SOME three years ago the Hayes Gazette published the proposed route for a 1.22-metre diameter gas pipeline that would transport gas from Harefield to Southall.

The cut and cover construction by National Grid was to be installed to meet demand in the area. It would come through open country and under the A40, staying within Hillingdon until it reached Southall.

The nearest it came to our part of Northolt was when it went under Kingshill Avenue, Hayes, 100m from the Yeading brook, which is the Hillingdon boundary.

Ealing Council would have been notified of the proposals and asked for its comments.

They should have informed the local West End ward councillors, who would have contacted the local residents' association; this was not done as the councillors were not informed.

Time went by until early this year National Grid erected a large compound on the Ealing side of the Yeading brook at the entrance to Yeading Brook Meadows, which is a nature reserve and local parkland.

Local residents had received a letter in December 2008 advising them of a tunnel to be constructed under Kingshill Avenue, Hayes to take the pipeline.

To their surprise the construction site was behind their homes, with the pipe within a few metres from where they live.

One of our members who was affected by this asked the local councillors why there had been no consultation with local residents or their residents' association, as this development had a direct and severe effect in the locality.

He asked, had an environmental impact study been carried out as the pipeline now came trough a nature reserve that contained rare wild orchids and a pond containing crested newts.

He asked had the Fire Service been consulted on the proposal and had a risk assessment been carried out, being mindful of the Bunsfield catastrophe. This pipeline, by its change of route, comes close to people's homes.

He to date has not received an answer to his questions from Ealing Council planning department, no satisfaction for his concerns from National Grid.

He took his concerns to Steve Pound MP, who eventually managed to get a reply from National Grid, which admits that an environmental impact assessment was included in the process and that it had contacted a number of statutory organisations,

including the London Borough of Ealing. It also said: 'Design codes regulate the proximity of the pipelines to properties and only allow construction where it is safe to do so.'

There is no mention of a risk assessment, no reason given why there is a deviation from the original route through Hillingdon, no reason given as to why local councillors and local people were not consulted on the matter.

We will be asking our MP Steve Pound to take this matter up with the Secretary of State for the Environment. We cannot enter our nature reserve to see that damage has been done as the construction compound bars our entrance.

We were not consulted on these matters and so prevented from giving our views.

We should have been consulted on all the issues regarding this development, as is the norm when such developments affect our way of life and our environment; why was this not done?

FRANK IMPEY Chairman, Northolt Grange

Residents' Association

Northolt