Silvertown Tunnel: Greenwich Council to call on Sadiq Khan to prioritise public transport

A south London council is preparing to demand the London Mayor, Sadiq Khan, repurpose his Silvertown Tunnel project to prioritise public transport.

Greenwich Council is to vote on the motion proposed by three Labour councillors, which, if approved, will be the second time in the last year a Labour-majority local authority has called on the mayor to move the scheme away from servicing private motor vehicles.

Connecting Greenwich peninsula with Silvertown in Newham, Mr Khan says the project will reduce congestion around the Blackwall Tunnel and improve public transport options between the two boroughs.

Critics claim it will instead result in an estimated 30,000 more vehicle journeys, with opposition coming from local campaigners as well as councils and pollution experts.

The scheme has drawn drawn opposition from several Labour councils over the years, including Hackney and Lewisham, as well as local MPs.

In October 2022, Newham Council called on the Mayor to prioritise public transport and cycling over motor vehicles.

After initially backing the project, Greenwich Council passed a motion in March 2022 in which it changed course and also called for it to be halted.

The new motion to go before Greenwich Council, on June 28, says it is with “great regret” that one bore of the Silvertown Tunnel has been completed “without the pause and review of the project called for by this Council in March 2022”.

The motion continues: “This Council also notes that it is committed to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2030, a goal which will be unachievable without a massive shift to non-carbon based transport throughout the Borough as outlined in our Carbon Neutral Plan.”

If approved, the motion will mean the council will call 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”.

The Labour majority in Greenwich means it is expected to pass, though Mr Khan has so far refused public calls to repurpose or review the project.

Campaign group Stop the Silvertown Tunnel Coalition recently wrote to the Mayor asking for “alternative uses” for the tunnel to be considered.

The group will be present outside Woolwich Town Hall on the evening of June 28, lobbying the council to support the motion.

A spokesperson for the coalition said it is “very pleased that Greenwich councillors have taken our demands to repurpose Silvertown Tunnel seriously and are supporting our aims by putting forward this motion”.

They said the work on the second tunnel bore “provides us with a chance to provide a cycle crossing which can accommodate cargo bikes, which currently have to go via Tower Bridge to get from Greenwich to Newham”.

“To reduce reliance on fossil fuels we need freight to become more sustainable and cargo bikes are the obvious way to do this, so infrastructure for them is vital. Instead of HGV lanes we need to provide other forms of clean green transport for crossing the river,” they said.

“Greenwich Council has a target to reduce car journeys by 45% by 2030. Here is the perfect opportunity to make that worthy aim happen.”

Asked by LondonWorld previously whether there are plans to repurpose the tunnel, a spokesperson for Mr Khan said: “The mayor is committed to reducing emissions in London and is taking world-leading action to tackle the climate crisis. The Silvertown Tunnel will transform the way people can travel in a part of London that currently has few options for crossing the Thames.

“In addition to providing new, zero-emission, cross-river bus services, the tunnel will address the chronic vehicle congestion currently associated with the inadequate, Victorian-era Blackwall Tunnel. This means that the new tunnel will improve air quality in the area.

“A new user charge on both tunnels will also ensure there is no increase in traffic overall.”