The Thames Tideway Tunnel

The Thames Tideway Tunnel location was under great contention in 2018. BKO Consulting were appointed to manage the programme to fulfil a London Boroughs obligations and commitments to the local community. The site chosen had previously been a chemical plant, and prior to that a testing lab for the Ministry of Defence.  The local community had protested vigorously to government to change the location of the tunnelling site because of concerns that this excavation would expose harmful materials into the environment.  The decision, to the shock of the residents and the Labour Council members was to overturn the outcome. The immediate local community consisted of the very wealthy, those in social housing and the very vulnerable. As the site set up process began a number of people became ill and were compensated which caused the remaining populous to energise and unite to form a local community forum.  This forum included key stakeholders from the community, directors of the site contractors and senior Labour Party members. 

BKO Consulting were tasked with 3 primary objectives.

1. Work with the site contractor and the community forum to reduce the disruption to residents caused by site works
   • The council had received hundreds of complaints about noise and air quality.  BKO Consulting investigated each complaint and worked with the site contractor to find a solution.  Solutions ranging from a new £500k+ acoustic shed to adding a sponge to the site gate to reduce sound from the gate that would slam closed as operatives changed shifts in the middle of the night.
2. Ensure that the most vulnerable in the community were compensated if disrupted by site works or if site works were likely to cause disruption.
   • BKO Consulting challenged an independent compensation system that appeared to not be fit for purpose, widely understood or consistent with its approach.
3. Repair the professional relationship between the site contractor and council departments, which had resulted in site works stopping completely for weeks at the cost of £200k+. The Council were at risk of legal action from the site contractor who challenged the use of consultation, resulting from commitments made to appease residents who had been affected by the works. Council departments included:
   • Planning 
   • Environmental regulations
   • Health and wellbeing
   • The neighbourhood team