Silvertown Tunnel: Greenwich Council joins Newham warning Sadiq Khan of ‘timebomb’ health risk

A second Labour-majority council has urged Sadiq Khan to prioritise public transport and cycling in his “timebomb” multi-billion-pound infrastructure project, the Silvertown Tunnel.

Greenwich councillors last night (June 28) voted to pass a motion aligning the south London borough with Newham in calling on the London mayor to repurpose the tunnel.

Once constructed, the Silvertown Tunnel will connect the Greenwich peninsula with the Royal Docks in Newham. Mr Khan argues it will relieve congestion on the Blackwall Tunnel, though campaigners, academics and now both directly impacted boroughs have lined up to push for a review of the scheme due to concerns over worsening air pollution.

The motion, proposed by Labour councillor Majella Anning, calls on Mr Khan to pause construction of the second bore, or if too late, pause opening it until new proposals prioritising public transport, cargo bikes and cycling are drawn up; to ensure more effective air quality monitoring is live; and implement “more effective mitigation of the A102 along its length to reduce local traffic, air pollution, noise and congestion”.

An amendment proposed by the leader of the Conservative opposition, Cllr Matt Hartley, looked to call on the mayor to introduce an Eltham to Beckton bus route and a Woolwich to Eltham link as part of the Superloop - but it was not passed.

Cllr Anning said: “History can be unforgiving. If the Silvertown Tunnel goes ahead in its present form as designed, when residents see the container lorries and the juggernauts going past their front doors, and going very close to the children’s playgrounds at school, they will ask us did you know this was going to happen? What did you do about it?”

One of the most impactful results of HGVs driving through Greenwich to use the tunnel, Cllr Anning continued, would be a rise in fine particulate matter, damaging residents’ lungs.

“This is a timebomb waiting to happen in Greenwich, and we must say so.”

Cllr Maisie Richards Cottell, who seconded the motion, criticised the lack of bus routes included in the current scheme, saying: “Just because you build a tunnel does not mean you have to use it for cars.”

Proposing the Tory amendment, Cllr Hartley said he had always backed the project in principle, due to a need for more connectivity and resilience on the road network, and that he believed it could deliver a positive local economic impact.

However, he said “the tunnel that Sadiq Khan is delivering is very far from the Silvertown Tunnel that I wanted”, with greater public transport a requirement if it is to serve the borough effectively.

Cllr Hartley criticised Labour for not calling for changes to the scheme earlier, with the council having previously supported Mr Khan’s vision for the tunnel.

“It is very late in the day, and it is a shame the council did not do more to persuade the mayor back in the day,” he said.

The leader of the council, Anthony Okereke, praised Mr Khan for  taking a “bold decision to tackle pollution and improve air quality”, via policies like the ULEZ.

He said the authority is calling on the mayor to “continue to be bold, to go even further, specifically on Silvertown Tunnel, recognising the impacts it will have across Greenwich”.

The Conservatives abstained from the vote, while Labour councillors passed it unanimously.