Hammersmith and Fulham Council have called the meeting, on December 7th, to give residents the chance to question Thames Water.
Thames Water plans to change the main construction site to Carnwath Road, Fulham, have led Hammersmith and Fulham Council to call an emergency Super Sewer Summit.
The Summit, to be held on December 7th, gives residents the chance to question Thames Water’s change of construction site to the south Fulham location with Thames Water saying they will send a representative along.
Chelsea and Fulham MP Greg Hands discovered plans by Thames Water that could send up to 29,000 lorries along New King’s Road and Wandsworth Bridge Road during construction of the Super Sewer.
Greg Hands MP said: “This route would bring traffic misery. We already knew that parts of Fulham would be affected, but not on this scale. Both Fulham and Chelsea could see gridlock, as well as noise and other disruption.
“It is completely unacceptable for Thames Water to put thousands of lorries through residential areas – particularly when barges are an option.”
Members of Hammersmith and Fulham Council have also expressed strong opinions against the £4.1 billion Thames Tunnel construction plans.
Cllr Nick Botterill, H&F Council’s Deputy Leader, said: “It is ludicrous that a densely packed residential community has been selected as the main drive site when Thames Water officials have admitted that it will affect more people and cost more money.
“We need to understand what is driving Thames Water’s bizarre u-turn and then persuade them that there are better alternatives.”
Cllr Stephen Greenhalgh, H&F Council Leader, said: “Fulham is uniting to say no to these plans. The Super Sewer Summit is a call to arms and we will all need to man the barricades if we are to defend our close knit residential neighbourhood from Thames Water’s bulldozers.
“It is a real and present danger with the potential to blight the lives of thousands of west Londoners from the heart of Fulham and Parsons Green to Chelsea and all along the New Kings Road.”
Thames Water are at the start of a 14-week consultation period and say they are ‘all ears’ to people’s views so they can come up with the best plan possible.
The water company stick by their proposals which have yet to be finalised.
Thames Water said: “Under our current proposals we intend to remove 90% of the excavated material from the tunnel construction by river or rail, significantly reducing lorry movements, all of which will be at times avoiding rush-hour agreed with the local authority.
“If the council was to go ahead with its own redevelopment proposals for
the Carnwath Road site there would be at least as many, if not more, daily
lorry movements than we are proposing.”
