A report in today’s Guardian newspaper says that London councils are calling for a radical rethink for Thames Water’s plans to build a “super sewer” for London.

The leaders of 14 city councils are due to meet Minister for the Environment Richard Benyon today to tell him that the scheme will cost more than Wembley and the Olympics together, requiring 14 million Thames Water customers to pay an extra £10 a month "for life".

The Guardian says that councils have now set up their own commission, to be funded by Hammersmith and Fulham council, to examine Thames Water's case for the tunnel. In the councils' opinion, the new tunnel will not fix the problem of overflowing sewage into the river and they will argue that there are greener and cheaper alternatives.

The commission will be chaired by Lord Selborne, a former member of the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution, and is expected to report back within months.

Thames Water will need the consent of all riverside councils if the scheme is to go ahead and hopes to apply for planning permission later this year.

Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council Leader Coucillor Stephen Greenhalgh commented last week:

“We are saying no to the devastation of our vibrant, mixed community of 17,000 residents and we are saying no to a foul construction site near local homes and schools.”

“The more people find out about this white-elephant the more they realise the whole plan is fundamentally flawed and needs to be shelved so that cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives can be considered before 14 million water bill payers are seriously hit in the pocket.”

“However, if this ill-conceived project is not shelved, it remains the council’s view that the main construction site for the super sewer needs to be in a large area of open land well away from densely packed residential areas like south Fulham.”

Current estimates have put a £3.6 billion price tag on the project – according to Hammersmith and Fulham Council, Thames Water has instructed its finance division in the Cayman Islands tax haven to issue bonds worth £10billion linked to a number of capital projects including the super sewer

H&F Council has argued that there are sensible and more cost effective alternatives that can make the Thames even cleaner with less disruption to Londoners and without the huge environmental, social and economic costs.

The council has been fighting against the whole idea of the super-sewer and against locating the main entry site works in South Fulham - within 440 yards of nearly 1,000 family homes and local schools.