Hammersmith and Fulham Council has threatened to take legal action after plans for a ‘super sewer’ going right through Fulham were rubber stamped today (September 13).
The 25km Thames Tideway Tunnel was granted planning consent by Liz Truss, the environmental secretary, and Eric Pickles, the communities secretary this morning.
Building can now go-ahead to excavate the site at Carnwath Road on the riverside in south Fulham for the £4.2 billion concrete tunnel which aims to tackle the increasingly bad sewage pollution in the River Thames. This will be one of 24 construction sites across London.
The council, backed by neighbours, is now threatening to take legal action over the planning consent as it says the massive construction zone should be moved away from tens of thousands of people’s homes and five schools within 700 meters of the site as the seven year construction works will have a detrimental impact on people’s health and quality of life.
In a dramatic u-turn in November 2011 Thames Water changed its original preferred site from open space currently used as playing fields in Barn Elms, Richmond to Fulham.
Speaking just before this morning’s decision, Wesley Harcourt, the council’s environment boss, said: “The human cost of Thames Water’s super sewer plans for south Fulham will be so much greater than they would be at Barn Elms. The devastating sewer proposals would see south Fulham homes blighted, roads congested and school children and vulnerable residents all at risk from noxious fumes.”
Andy Mitchell, chief executive of Thames Tideway Tunnel, said: “If the tunnel had been in operation last year, it would have captured 97% of the sewage that poured in to London’s river.
“Hardly a week goes by when untreated sewage is pouring in to London’s river and we are pleased that we can now start to tackle this archaic problem.
“This is a huge project but it’s a huge problem, and we can now get on with tackling it. It’s no easy task, but we’re confident that we can deliver this project and still achieve our aim of minimising the impact on our customer bills.”
The planning consent also means water bills for five million households across London and the south east are set to soar by £80 by the early 2020s.
The tunnel will run underground from Acton storm tanks and travel through Fulham then underneath the river to Abbey Mills Pumping Station in east London where it will connect to the Lee Tunnel.
