PUBLIC QUESTION
NO. 8
Priority
3
LONDON BOROUGH OF LEWISHAM
COUNCIL MEETING
23 JANUARY 2013
Question asked by: Mr
R Woolford on behalf of Lewisham People Before
Profit
Member to reply: Councillor
Susan Wise
Question
Can the Council
please confirm what support it has and will give to residents of St Johns
Deptford, who are seeking compensation because they have lost every holiday
including Christmas due to the excessive noise night and day by Network
Rail?
Can the Council use
its position to insure that the new improvements that Network Rail is promising
for St Johns Station include access for the disabled, which presently it
fails to offer, contrary to European law?
Reply
Network Rail have provided noise insulation in the form of
secondary glazing or a grant towards double glazing, along with a temporary
re-location package over the Christmas period, to 33 of the worse affected
households surrounding the area at St Johns where construction is taking place
as part of the Thameslink programme.
These measures have been included as it is recognised that
the level of noise during the programme of works is likely to be disturbing,
particularly during the night time, where a major amount of the works are
required to take place due to the closeness of works near live rail.
The Council are monitoring the works on site through the
Control of Pollution Act 1974, Section 61 consent process. This consent
considers the management of noise on site, which includes the Contractor
providing predicted noise levels at different receptors surrounding the site
which are representative of affected properties. All reasonably possible noise
mitigation and selection of plant and methods of work are considered through
the process to reduce noise levels from the site.
The provision of off site mitigation, in the form of noise insulation or temporary rehousing
follows Network Rail’s own policy requirements, which uses the predicted noise
levels to assess when/if a certain number of exceedances, to their trigger
levels occurs. The Council have appointed their own noise consultants to
validate the noise predictions carried out by Network Rail and are currently
reviewing the predictions for the post Christmas works to assess whether there
are any further households, not previously identified that now qualify for
noise insulation. The Council are therefore examining Network Rail’s
calculation procedure and results to independently verify that every property
that can and should be identified for noise insulation under their own policy
is being included.
The Council have been carrying out their own noise
monitoring and are currently assessing these results along with the Contractors
own noise results, for the Christmas period,
to establish whether Network Rail’s temporary re-location package
offered to the 33 households, should have been extended to include other
properties, on the basis of the noise monitoring data. Network Rail will be
providing a response to the residents who have asked for this to be considered
once the results have been fully assessed and the Council will again be closely
examining their results and findings.
Can the Council use its position to insure
that the new improvements that Network Rail is promising for St Johns Station include access for the
disabled, which presently it fails to offer, contrary to European law?
Network Rail’s Thameslink programme have stated that
improved access for the disabled doesn’t fall within their works.
The Council are actively involved in supporting residents
and senior members of the Council have been present at the two public meetings
held. Also the Council is regularly updating it’s own dedicated webpage for St
Johns Thameslink works where all relevant documents, including the Council’s
Section 61 consent issued to the Contractor, are available. https://www.lewisham.gov.uk/inmyarea/regeneration/deptford/Pages/St-Johns-Station-rail-works.aspx
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