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Greenwich news and information

Vehicle Fire Forces Blackwall Tunnel Closure

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The Blackwall Tunnel has been closed northbound and is not expected to reopen until Wednesday after a vehicle fire yesterday.

The incident happened on Sunday at around 17.45 and  two people were taken to hospital – one due to smoke inhalation and one with an ankle injury.

Transport for London say that the road surface, lighting and CCTV systems were damaged in the fire and TFL engineers are working 24 hours a day to repair the damage.

The closure of the northbound tunnel has caused gridlock on surrounding roads, with motorists advised to use the Dartford river crossing, Rotherhithe Tunnel, Woolwich Ferry or Tower Bridge to cross the Thames.

Greenwich Council responded to the closure by saying that it underlined the need for additional river crossings.

Cllr Peter Brooks, Deputy Leader of the Council, said, “The travel difficulties experienced this morning – and which are forecast to last at two more days – starkly underline the dangers for Londoners of relying so heavily on the Blackwall Tunnel.

“Greenwich Council has consistently pressed for a package of further river crossings, to relieve the pressure on the crossing at Blackwall, which is why we were extremely disappointed at the decision of the Mayor of London to scrap plans for the Thames Gateway crossing.

“We are continuing to press the Mayor to put the Thames Gateway crossing – together with a new crossing at Silvertown – firmly back on the agenda.”

UPDATE: The Blackwall tunnel reopened tonight after TfL engineers worked quickly to repair fire damage, well ahead of the initial estimate that it wouldn’t reopen until Wednesday.

Garrett Emmerson, Chief Operating Officer, London Streets, said: ‘I would like to pay tribute to the tireless work of the emergency services, tunnel engineers and many others who have ensured we have been able to reopen the tunnel so quickly.

New Family Council Homes Approved for Woodlands Park Road

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SIX new council homes will be built in Woodland Park Road after the go-ahead was given at a meeting of the Council’s Planning Board last night.

There will be five 4-bed homes built, and one 5-bed home. The semi-detached family sized homes were given the green light along with twenty-eight other new council properties around the borough.

The homes will be paid for with £4.2million worth of funding that has been allocated by the Homes and Communities Agency.

Cllr Peter Brooks, Deputy Leader of Greenwich Council, said, “The new Government programme which allows councils to build homes themselves offers a great opportunity to use local sites in the borough for the creation of family homes, and in particular to help meet the housing needs of larger families.

“It’s also an opportunity to create job opportunities for local people and we will be ensuring that our contractors work closely with Greenwich Local Labour and Business to ensure that local residents have access to work and training on these sites.”

University Rugby Team Turn Calendar Boys

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The University of Greenwich rugby team have stripped off for to produce a calendar for the first time, which will help raise money for the team, and for charity.

Two versions of the calendar have been made – a family friendly version and a saucier, “adult” version. Both calendars cost £8.99 + P&P and are available to pre-order now. The official launch of the calendar is scheduled for the end of this month and some of the money will go towards sudden adult death syndrome (SADS) charity in memory of a former team member, Thomas Mulquin.

A spokesperson for the UGRFC said:

We decided to shoot our first calendar to celebrate many things. Firstly, our successful season last year where we were unbeaten and achieved promotion, resulting in our best season to date. Secondly, to raise the awareness of the club through all that we do in terms of charity, our matches and social activities. And lastly, to encourage support for our club and to help our steady rise, which we cannot do without the continued support of sponsors and the work of all the club members together. We hope you enjoy our first ever calendar as much as we did making it! And here is hoping there will be many more..

Update: the calendar is out now and the price has been cut. You can order online with the following links:

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