Anger at 'super sewer' park plan

The sewer will prevent sewage spilling into the Thames

Thames Water has been accused of being short-sighted for selling off a west London site that could have been used for a new £2.5bn "super sewer".

It has proposed digging a 100ft (30.4m) hole in Ravenscourt Park or Furnivall Gardens, Hammersmith, for the sewer.

But councillor Paul Bristow said the firm's old pumping house site in Hammersmith would have been suitable.

Thames Water said it sold the site before the sewer plans were approved.

The Thames Tideway Tunnel or "super sewer" will run 35km (21.7 miles) under London to prevent sewage spilling into the Thames.

Work on the eight-year project is due to begin in 2012 and the tunnel will add about £37 to each Thames Water bill by 2017, water service regulator Ofwat has said.

'Scandalous waste'

The firm plans to dig the giant hole in a Hammersmith park as an access shaft for boring machinery and for removing waste during the tunnel's construction.

But Hammersmith and Fulham councillor Mr Bristow said its old pumping house site in Great West Road would have been an ideal site had Thames Water not sold it for housing.

Mr Bristow said: "It just seems to be a scandalous waste. They want to dig up one of the most prized parks, possibly two, in Hammersmith and Fulham."

He added: "For them to propose (the park plan) when they had this piece of land here, where they are building luxury flats, is quite frankly a disgrace."

A Thames Water spokesman said it sold the site four months before the sewer plans were approved.

He added that the location of the hole had not yet been finalised and that existing Thames Water sites would be used where possible.