From The Evening Standard:
A cemetery containing the graves of playwright Harold Pinter, retail magnate WH Smith and engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel could be disturbed under plans for a new high-speed rail line, it was claimed today.
The “preferred route” for the High Speed Two rail link between London and Birmingham goes under Kensal Green Cemetery which contains 130 listed monuments and a Grade I listed chapel from the reign of William IV.
And, possibly the most vomit inducing NIMBY comment of all time...
Campaigners today said it would be “madness” to cut under the cemetery. Lee Snashfold, director of the General Cemetery Company, said Brunel “would be turning in his grave”.
However, HS2 said the tunnel would not affect the graves. A spokesman added: “The preferred route for consultation goes under Kensal Green Cemetery, between 80 and 115 feet below. Because of the depth of the tunnel the graves will not be disturbed.”
Monday 10 January 2011
NIMBYs Of The Week
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8 comments:
I would have thought Brunel might be both pleased and impressed - provided it's well engineered.
I will be happy to offer the Nimbys paymasters (the state) grave relocation service at aprox 3k a grave, more obviously if they are a celebrity/famous skeleton.
115 ft is not a lot really when protecting our heritage and culture Mark is it?
Can you imagine speeding to Birmingham at 150 mph and IKB pelvis dropping on the track in full view of the kids?
Its interesting that the celebrated leftist/atheist has not been burned in hell like the rest of us.
btw, do the General Cemetery Company, have a preferred supplier? or is it in house?
Damn right Brunel would be turning in his grave - he'd probably be shaking left and right too ... as the half hourly service passes.
Cant see the Nimby's problem, MW.
After all in Pinter they do have a Caretaker (well at least the author) who could perhaps, in spirit, oversee the work?
The journalist missed a trick though - were not the campaigners railing against the HS2 passing under the cemetery?
In any event, with the line passing well under Pinter, Brunel et all, it is hardly the case they were being put upun, is it?
W42, that was my first thought. Plus let's not forget, some of his stuff went horribly wrong, but he wasn't averse to trying again.
S, they don't want anything relocated, they want everything To Remain As It Was For Ever.
EK, assuming there is life after death, is it not possible that IKB finds the whole process of digging such a deep tunnel absolutely fascinating?
WFW, Alan Pinter Caretaker, awesome. I knew you'd have something in the bag but I didn't know your bag of puns was as deep as that!
Instead of making stupid comments about Brunel, the NIMBYs would be better employed asking whether the country actually needs this railway at all and what benefit we will get from the billions of pounds spent. IMHO it is all what Obnoxio would call "international cock-waving" and keeping the government's sponsors in the construction industry happy.
Frankly, Brunel is probably turning in his grave at the idea that we are still building railways that are basically similar to the ones he built more than 100 years ago.
I suspect he would have been working on a new commercial spaceliner at this moment!
Much as a high speed rail link from Birmingham to London is to be deplored ( the right route would go down the East of the country Yorkshire> Cambridge> Boris's airport island> Channel Tunnel by passing London entirely) building railway lines into London has always involved disturbing graves and there is some fairly ruthless legislation allowing for it.The last time graves at St Pancras were dug up was for the Channel tunnel terminal but if you read up on St Pancras on Wikipedia you will see that the nineteenth century was pretty destructive of graves.
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