Crossrail 'will destroy historic community'

Plans to tunnel through a historic part of London as part of the £10billion Crossrail project will ruin the area's character, protesters claim today.

The Government signalled its approval for the east-west rail link when it was included in Gordon Brown's spending review.

Provided it is able to secure funding it could be completed in about 2013.

However, plans for tunnelling a ventilation shaft in the Spitalfields area have been attacked by local residents, angry at what they claim will be dirt and noise coming from lorries removing waste from the site.

They voiced their objections at a public meeting last night.

The Spitalfields Small Business Association is one of the groups calling on Crossrail to find alternatives to its plans for tunnelling around Hanbury Street, off Brick Lane.

Chairman Aziz Choudhury said: "We are not opposed to Crossrail by any means, but are worried about the effects it will have on our community in what is a heavily-populated area. Crossrail's own estimatesare that there will be one lorry every seven minutes removing spoil from this site and if that goes on for 12 hours it will affect schools, businesses and people's health.

"A lot of money has been spent on regenerating this area but that could be completely destroyed by these plans. Local people are angry - they don't want to see their community destroyed."

A Crossrail spokesman said there was ongoing consultation with people in neighbourhoods that could be affected by building work.

The law means there has to be a ventilation shaft built in the Spitalfields area, but two alternative sites to the one in Hanbury Street have been proposed.

Addressing the fears about the large numbers of lorries, he said: "There will not be that number."

Once the shaft has been dug, spoil from the tunnelling will be removed underground, added the spokesman.

"We have listened to local people's concerns and they will have a chance to see the plans in full," he said. "We will look seriously at what alternative options there are."