Crossrail

 
 

The City Council's petition against the Crossrail Bill

Petition to the House of Commons

The City Council, although supportive of the Crossrail project because of the strategic transport benefits it brings, was concerned about a number of issues, including the impact of construction.

On 16 September 2005 the City Council deposited a petition in Parliament which addressed their concerns about the Hybrid Bill. The Promoters produced a Petition Response Document (PRD) in response to the City Council’s deposited petition and can be found below:

 

 

Since the deposit of the Bill in February 2005 a number of changes to the project have been identified as a result of discussions with stakeholders and continued project development.

Such changes to the project are made by publishing 'amendments of provisions' (APs), the first group of these were published on 18 January 2006 (AP) and a second group were published on 9 May 2006 (AP2). A third group of amendments of provisions were published on 7 November 2006 (AP3). On 16 May 2007 a fourth group of amendments of provisions was published (AP4), which was specifically on the Woolwich Station. The City Council deposited petitions against AP2 and AP3. The Promoters’ PRDs to the City Council’s petition to AP2 and AP3 can be found below:

 

 

The House of Commons Select Committee subsequently produced the First Special Report of Session 2006-07 setting out its decisions and recommendations.

 


Petition to the House of Lords

As a result of ongoing discussions with the Promoters following the petition to the House of Commons, a lot of issues were resolved. Nonetheless, the City Council lodged a further petition to the House of Lords on 30th January 2008 setting out the city council’s outstanding concerns. Most of the issues were resolved before the City Council’s scheduled appearance on 6th May 2008. The Promoter’s PRD on the City Council’s petition to the House of Lords Select Committee can be found below:

 

 

The House of Lords Select Committee published the Crossrail Bill – First Special Report setting out its decisions and recommendations on 27th May 2008. On 5th June The Promoters issued their Response to the Committee's First Special Report of 2007-2008.

No further opportunity was offered to petition against the Bill after the House of Lords Select Committee stage ended on 8th May 2008. The Bill went through its remaining stages where the committee completed the third reading in the House of Lords on 22nd July 2008, and returned to the House of Commons for consideration and amendments on the same day.

Royal Assent was given on 22nd July 2008, and the Bill was enacted as the Crossrail Act 2008. A decision to proceed will be taken by the Government in line with the Treasury's Major Project Reviews.