The Project
The Thames Tideway Tunnel is a major infrastructure project urgently needed to protect the tidal River Thames from increasing pollution. London’s sewerage system is no longer fit for purpose and spills tens of millions of tonnes of untreated sewage mixed with rainwater (combined sewage) into the tidal reaches of the River Thames every year. The project is the largest in the history of the privatised water industry and is the UK’s largest ever waste water infrastructure project.
For further information on Tideway please refer to our website:
https://www.tideway.london
The Thames Tideway Tunnel will control combined sewer overflow (CSO) discharges by intercepting and diverting combined sewage flows into a new tunnel system for storage and transfer for treatment. The tunnel system will consist of connection tunnels and a main tunnel that will run from Acton Storm Tanks in west London to Abbey Mills Pumping Station in the east, where it will connect to the Lee Tunnel, which will transfer the flows to Beckton Sewage Treatment works for treatment.
Bazalgette Tunnel Limited (BTL), is the Infrastructure Provider licenced by Ofwat and set up to finance, build, maintain and operate the Thames Tideway Tunnel on behalf of Thames Water Utilities Limited. From Licence Award, BTL trades and is known the public as ‘Tideway’. Pursuant to a Development Consent Order (DCO) which granted Tideway Thames Water development consent for the Project, Thames Water Utilities Limited Tideway entered into a Legal Agreement for the securing of Off-site Mitigation Policies and Resources with various relevant Local Planning Authorities (the Section 106 Agreement).
The Non-Statutory Off-Site Mitigation and Compensation Policy (NSOMCP) and through it the Independent Compensation Panel (ICP) are requirements of the DCO and is secured by the section 106 Agreement.
The NSOMCP sets out what the project will offer to help those affected by the project and its associated construction programme in order to mitigate the possible or actual effects of the project and details the circumstances in which compensation may be payable
The Opportunity
Tideway and Thames Water Utilities Limited (TWUL) would like to appoint an independent chairperson to chair their Independent Compensation Panel (ICP).
This includes a combination of disciplines including:
The role of the ICP is to review all compensation and mitigation claims made by parties impacted by the Tideway Project, especially residents housed near Tideway project sites, and to make recommendations as to whether compensation and/or mitigation should be awarded to such parties.
The ICP requirements are listed below:
Claimants may also appeal to the Independent Complaints Commissioner (ICC).
To date, ICP cases fall broadly in two separate categories:
Location
ICP meetings are generally held in office hours at Tideway’s Cottons Centre offices located near London Bridge but may also take place at other project worksites. Site visits may be required to understand the impact of the project on a specific claim / applicant.
Meeting minutes are sent to the applicants within seven days of the date of the meeting, but Tideway strive to limit the delay and issue minutes as soon as possible after the meeting.
The ICP will be differently constituted for each meeting based on current cases although they may well take place on the same day. Meeting papers are issued in advance of the meeting to allow for review and preparation and requests for further/missing information from the applicant and/or Tideway.
The Role
The responsibilities of the chair will include:
Administrative support will be provided by Tideway
Time
The ICP is required to meet monthly but generally meets fortnightly or more frequently as required by the number of cases received by the Project.
In 2017/2018 the ICP considered 104 cases and in 2018/19 the ICP has considered 132 cases. All cases to date have arisen out of claims under the Non-statutory NSOMCP and the Exceptional Hardship Policy for compensation or mitigation. Many of the claims required health and medical specialist input as there are special cases to consider but it is important to note, that the ICP workload is variable.
For further information on the ICP please refer to our website:
https://www.tideway.london/contact-us/help-advice/compensation-information/independent-compensation-panel/
Skills and Experience
The ideal candidate will have the following experience
Significant experience in one of the following fields:
(i) compensation and valuation;
(ii) environmental health; or
(iii) Relevant law
Suitable experience in the management of major infrastructure projects of compatible scale and complexity to the Tideway Project.
The ideal candidate will have experience in the following:
Payment
The ICP Chair will be compensated on an hourly/daily basis
To Apply for the Role
Please submit your CV and a covering letter of no more than two pages to procurement@tideway.london stating why you believe you would be suitable for this role.
Please also include an indication of your availability and hourly/daily rate
If you have any questions or require any additional information regarding the role, Tideway or the Independent Compensation Panel, please forward these to procurement@tideway.london
The closing date for applications is Friday 15th November 2019 at 15.00.