§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration was given to requiring redundant concrete from the former Department of Environment building in Marsham Street to be transported to Dagenham by water. [85843]
§ Beverley HughesArrangements for removal of redundant concrete from the former Department of Environment building in Marsham Street are the responsibility of the contractor, Annes Gate Property Plc (AGP), dealing with the demolition and then, on this site, construction of the new Home Office headquarters building. AGP, whose arrangements were approved under the planning permission given by Westminster city council, have commented that the current waste disposal routing via the road network, instead of by barge, is more environmentally compatible. The waste is loaded into the transport vehicles once only and is then transported to the recycling centre approximately six miles from the site. This procedure is much less complicated and involves much less loading and reloading of waste than transportation by water. Moreover, currently there are no recycling centres with the capacity that AGP require situated along the river.