CrossRail: 'Public Consultation Biased Against Middlesex Side Of The Borough'

3.51.53pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 2nd Dec 2003

Residents are complaining that the council is discouraging residents on the Twickenham side of the borough - which will be a major beneficiary for CrossRail - from finding out the facts; while public consultation is concentrated on the Richmond side of the river where there are concerns about the impact on Kew in particular.

One Twickenham resident, who asked the exhibition organisers why there was no CrossRail display in Twickenham, Teddington or Hampton Wick, was told that the council was 'not very co-operative' and had refused permission for an exhibition in the Civic Centre.

Vincent Cable said: "It is very clear that the council is using opposition to the CrossRail project in pockets of Richmond for political reasons, even though most Richmond residents will benefit considerably from having a new fast, direct route into the heart of London and the City."

"On the Middlesex side of the river, especially on the Teddington-Kingston loopline the potential benefits are very large, which is why the council doesn't want residents to know about it. I suspect that when residents learn that the council is playing silly games about what is potentially our biggest infrastructure project for decades, they will be angry. Why doesn't the council widen its public consultation by offering a CrossRail public exhibition in the Civic Centre, Teddington and Hampton Wick libraries?"