Environmental charities and amenity groups representing over 5 million people who have been campaigning for a cleaner Thames in London have today welcomed the decision of the government to go ahead with the long awaited and much needed Thames Tideway Tunnel.
The Thames Tunnel Now (TTN) coalition comprising national and local organisations – including RSPB, WWF, London Wildlife Trust, Thames21, Angling Trust, River Thames Society and angling and boating groups (including NABO)- has been calling since 2011 for the construction of a new tunnel under the Thames to stop tens of millions of tonnes of sewage overflowing into London’s river each year through the city’s 36 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs). The result of more than ten years of exhaustive research and development by Thames Water and the Environment Agency, the tunnel proposal has been declared by independent studies as the only viable solution to dealing with "London’s dirty secret whereby as little as 2mm of rain can cause the sewers to overflow directly into the river with devastating effects for fish and other wildlife.
Following ministerial sign off the Planning Inspectorate this morning approved the application for Development Consent for the Thames Tideway Tunnel. The project will now move to the construction phase.
The Tideway Tunnel is one of the biggest engineering projects in Europe and will cost £4 billion. It is estimated that each Thames Water household will pay less than 20p per day for the tunnel and a much cleaner river and with Thames Water bills currently among the lowest in the country, the new higher rates will still be around the average for water companies in the UK. Construction of the tunnel will create over 9,000 new direct and indirect jobs. A clean and healthy tidal river will also support many thousands more employment opportunities in recreation, leisure and tourism industries in the future.
Full details of the Government’s announcement can be viewed here:
For more information:
Martin Holm, Marketing and Communications Officer, Thames21: 07827 352 675, martin.holm@thames21.org.uk