bring, and insist they revert to their first chosen site.

In addition, see this report that says the proposed increase in household waste water charges (by as much as £80 a year) may generate after-tax returns as high as 24% for Thames Water, more than three times the estimated 7% return for other water utilities.

Please sign the petition here.

The Don't Dump on Deptford Heart's "They say, we say" document can be downloaded here.

Local weekend events

Sacrilege: Saturday 4 August 10am-6pm

A life-size replica of Stonehenge – which is also a giant fully operational bouncy castle – returns to South London for one day only (last bounced on in these parts at Greenwich Peninsula). It will be in Burgess Park on Saturday till 6pm. Pick up the 436 or 171 to the Old Kent Road and get off at St Giles Church (or opposite Curry's). Sacrilege was made by Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller and has been touring the country as part of the Cultural Olympiad.
sacrilege2012.co.uk/

Organ Recital at St Paul's Church: Saturday 4 August, 12noon

Complementing the artists showing in the church as part of Deptford X, organist Sue Heath-Downey will be performing various works by Bach, Couperin, Messiaen and Murrill. An antidote to the Olympics... 

Family Fun Day at Creekside Discovery Centre: Sunday 11am–3.30pm
A free day of activities for children and adults to explore the local wildlife in and around Deptford Creek.

 

Super Saturday on Blackheath: 12noon – 10.30pm

Back to the Olympics, Super Saturday is the day when most medals can be won. Up on the heath, apart from the Big Screen showing the live Olympic action, there'll be performances from local bands and local talent, loads of stalls and carnival – a mini Lewisham People's Day in a brand new setting. More here.
Lewisham Council expect large crowds on Sunday evening when local lad Conrad Williams may be in the 400m semi-finals at 8.40pm...and Usain Bolt runs the men's 100m final at 9.50pm.

Family Weekender at Greenwich

At the Old Royal Naval College, as well as the Big Screen, there's free entertainment all day Saturday and Sunday till 10.30pm, with music, film and street arts, as part of Greenwich Summer Festival.
Ticketed events throughout the festival which require booking include comedy shows and Midsummer Night Flicks.

A relaxed crowd at Lewisham Big Screen on Friday evening – the start of the Athletics.
 

Don't Dump on Deptford's Heart Update: Deptford Community Garden

We've received an update from campaigners Harry and Clare Richardson at Don't Dump On Deptford's Heart who are trying to save the triangular green between Coffey St. and Crossfield St – currently under threat from being claimed for a huge access shaft to the Thames Tunnel super-sewer. See www.dontdumpondeptfordsheart.co.uk

They are proposing to install a Community Herb Garden and Orchard on the site and aim to begin before the upcoming consultation with Thames Water on the 15th November. They hope that such an immediate and substantial voluntary effort from the community will demonstrate the strength of feeling about retaining this green space and create a symbolic barrier to Thames Water's proposals. Harry and Clare said, "It will also provide an ongoing focus for the campaign, which might play out over a long period of time, with the garden continuing to raise awareness and galvanise support for protecting this open space.

"It is also intended that the garden will go on to provide Deptford with a wonderful green facility long into the future, turning this often overlooked space into a valuable resource that is open to all to visit and to garden in. It is especially hoped that local schools will get involved and that it will become a place for young and old to share the satisfying activity of gardening, growing produce and supporting local wildlife."

To date the Community Garden has gained support from local landscape architects Roundfield with the offer of free consultancy and garden design, plus free website delivery from local designers Studio Raw. They also have the support of Deputy Mayor Alan Smith to use the site, advice from the council on setting up an accountable body to manage it, and approval of Father Paul at St Paul's.

The next step is to publicise the activity, invite public involvement and raise some money to help get things started.

IF YOU WANT TO GET INVOLVED:

1. VOTE FOR THE GARDEN AT THE EVELYN WARD ASSEMBLY THIS SATURDAY
The Evelyn Assembly will be allocating its funds at a public meeting this Saturday. Those attending will be voting on various proposals from other parts of Evelyn Ward. The Community Garden is asking for £500 to cover the cost of printing to publicise it as widely as possible and to kick off a fund for plants and seeds. The proposal needs people at the meeting to vote for the garden to get funding since it will be competing with many other causes.

Date: Saturday 17th September
Time: 10.30am for registration. (No vote if arriving after 11am)
Location: 2000 Community Action Centre, 199-201 Grove St. SE8 3PG

2. COME TO OUR OPEN MEETING TO HELP PLAN THE GARDEN
There will be a meeting (details of time and place to follow shortly) to describe the plans so far and to gather ideas from local residents about the best way to develop the garden. The meeting will decide upon a steering committee and fix a timeline for getting the garden installed. Everyone is welcome, keen gardeners and absolute beginners alike, whoever wants to help make the garden a success.

Don't Dump on Deptford

Last Saturday a protest was held outside St Paul's Church against Thames Water's proposal to situate next to the church a work site to connect the 'local combined sewer overflow' (CSO), known as Deptford Storm Relief (which runs under the length of Deptford Church Street) to the proposed Thames Tunnel project.

The site in question is a triangle of land next to Coffey Street, right opposite Congers and Farrer House. As Marmoset posted recently, the site is also close to two schools, and, of course, the historic St Paul's. The protest last Saturday was led by the rector, Father Paul Butler, and Cllr Alan Smith, Deputy Mayor – which means it has the full support of the Lewisham Labour group and Joan Ruddock MP.

Mr Smith, a civil engineer, was keen to point out that although this first protest was called Stop The Stink, it is not a bad smell that is going to be the problem – the campaign is therefore now known as Don't Dump on Deptford. See the protest covered in the South London Press.

The Deptford Dame has just posted her own analysis of the situation which helps to explain what the proposals may entail (and dispel one of two fears of protesters). As she points out, Thames Water still have to present more detailed plans for this site.

If you want to know more, come to the public meeting on Tuesday 9th August at 7.30pm, at the Salvation Army Hall in Mary Ann Gardens.

At the consultation held at Creekside Centre in June, Thames Water reps told us that their preferred site for these works is Borthwick Wharf, but there is opposition from the Environment Agency and local residents.

Plans to use Chambers Wharf in Bermondsey and King's Stairs Gardens in Rotherhithe as work sites for other connecting tunnels have also been met with vigorous local opposition.

Meanwhile, Hammersmith & Fulham Council are against the entire Thames Tunnel project, and have launched a Commission to address whether the Thames Tunnel is the best solution to making the river cleaner, supported by Southwark, Richmond and the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea.

Wandsworth council are also opposed  and Tower Hamlets has recently joined the Commission and supports the SaveKemp (King Edward VII Memorial Park) campaign in Limehouse.

The Save Your Riverside campaign at Chambers Wharf says an alternative put forward by Ofwat, apparently based on world class research, is estimated to solve the overflow problem at only 52% of its cost (the Tunnel is estimated to cost £1m per metre). The campaign also points out that Thames Water customers face significantly inflated bills for the long term as alternatives are brushed aside.

Local news digest 8:16 News reports from a Save Your Riverside press release that the cost of the Tunnel "would have to be paid for in full by Thames Water customers, not its shareholders. For the next five years every Thames Water customer, from the Cotswolds to Kent, would have to pay an additional estimated £80 annually on their water bills (assuming no overruns for a project whose estimated cost has already doubled since its first draft), potentially pushing some people into 'water poverty'..."

Furthermore, "Once built, the Tunnel, paid for by the public, would end up as an asset on Thames Water's balance sheet (principally owned by Australian Investment Bank Macquarie). They would be in a position to continue to pass on maintenance costs for the long term to their customers, who have no way of voting with their feet, due to the regulated monopoly nature of the Thames Water arrangement."

(You can download the latest copy of 8.16 News here).