London's Mayor: Hammersmith one of the Key Areas to Benefit from Sewer Tunnel (Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats)

Hammersmith and Fulham Liberal Democrats <info@hflibdems.org.uk>

London's Mayor: Hammersmith one of the Key Areas to Benefit from Sewer Tunnel

September 21, 2009 3:34 PM

Boris Johnson, replying to a question from Lib Dem GLA member Mike Tuffrey admitted that although Hammersmith would be one of the "key areas" to benefit from the Tideway Tunnel, his officers had not yet managed to make the (Conservative) administration in Hammersmith and Fulham see sense.

"My officers have met with Hammersmith & Fulham Council. I have also made a representation in respect of the Council's Core Strategy Development Plan Document requiring the recognition of the strategic need for this project.

"The Hammersmith area will be one of the key areas to benefit from the sewer tunnel and I am optimistic that the Council will support the project provided that appropriate assurances about its construction and re-instatement are provided" )

The Tideway Tunnel, also dubbed the Super-Sewer, has been strongly opposed by Tories who run H&F, despite fears that the river itself is becoming a "super-sewer".

The Mayor's Draft Water Strategy, currently out for consultation, give a figure of 57 "outfalls" in London, from which rainwater mixed with untreated sewage can overflow directly into the Thames. Even minor rainstorms can now overwhelm our Victorian sewage system, and do so around 60 times a year (or more than once a week),with discharges exceeding 1 million tons of untreated sewage.

H&F opposes the plans on the spurious grounds that the tunnel may be built at Furnival Gardens (Thames Water says the site is too small), or Ravenscourt Park (which is too far from the river).