• Question by: Murad Qureshi
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

I am glad to hear that because one of the things I have found going round as a London-wide Assembly Member is that this comes up quite regularly. For example, during the summer I went to a West Hampstead Amenity Society meeting at the library there and it was one of the demands that they emphasised with the overground rail and that Hampstead Heath should really be in Zone 2. Then only on Monday night at Brick Lane I heard the demands again about Aldgate East being made into Brick Lane. Whatever the case, I think there are genuine issues...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

Will you undertake not to give public money to the opponents of this scheme in the future?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

Obviously you will understand that some of us in East London will be frustrated at that delay. Two reasons: one, because a lot of us would like the bridge to be built, and two because it maintains a blight, if you like, while there is uncertainty about whether or not it will be built. I think it is worth reminding ourselves that back in the mists of time when Len [Duvall AM] was the Leader of Greenwich and I think when I was still Leader at Tower Hamlets, the boroughs in East London achieved a consensus about crossings in East...

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

Do you know how much it is going to cost overall to fight this case out now that the situation has developed?

• Question by: Roger Evans
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

Both yourself and John Biggs have made a very convincing case for the bridge, which I also support. Do you regret giving money to the opponents of the bridge to fight their case as they appear to have been more successful than expected?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

Finally then, do you agree that there is an opportunity in reopening the inquiry to look at better integrating the East London Transit Scheme and the Greenwich Waterfront Transit Scheme across the bridge, at looking at whether they can become more like a tram and less like a bus, and as a result of that they can raise people's likelihood and confidence in using public transport to get across the Thames then?

• Question by: John Biggs
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

Would you agree with me as well then that there is something wrong with a system which allows you to go through months of public inquiry to agree the Transport Strategy and the London Plan, both of which support the construction of this bridge, and then when you go to apply for the bridge itself you have to re-examine every single one of those points in minute detail over again? Consequent to that, it may well be that we can't achieve the housing numbers that the Government is seeking and that we would like to provide in East London, that...

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

I would like to know or have you assure me that these junctions that perhaps are particularly near schools would get priority over the other junctions, because that would seem to me the most sensible place to start.

• Question by: Joanne McCartney
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

The reason I asked this question is because I have been working with Haringey Living Streets campaign who are trying to get, especially on bus priority routes, some of the very dangerous junctions to include a pedestrian green-man crossing. For example, there is one at the junction of Green Lanes and Frobisher Road, which is very near a primary school, where parents have to cross a very congested route, made worse by the number of buses that use the route as well. I noticed one of the junctions has been flagged up by Transport for London as needing work, but...

• Question by: Valerie Shawcross
• Meeting date: 12 September 2007

So the development work on this continues and it does not get thrown into suspension by the review?