The Crossrail Act 2008 gave powers to enable the railway to be built. The digging of new tunnels inevitably means that there will be a need to remove excavated material. While it is planned that much of this will be by rail and barge, there will also be a need for some removal by road, and the delivery of materials to the station sites. Crossrail will liaise closely with all local authorities before and when this takes place, and will follow best practice guidelines to minimise disruption.
Formal standards are set out in Crossrail's Environmental Minimum Requirements and the Construction Code.
There has been liaison for several years with local Councils, as well as with local organisations, residents and businesses to help plan the construction works. Construction will meet best practice standards and will be overseen by tough controls and standards, including those laid down by Parliament and local considerate contractor schemes. Local councils will have the power to ensure that works fall within agreed standards.
When contractors are in place, they will have Community Relations representatives who will distribute information about the works and provide a first contact for local communities. An Independent Crossrail Complaints Commissioner has also been appointed, who will decide on any complaints about Crossrail construction that cannot be resolved.
Crossrail will liaise closely with local authorities and other major projects in the same area, to minimise disruption and reduce any local impacts. Crossrail also intends to minimise the disruption to the existing transport network during construction as much as possible.
Consultation exercises have been carried out at key development stages of the Crossrail project and information has been made available through a range of communication media before and during the Parliamentary phase. Information and panels are available in 12 community languages, large print, audio CD, Braille and Easy Read on request from Crossrail.
Crossrail's Public Helpdesk, supported by Community Relations staff, provides answers to questions and act on concerns raised by members of the public. They will also work alongside contractors to provide a point of contact to speedily resolve any problems that might occur. The Crossrail helpdesk is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Our communications work will course increase now that the Crossrail Act has been passed and the programme for construction is developed in sufficient detail. If you would like to be added to our mailing list please contact us.
