BREAKING: ‘We’ve Been Misled’: Council Fury Over Gallows Corner.

Councillor Gillian Ford Deputy Leader of Havering Council and Councillor Barry Mugglestone Cabinet Member for Highways met with TfL and Essex and Suffolk Water on Thursday 30th April, to discuss the failure to open Gallows Corner.

The works have been a fiasco from start to finish:

• The initial works where due to be completed within 10 weeks, extended to 12 weeks. We are now 10 months without an end date.
• Havering’s students were ending their exams when this project started, they are now just about to start them.
• The Council were shown how the drilling would take place for the water pipes installation. That failed as the ground was collapsing in on itself.
• They announced that the pipe work had passed all water pressure testing. We are now being told that there is a leak in the system, despite categorically assuring the Council testing was successful.
• Only this week, they advised officers that they would be able to partially open the fly-over running one-way.
• Both TfL and Essex and Suffolk Water failed to advise Havering Council that the fly-over wouldn’t now be partially opening, despite having given them the information it would, on Tuesday.
• Deadlines have been given and all missed. They were unable to provide any details of full opening.
• Essex & Suffolk Water said they “think” they have located the leak which is 7-8mtrs deep and will be dug in 3 stages, starting at the end of next week.
• They were unable to provide details as to why there had been a failure and couldn’t confirm if it was a design fault or not.
• TfL agreed to get communications out to public as to their responsibilities for the works.
• TfL and Essex and Suffolk Water agreed to meet with Council Officers to discuss in depth the possibilities of partial opening.

Councillor Gillian Ford said “We have lost all faith and trust in the communications that come out about Gallows Corner. We have been misled and provided the wrong information from the start. The people that are suffering are the businesses and residents. We need to see the works completed to a standard that will not require any further disruptions to the borough.”

The Cabinet Member, Councillor Barry Mugglestone said “This is no way to run a project. They have lost the confidence of the public, businesses and the Council through their negligence and failure to undertake initial detailed surveys to assess potential risks and challenges.

We have had residents in side roads struggling to get from their own driveways due to increased traffic pressures, businesses have lost income and we have damage to our road networks due to diverted traffic. This is not acceptable and will continue to challenge both organisations to conclude this debacle as soon as possible.”

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