from the Hammersmith & Fulham Chronicle

Who wants the entry to a giant sewer in Furnival Gardens? Not surprisingly, no one does, though you wouldn’t realise that from the noisy and expensive (your money of course) campaign being waged by Hammersmith & Fulham council. So what is going on?

Many thousands of homes in the borough have been flooded with sewage up to three times in the past four years. In response Thames Water are bidding to construct a new sewer running along the boundary with Kensington & Chelsea to increase the capacity in case of further intense storms.

But with this sewer there will be an even greater risk of discharging millions of gallons of sewage into the Thames when there are severe storms. This happened two years ago leading to massive pollution and the virtual extermination of marine life along our stretch of the river.

A repetition of this would be avoided by constructing the so-called ‘super sewer’ under the Thames which would drain away flood water and prevent sewage entering the river.

As part of the construction, Thames would need entry points along the 20 mile length, some of which would be in H&F. But as yet they have not proposed where any of these should be. Clearly, they should be told to look for brownfield sites not public parks. If this were the council’s policy, it would no doubt have everyone’s support – but it isn’t.

Firstly, they are themselves intending to dig up a large chunk of Furnival Gardens to make way for a bridge across to King Street – part of the grandiose redevelopment of the town hall to provide nicer offices for themselves.

Secondly, they are opposed not to the entry points but the tunnel itself, saying they are unconcerned by the current level of pollution and that we should oppose the clean up because it is supported by the EU.

Thirdly, they have instructed Thames not to discuss their plans with anyone but the Tory Party so once again public money can be used to support a purely sectarian campaign.

I asked a Tory insider to explain this increasingly bizarre behaviour and was told it has little to do with the issue itself – which they find dull - but is about asserting their right-wing credentials within the Tory Party. Apparently, being dismissive of Green policies and rabid anti-Europeanism are two badges of honour on the far right. All very interesting if you are into fringe politics, less comforting if you have to live in a borough run by these goons.