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Rivers and green plots
• I AGREE with Gillian Tindall, any plan to uncover the old rivers is indeed absurd (New Journal, September 4).
These former cesspits are now deeply buried beneath our streets as part of the sewer system and should remain so.
However, maybe the £22,000 could be well spent trying to open up small green plots throughout the borough which could provide both lungs and defence against run-off during storms.
In our area in Islington, the policy has been to eliminate existing gardens in new-builds and far exceeds even the council’s recommended density levels with double rows of housing in the space. This trend needs reversing urgently.
If Camden wants to draw attention to the ‘lost rivers’ it can do so with display boards such as the one outside St Pancras Old Church.
Where any green space coincides with one of the rivers a case can be made for a superimposed ‘river-bank’ above the sewer, along with a display board and map of where the river ran. Water could be pumped through the ‘river’ to give an impression of flow.
Any such feature would need constant maintenance to avoid the fate of the former rivers.
As for the general threat of run-off flooding London, the council’s best policy would be to support the plans for a new storm-relief sewer (the Thames Tideway) down the centre of the Thames, which should eliminate the need for sewage to spill into the river during flash floods as it does any time there is a severe storm.
DIANA CLEMENTS
Address supplied
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