The final proposals for the Thames Tunnel super sewer have been released by Thames Water and it seems that the water company have given in to public pressure to change the name of the project from the Thames Tunnel to the Thames Tideway Tunnel.
It had been pointed out to Thames Water on a number of occasions that the Thames Tunnels already exist, with the original being Marc Brunel’s Rotherhithe Tunnel. In response the water company has added the word ‘Tideway’ to highlight the central purpose of the project, which is to address the problem of discharging waste matter into the tidal River Thames.
Thames Water has now identified the 24 preferred construction sites and confirmed that the planned destination for the discharge from the tunnel will be Beckton Sewage Treatment works in Newham.
To comply with the Planning Act (2008) the revised proposal will start to feature as advertisements in publications across the city.
The head of Thames ‘Tideway’ Tunnel at Thames Water Phil Stride said:
“We are very grateful to the thousands of Londoners who took part in the consultation, helping us identify a design for the tunnel that meets the project’s objectives in a cost-effective way, whilst minimising disruption wherever we can.
“Obviously, it’s not been an easy process, and we are acutely aware that people living close to our preferred construction sites are very concerned about the potential local impacts. I can reassure them that we remain fully committed to working with them to find further ways of reducing the disturbance caused to nearby communities.”
The updated plans are on the thamestunnelconsultation.co.uk website until the 5th of October.