Crossrail

5.24.05pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 9th Feb 2006

This week the Mayor of Tower Hamlets refused the Lib Dem request for an emergency Council meeting about Crossrail.

Five Lib Dem Councillors signed a letter calling for an Emergency Full Council Meeting to discuss Crossrail and the impact it will have on the borough.

Cllr Janet Ludlow, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group, said "The Labour Group have been evasive and woolly on the subject of Crossrail for a long time now. They claim to be listening to the community, but they voted against our motion for a consultative group to be established which would have given a voice to all those affected along the proposed Crossrail route. We have called for this meeting so that Labour can reaffirm its stance on the Crossrail issue and reassure the people of this borough."

In a letter to the Lib Dem Group, Cllr Doros Ullah, the Mayor of Tower Hamlets, stated "I do not propose to call an extraordinary meeting as you have requested as holding a meeting is not necessary and would not be an efficient use of resources."

Cllr Akik Rahman, Deputy Leader of the Lib Dem Group, said "Residents, businesses and local groups are both angry and anxious about Crossrail. The Council's constitution doesn't allow for residents or local groups to call a meeting, so we've done so on their behalf. It is arrogant for the Mayor to state that such a meeting is not necessary. We are elected representatives of the residents of this borough and if they demand such a meeting, then who is the Mayor to say that it is unnecessary?"