Jean Gray on plans to tackle climate crisis after the opening of the controversial tunnel

East Ham Town Hall – (Credit – Neandra Etienne)

As the controversial Silvertown Tunnel finally opens in April, Newham Council, which opposed the new project on environmental grounds, has launched a new clean air project to drive action on climate change.

Newham residents are being asked to invest £50 each in a community-owned solar energy scheme that it is claimed will drive action on climate change locally – and will give investors a target 3 per cent return.

The organisation behind the scheme – Community Energy Newham – was formally launched at Stratford Library in March, aiming to raise £120,000 to fund energy that is generated by solar panels installed on three Newham libraries, bringing that energy into community ownership.

The initiative is a joint venture between Newham Council and Repowering London, an organisation that works with partners to create community-owned energy through democratically run projects.

In her weekly newsletter, Mayor Rokhsana Fiaz, who was at the launch, said the scheme fits with the Council’s general Net Zero strategy and “will help reduce carbon emissions to build a clean, local and affordable energy future for everyone in our borough”.

The move comes as the controversial Silvertown road tunnel linking Newham in the north with Greenwich in the south of the capital is due to open on 7 April and tolls are introduced to use the Blackwall Tunnel.

The Council and other local groups have consistently opposed the tunnel, pointing out that those on low incomes and other disadvantaged groups contribute least to climate change but are likely to be the most impacted by it.

As long ago as 2019, Rokhsana Fiaz wrote an open letter to Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urging him to cancel the tunnel because of the detrimental effect on Newham residents.

She said: “We remain opposed to the scheme due to the detrimental impact it will have on traffic congestion as well as toxic air quality in Newham, which is among the worst in England with devastating health impacts on our residents. Some 96 people die prematurely each year in our borough due to respiratory diseases caused by vehicle pollution.”

Apart from attracting more traffic to the Borough, the tunnel has been criticised for introducing a toll, and not only on the new route; for the first time users of the Blackwall tunnel will have to pay.

Transport for London (TFL) has announced wide-ranging subsidies for certain groups of users, although registration for the concessions has been low so far.

There will also be new zero-emission bus services crossing the river and a shuttle service for cyclists, aiming to make their journey safer.

TFL claims the tunnel will “help reduce congestion at Blackwall Tunnel, help make peak time journeys faster and provide an alternative crossing when Blackwall Tunnel is closed for essential maintenance and repairs”.

For more information go to: https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/silvertown-blackwall-tunnels-charge/new-silvertown-tunnel

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