Agenda item

Under Council Procedure Rule 19 (d) iii, the Mayor allowed special motion 7.3 (Super Sewer) to have precedence and be debated as the next item.

7.47pm – Councillor Steve Hamilton moved, seconded by Councillor Ali de Lisle, the special motion standing in their names:

“This Council:

1.      Notes the current proposals by Thames Water to use a site at Carnwath Road as the main construction access for the Thames Tideway Tunnel/Super Sewer;

2.      Notes the disastrous effects on residents and homes in South Fulham this will have over the next 20 years;

3.      Reaffirms its opposition to the Super Sewer passed at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 17 September 2008;

4.      Supports residents in Sands End in their campaign against the Super Sewer;

5.      Calls on Thames Water immediately to withdraw proposals to use the Carnwath Road site as access to the Super Sewer.”

Speeches on the special motion were made by Councillors Steve Hamilton and Ali de Lisle (for the Administration).

Under Standing Order 15(e) (vi), Councillor Stephen Cowan moved, seconded by Councillor PJ Murphy, an amendment to the motion as follows:

“Delete all after "This Council" and replace with:

"notes that the Administration has an unhappy record of misinforming residents about the Thames Tideway Tunnel and regrets spending £20,000.00 of tax payers' money falsely telling the people of the Borough that Furnivall Gardens and Ravenscourt Park would be the home to a "giant bore hole" and "stink pipe" for "eight years." That transpired to be blatant scaremongering which it later admitted was based on no more than "speculation".

The Council also notes that the Conservative-led government and Boris Johnson - London's Conservative Mayor - both support the Thames Tideway Tunnel.

It is therefore concerned that the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham's Conservative Administration is being out manoeuvred by their Conservative colleagues in the London Boroughs of Richmond and Wandsworth who are successfully focussing their efforts on lobbying to have the main construction access in Carnwath Road rather than Barn Elms.

The Council calls for the Administration to re-focus its efforts and resources away from its one dimensional, ideological obsession against the Thames Tideway Tunnel project and instead lobby the Conservative Mayor and Conservative and Liberal Democrat government Ministers to stop the Carnwath Road site being used for this project.

The Council agrees to form a united Borough campaign that includes both Administration and Opposition councillors to stop the Carnwath Road being used for this scheme and supports residents in South Fulham with a clever strategy likely to meet that objective."

Speeches on the amendment were made by Councillors Stephen Cowan and PJ Murphy (for the Opposition) and  Councillors Nicholas Botterill and Stephen Greenhalgh (for the Administration) before it was put to the vote:

FOR                            9

AGAINST                   28

ABSTENTIONS         0

The motion was declared LOST.

Speeches on the substantive motion were then made by Councillors Stephen Cowan, PJ Murphy, Caroline Needham and Colin Aherne (for the Opposition) and Councillors Stephen Greenhalgh and Mark Loveday (for the Administration). 

Councillor Steve Hamilton (for the Administration) made a speech winding up the debate on the substantive motion.  The motion was put to the vote and a roll-call was requested:

FOR                            29

AGAINST                   0

ABSTENTIONS         9

The motion was declared CARRIED.

8.40 pm – RESOLVED:

This Council:

1.      Notes the current proposals by Thames Water to use a site at Carnwath Road as the main construction access for the Thames Tideway Tunnel/Super Sewer;

2.      Notes the disastrous effects on residents and homes in South Fulham this will have over the next 20 years;

3.      Reaffirms its opposition to the Super Sewer passed at the Ordinary Council Meeting on 17 September 2008;

4.      Supports residents in Sands End in their campaign against the Super Sewer;

5.      Calls on Thames Water immediately to withdraw proposals to use the Carnwath Road site as access to the Super Sewer.