Deptford campaigns to Stop the Stink

Hoggle: And you wouldn't be so brave if you'd ever smelled the Bog of Eternal Stench. It's, it's...

Sarah: Is that all it does, is smell?

Hoggle: Oh, believe me, that's enough! But the worst thing is, if you so much as set a foot in the Bog of Stench, you'll smell bad for the rest of your life. It'll never wash off.

- Labyrinth

Lewisham Councillors and local residents have launched a campaign to prevent Thames Water from installing an access tunnel next to St Paul's Church in Deptford.

The super sewer project is designed to prevent raw sewage flowing in to the Thames at times of heavy rainfall, which is undoubtedly a vital objective, but the proposed solution has proved controversial, with some doubts expressed about whether it is the right engineering solution and local community protests about the works the length of the Thames, including nearby Wapping and Rotherhithe, where pressure from local people over the company's plans to build in a local green space appears to have forced a change of plans.

The Deptford group believes the works will be too ugly and disruptive and wants Thames Water to locate all of the works at Borwick Wharf.

Thames Water told us:

"We have not yet made any final decisions. We are listening to people's views and will be starting our second phase of public consultation later this year."

Details of the first consultation can be found here.