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Cross reaction to plans for new rail link
PLANS to tunnel a giant underground rail link through central London have got the thumbs down from community leaders and retailers in the West End.
The £16 billion Crossrail scheme – which will affect Paddington, Mayfair, Soho and Covent Garden – got the green light this week from Prime Minister Gordon Brown.
It will see 350 Mayfair tenants living in social housing “decanted” from their homes.
Noise and shaking from the scheme will be unbearable, according to Kirk Mitchell.
The chairman of the Grosvenor Residents’ Association said: “There is no other social housing in Mayfair and potentially the people living in Brown Hart Gardens could be moved anywhere in the country. The project is being driven through – they tell us what to do and we do it.”
A spokeswoman from Crossrail said: “Any necessary rehousing along the route would be a temporary process. It would also be voluntary and residents would receive compensation.”
In Covent Garden, Jo Weir, chairman of the Covent Garden Community Association, said: “The argument for Crossrail is strong. But its impact will be equally strong. The early Georgian buildings in Neil Street will be affected. The structures of the buildings are really at risk.”
Crossrail will be part-funded by extra business rates levied on West End retailers.
Jace Tyrrell, spokesman for the New West End Company representing retailers in the West End, said: “Businesses in the West End already pay the highest business rates in the UK but over 90 per cent of the millions of pounds raised is currently redistributed by central government to spend in other areas of the country. We are opposed in principle to any increase in taxation.” |
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