Tram plan 'half-baked'

8:20am Thursday 1st February 2007

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THE latest plans for the controversial West London Tram project have been labelled "ridiculous" and "half-baked" by Ealing Council.

A new consultation document, sent to residents on Friday by Transport for London (TfL), outlines proposed changes to the position of electrical substations and construction compounds used in building and powering the tram system.

It also suggests new modifications to traffic junctions on the Uxbridge Road to make way for the already unpopular £1billion scheme.

But council leader Cllr Jason Stacey criticised the plans, saying they would cause "misery and chaos" for residents.

He said: "TfL clearly does not want to listen to the results of its own recent survey, which showed people along the route don't want a tram and think it's a complete waste of public money.

"So let's make sure we get our message over loud and clear that we are just not interested in having our borough ripped up for a scheme which could grind traffic in west London to a halt."

The news comes after the council announced last week it was gearing up for a legal battle with TfL over the entire project.

"Ealing Council is opposed to the tram and we will be making it clear exactly what we think about these latest crazy ideas from TfL," he added.

Ealing Cinema car park and London Wasps Rugby Club training ground are just some of the 16 potential new sites for the substations and compounds.

And there are fears roads in and around Southall Broadway could become "gridlocked rat runs", with right hand turns from Uxbridge Road into South Road and right hand turns into Lady Margaret Road being banned under the new proposals.

Boston Road and Lower Boston Road - narrow one-way streets in and out of Hanwell - will be converted into a two-way route, and public green spaces in Acton face being turned into construction compounds for trucks, diggers and building materials and equipment.

But shops along the Uxbridge Road near Southall, originally earmarked for demolition, would now be spared.

Twyford High School - criticised under the previous Labour administration for opposing the tram - has also won its battle to prevent a construction depot being put on its grounds.

One school source told the Ealing Times: "We lobbied TfL fairly hard and they could see it was not going to be a good idea because we were going to be difficult.

"They realised it is not a terribly good idea to take our space - it would make it impossible for us to operate our school."

Officers at Ealing's town hall are now preparing a case ready for a public inquiry on the tram, expected to be held some time in the next 18 months.

Lawyers on both sides will lay out the arguments for and against the scheme, with the cost of the hearing set to run into the hundreds of thousands.

Tram spokesman for Ealing Cllr Wolodymyr Barczuk said TfL were "holding their cards very close to their chest".

"I suspect they are worried," he said. "They have got themselves into a hole and they are carrying on digging. It is very unfortunate."

The inquiry will be headed up by an independent inspector, who will adjudicate the merits of both arguments.

Fewer than 1,500 properties along the route from Uxbridge to Shepherd's Bush have been given until February 19 to comment on the latest TfL proposals.

The Ealing Times approached TfL for a comment, but they declined.