Councillors from Camden Council are being urged to withdraw their opposition to the proposed Cross River Tram being routed through their borough with secret talks being held between them, Mayor Ken Livingstone and TfL. They are currently the only opposition towards the scheme, and if they remain opposed there are fears it may never get any further north that Waterloo.
After the opposition to the line through Camden became know Mr Livingstone revealed that he would be looking to build the line in two stages – with the southern section from Peckham to Waterloo being the first. Those in the south are fearful that funding from the Government would not be forthcoming for just half a line and that the northern section from Waterloo to Euston would never be built.
Val Shawcross, Lambeth and Southwark London Assembly Member, said: “Work is going on behind the scenes to try to iron out any local problems that Camden have along the route and try to get them to be more wholehearted about the project. The transport and economic causes are far stronger when the tram does cross the river. We need Government help for the funding of this project, and any opposition could undermine and handicap our bid."
Cllr Mike Greene, executive member for the environment at Camden Council, said: “The council is in favour of the tram in principal, but we need to make sure the public transport improvements are balanced with the needs of residents. This is why we are in constant contact with TfL over planning for the tram, in order to make sure the proposals benefit our residents as much as possible. We attend monthly steering group meetings for the Cross River Tram as well as other meetings looking at specific aspects of the plans. We were surprised and disappointed that Ken Livingstone announced that it would not be possible to build the northern part of the tram, basing his view on supposed opposition from Camden council. We are not quite sure where he got this information from. It doesn't tally with our position."
The line seems to have a fair amount of support – especially in the south – and including the South London Press.
Source: icSouthLondon