6100. MS LIEVEN: Well, it can only be changed by the process I have just taken your Lordships through which is special parliamentary procedure to extend it by one additional period.

  6101. LORD BROOKE OF ALVERTHORPE: So the Bill has got five years in it with the, now as amended, opportunity to extend for another five years. Could the Bill be amended to seven years in the first instance at the Lords stage?

  6102. MS LIEVEN: Can I come back to your Lordship on that a little later when I have taken instructions because the question of what changes to the Bill your Lordships can make is not a straightforward one, so I am just going to take instructions on that. (After a pause). Yes, the point is as I thought which is that we would need an additional provision for that which raises enormously complicated issues.

  6103. CHAIRMAN: Which I think we cannot draft.

  6104. MS LIEVEN: That is right.

  6105. CHAIRMAN: So the answer is no?

  6106. MS LIEVEN: So the answer is no, yes.

  6107. LORD BROOKE OF ALVERTHORPE: We think.

  6108. MS LIEVEN: Can I leave it there, my Lord, and hand over to Mr Lewis and I will just take full instructions from Mr Irving on the exact position. I do not want to say something which is not wholly accurate.

  6109. CHAIRMAN: Very well. Let's hear from the Canary Wharf Group.

  6110. MR LEWIS: Good morning, my Lords. My Lord, I do not intend to make an opening. I am going to ask Mr Anderson to give his evidence and then I will make some closing legal submissions.

  6111. MR LEWIS: Mr Anderson, could you introduce yourself to the Committee please.

   (Mr Anderson) My name is Peter Anderson and I am the Managing Director of Finance at the Canary Wharf Group plc.

  6112. MR LEWIS: Could you just give an idea to the Committee of the scope of your evidence.

  6113. CHAIRMAN: Do we have a copy of this statement?

  6114. MR LEWIS: Mr Anderson has a proof in front of him, my Lord, but we do not have a copy of it. Mr Anderson, the scope of your evidence please.

   (Mr Anderson) My evidence will be brief. As I did in the House of Commons, I will explain the potential effect of Crossrail on Canary Wharf's proposed development at its North Quay site and I will ask the Committee to amend the Bill so that the North Quay site does not remain sterilised for any more than is reasonable as a result of the implementation of Crossrail and, in particular, if Crossrail does not proceed for any reason.

  6115. Ms Lieven has already expressed the support that Canary Wharf has for Crossrail. Perhaps you could just reinforce that please.
  (Mr Anderson) Well, the Canary Wharf Group strongly supports Crossrail. As I mentioned in the Commons, I would not wish our appearance today to be misconstrued as a lack of support for Crossrail. Since the Commons proceedings, the Canary Wharf Group has demonstrated its continuing support in a number of ways, most notably as was reported in Crossrail's project bulletin 10, of which I think there is a slide, dated 12 October 2007: "Canary Wharf has agreed to make a significant contribution to the project and will, in addition, be delivering the Isle of Dogs Station on advantageous terms".[2] I should perhaps mention that I believe the use of the term "advantageous" in this document is meant to mean advantageous to the Department for Transport, but I can also confirm that CWG see it as being advantageous too. I would also mention that, whilst the project bulletin accurately reflects in outline the principles that have been under discussion between the Canary Wharf Group and the Department for Transport, the station development agreement has not yet been signed and there is some way to go yet before it will be. It is important that the Committee notes Canary Wharf Group's position in relation to the matters mentioned in this bulletin. We want Crossrail to go ahead, we want the station at the Isle of Dogs. We realise that, as major beneficiaries of Crossrail, we will be required to contribute to the project financially and we are more than happy that our expertise in constructing major developments in this area should be used for the construction of the Isle of Dogs Station. If everything pans out as we hope it will, then we will build the station, and the potential problems relating to North Quay that I am about to describe will not arise.

  6116. Could you just describe the area briefly to the Committee please. I know that the Committee has made a site visit, so it has probably seen the site, but we do have a couple of slides to look at as well.
  (Mr Anderson) The first slide is what we had up before, and I understand that your Lordships have undertaken a site view, so I hope that you will be familiar with the area.[3] On this slide, you see a plan showing the location of the proposed station which, as you know, is to be constructed in the West India Dock North, and to the north of the water just adjacent to the east of the DLR line is our North Quay site. When I presented evidence to the Commons Committee, this area was pretty much empty, being used for car-parking. As you will have seen, it is now a major construction site being used by the DLR for the capacity upgrade works that are being carried out at what we call the `Delta Junction', and it is also being used for the construction of a major new electricity substation by EDF, the main purpose of which will be to serve Canary Wharf and Wood Wharf.

  6117. Although you said the site is to the north of the quay, this photograph of course is taken from the north, so, just to avoid any confusion, it is the area which I am now pointing at and outlined in red is the North Quay site. Could you, please, briefly tell the Committee about the planning permission that Canary Wharf Group has for the North Quay site?
  (Mr Anderson) We have planning permission for the development of North Quay which we obtained from Tower Hamlets in January 2007 for a very large mixed-use development of approximately four million square feet. I believe there is a slide. The drawing on this slide shows you the scale of the development.[4] Because the North Quay site was safeguarded in order to finally secure the planning permission, we had to agree to certain conditions about the timing of the implementation of permission. These conditions in broad terms had the effect of preventing the development going ahead until the Crossrail works are completed.

  6118. CHAIRMAN: What about the time limit for the planning permission itself? There always is one.

   (Mr Anderson) There is. The planning permission basically enables us to proceed once the Crossrail sterilisation is over, either because the Crossrail station is built or because it collapses.

  6119. Mr Anderson, normally speaking, planning permission sets a date by which you have to start.

   (Mr Anderson) That is right.

3   Crossrail Ref: P43, Aerial view of the location of the proposed Crossrail Isle of Dogs Station and the North Quay site (TOWHLB-48_05-001) Back

4   Committee Ref: A30, Proposed development of North Quay site (TOWHLB-48_05-002) Back