London City Cruise Port to be debated in the Commons as opposition grows
Poplar and Limehouse MP Jim Fitzpatrick will raise the issue of a controversial planned cruiseliner terminal during a debate in the House of Commons today (Wednesday).
London City Cruise Port is set to be built opposite the Isle of Dogs, but residents and politicians on both banks of the Thames say fumes from vessels left “idling” there will worsen already poor air quality.
Mr Fitzpatrick says he is not opposed to a cruise terminal per se but wants to see cleaner energy technology installed next to the site at Enderby Wharf, Greenwich.
He told the East End Citizen: “I want the government to use its influence to get the developers to build a shore-to-ship energy supply.”
After Greenwich Council approved the plans, the East Greenwich Residents’ Association tried and failed to bring about a judicial review to get the decision overturned.
The group is now planning to appeal the High Court’s ruling on the issue.
Meanwhile, another group calling themselves Isle of Dogs Locals has started a petition urging Sadiq Khan to act.
They point out that Shirley Rodrigues, the Mayor of London’s newly appointed environment deputy, has vowed to make cleaning up London’s toxic air a priority.
“The terminal could be a great addition to the river, but only if it isn’t allowed to spew out toxic fumes,” their petition states.
However, Mr Fitzpatrick said: “I don’t think the Mayor’s got that power to intervene.”
In a statement released following the High Court’s ruling last month, the East Greenwich Residents’ Association said: “A decision which allows ships to burn 700 litres of diesel an hour, the equivalent 688 HGVs running their engines, in a part of London that already exceeds legal pollution limits and in a city that has the worst air quality in Europe, is morally bankrupt.
“An expected 11,000 Londoners will die this year from diseases related to poor air quality, and for people in close vicinity of this highly polluting development this decision will seem like a death sentence.”
“The alternative is a clean cruise liner port using 21st century shore-side power from readily available local power sources and this is what we have campaigned for.”
The Westminster Hall debate in the Commons takes place today at 4pm.
The East End Citizen has approached London City Cruise Port for comment but has so far received no reply.
Love to see this Development proceed, but must be with cleaner energy technology next to the Site at Enderby Wharf Greenwich.
It’s a scandal as Greenwich had already identified in its 2014 Air Quality report that the air quality at Enderby Wharf already exceeded NO2 limits and it was unlikely to improve. I hold the boroughs EHO responsible for not advising the planners of the problem. It is a head in the sand attitude to dealing with air quality. The data used to determine emissions from a moored cruise ship are themselves flawed as the cruise ship MV Crystal Symphony mentioned in reports has 3 times the emissions used in the dispersion modelling. Enderby Wharf is just one new source of emissions on the peninsula. There are at least four other sources such as the energy centres for several developments such as the Knight Dragon homes. The refurbishment of Greenwich power station with gas engines. Silvertown tunnel with increased vehicle numbers. Add in the traffic heading to the new IKEA and the Greenwich peninsula will soon become a toxic zone. It is a scandal when the whole borough is supposed to be an air quality management area. Not even the 50 year old diesels at the Woolwich Ferry with 23000 movements a year fail to feature in any Greenwich AQ report.
Air pollution in London?
A neat headline Sadiq Khan has been using more often than he has done any reference to bankrupt
Party Politics in London.
Why isn’t there any risk to the careerists in Greenwich or to their counterpart careerists in ANY related Local Council?
Those careerists, time-servers, opportunists will ignore “MP” “Jim F” on this occasion as they know that “MP” “Jim F” is not supported by independent action on a sustained level that is aimed to removing those careerists from their cosy spots.
Unless there is such action, the POLLUTION ASSAULT will get worse and the health or ordinary people will get worse.
No sign in any related Boroughs Labour Party cabal showing any real action.
Polluted air is part of the polluted state of local Democracy which has been breached, sabotaged, undermined and ATTACKED for decades by Greenwich, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Southwark
Councils.
Corbyn should be the one to offer clean air alternative.
But Corbyn is dormant on that as he has been dormant on most of the Deficit in local Boroughs Democracy across all of East London.
As we have seen in the past 72 hours the action for “BLACK LIVES MATTER UK” created a rare glimpse into what COULD happen to break the complacence and the status quo of
careeristic sloganeering.
Other than that stoppage of City Airport Flights for a few hours, there had been no such action against the City Airport.
So which ones of the complacent Labour-ite Cabals going to do the kind of action that makes
the POLLUTERS pause, think and reflect?
In his entire career since getting “in” as “MP”, Jim F has NOT mobilised the Local Communities in any part of East London in any meaningful, genuinely sustainable way.
It is not possible on the evidence to see that his tactful “intervention” in “Parliament” will make the
difference that the Communities affected deserve.
None of the “Revolutionary” sloganeers has done any Politics in East London for DECADES.
All the weaknesses I have outlined above needs to be addressed by today’s sloganeers actually taking Democratic Steps to Democratise all the four immediate Boroughs in the context of this topic of your item. Democracy NEEDS to be re-established across all of Greater London.
For cleaner air and for cleaner Society!
NOW!
1242 Hrs GMT London Thursday 08 September 2016