Help stop the Silvertown Tunnel: Come to the public hearings on 13 October

Millennium Mills

Plans to regenerate areas like the Royal Docks are going ahead without spending £1 billion on a road tunnel


What are you doing on Thursday 13 October? Come and share your views on the Silvertown Tunnel at the planning inquiry’s open public session at ExCeL in the Royal Docks.

Now the planning process for the Silvertown Tunnel has got under way, there’s a lot of work for us to do – such as sifting through thousands of pages of documents about the proposed tunnel, and putting together evidence to go before the panel of inspectors.

We’re grateful that so many people signed up to be “registered parties” in the planning process. If you’re one of them – thank you. If you can spare the time, we’d encourage you to take as big a role in this as you can, because everybody’s view counts in this process.

While Sadiq Khan may have committed himself to the toxic tunnel, it’s by no means a done deal – and there’s still plenty of opposition to the scheme. Even two of the Greenwich Peninsula’s biggest landowners – Knight Dragon and O2 operators AEG – have filed detailed objections.

So even if you didn’t sign up, there’s one big thing you can do – and that’s come to ExCeL on Thursday 13 October.

On that day, the planning inspectors will be holding open floor hearings – one during the daytime, the other in the evening. Anyone is welcome to come along and make their case.

We’ll be there – but if we’re to really make our voice heard, it’d be great if you could spare some time to come too.

There are two sessions – one at 10am, the other at 7pm – and the public is welcome. ExCeL is a few minutes’ walk from Custom House station on the DLR, and is also close to the Royal Docks cable car terminal. (Here are some more detailed directions.)

So if you’ve got a particularly strong viewpoint, or a personal story to tell about the damage congestion and pollution has done, please come and tell the inspectors all about it.

It’s not essential, but the Planning Inspectorate’s staff would be grateful to hear from you in advance so they have an idea of how many people will come – please email them on silvertowntunnel@pins.gsi.gov.uk if you want to come, or have any questions about the process.

Thank you for your support – and if you can make it, we hope to see you on the 13th.