By©Muhammad Haque 0255 Hrs GMT
[2nd version]
London Monday 10 September 2007
The Khoodeelaar! ‘No to Crossrail hole Bill’ campaign helped organise a second campaign meeting in the Lomas Street, Castlemain Street, Wodeham Gardens and Trahorne Close [also known as 'Whitechapel West'] in the East London borough of Tower Hamlets on Sunday evening [9 September 2007.
Attending the meeting were Khoodeelaar! Organiser Muhammad Haque and the Tower Hamlets Council opposition councillor Stephanie Eaton [leader of the Lib Dems group of councillors].The residents and tenants present at the meeting unanimously passed the four motions [reproduced below] , aimed at getting the local ward councillors and the Tower Hamlets Council to do their jobs of representing the opposition to the CrossRail hole plans that were attacking lives of the residents and tenants and threatening the environment.
The information about the Crossrail plans for digging a second hole within the Khoodeelaar! campaign area, was conveyed in a letter signed for Crossrail buy Tom Mantey.
Speakers at the meeting reported that despite asking local councillors for information about the Crossrail plan of serious disruption lasting up to FIVE years to local life, health including the threat to the welfare of children and several disabled residents, there was no information available from the councillors.
In fact there appears to be a policy of denial in operation on the part of certain councillors who appeared to be following what could only have been a secret agenda that bore no recognition of the local community or of the electorate.
The motions, stated extempore by Khoodeelaar Organiser Muhammad Haque were agreed unanimously.
"As the local residents, directly affected by these [Crossrail hole] proposals [as contained in the Crossrail letter sent in the name of Tom Mantey] , we are asking our [Bethnal Green South] ward councillors to take immediate action to establish what procedure was complied with to consult with the local residents and before the decision was made by Crossrail to do the planned [Crossrail hole digging] activities here [“Whitechapel West’ ‘Bethnal Green South].
“And, secondly, to ask the Ward councillors to convey to the community here what steps they have taken to represent our concerns as the local ward councillors in relation to Crossrail and to let us know what other steps they will be taking in TIME to avoid any loss of any deadline or any procedural move that may be required or available.
“Thirdly, we are asking ALL councillors of Tower Hamlets Borough Council to treat as a very serious matter this issue of Crossrail and to forget about party political differences and to treat it as a matter of concern to the whole [entire] [local] community in the borough [of Tower Hamlets] and to do what is best for the community to prevent what is preventable..”
“Finally, we are asking the [London Borough of Tower Hamlets] Council to explain why a technical report was not commissioned like the ARUP company was commissioned to look at the tunnelling plan [now substantially altered – since 30 March 2006, see HANSARD 30 March 2006 for the written statement about the alteration to the ‘Crossrail Bill’ by the then Transport Secretary Alistair Darling, who is now the Chancellor of the Exchequer] for Hanbury Street. Why a similar report was not commissioner by the [London Borough of Tower Hamlets] Council to look at the implications of the other related Crossrail activities and plans affecting the rest of the borough [of Tower Hamlets] including our [the ‘Wodeham Gardens, Castlemain Street, Lomas Street and Trahorne Close] estate [known also as ‘Whitechapel West’ and in the Tower Hamlets Council ward of Bethnal Green South].
