Greg Hands, MP for Chelsea and Fulham, has today written to the Environment Secretary to stand up for local residents against the cost of the proposed Super Sewer. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is consulting on whether to make the Thames Tideway Tunnel Project a ‘Specified Infrastructure Project’, in which case it would become the subject of a competitive tendering process, rather than being carried out by the incumbent provider, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, by default.
A specification notice would put the financing of the project out to tender, and possibly therefore leading to a better deal for Chelsea and Fulham constituents and indeed water customers across the whole of the Thames Water area.
For several years, Greg Hands has championed the concerns of local residents over the proposed sewer and in particular that the cost will be unfairly passed on to customers. This has included participating in two large public summits and numerous meetings with residents’ groups, as well as lobbing the water regulator Ofwat against rising bills from Thames Water as a result of the planned project. The most recent request by Thames Water for an 8% rise in bill was successfully blocked by the regulator Ofwat in November, following earlier intervention from Greg.
In his letter to the Environment Secretary, Greg said that with the cost of the project estimated at over £4 billion, this was being unfairly passed onto Thames Water customers in Chelsea and Fulham. He wrote: “As an MP representing many thousands of Thames Water customers who are concerned about the rising cost of bills, I am opposed to the passing on of the cost of the project to these customers.”
Greg also used the opportunity to share with the Environment Secretary, his concerns for the planned use of Carnwath Road Riverside in Fulham in order to dig a main shaft to the proposed sewer. He explained that Carnwath Road is in the heart of a residential area, with 15,000 homes, seven schools and 2,000 businesses located within 2,000 metres of the proposed tunnelling operations, where the disruption faced by local residents, schools and businesses would be enormous.
Greg told the Secretary of State that: “The local community is overwhelmingly hostile to using Carnwath Road in this way. I do not believe that Thames Water should be allowed to compulsorily purchase land at the Carnwath Road site, especially as this would frustrate the ambitious re-development plans that Hammersmith and Fulham Council have for the area.”
He added “I shall continue to represent the concerns of local residents about the site and look forward to holding a meaningful dialogue about the site and in seeking alternatives.”
You can read Greg’s full submission to the Defra consultation here.
Members of the public wishing to submit their views can do so before 6th January 2014 via the Defra website here.