Disconnector Online

The capital's new bod in the hot seat, one Boris Johnson, has wasted no time getting down to the nitty gritty and making a bit of a noise. According to a press release issued on Monday, ten days after Boris succeeded Ken: "Mayor agrees deal with Thames Water to reduce impact of roadworks." Cue "huzzas" and watch for an outbreak of street parties and bunting? Well, colleagues of the great man (Disconnector, not Johnson) are not quite so sure what has been agreed. The press release insisted: "Thames Water has committed to work with the Mayor to reduce the impact of its roadworks on traffic in London. This includes setting up pilot projects across the capital..." The release also spoke enthusiastically about the fact that "Thames Water has also agreed to work with the Mayor on a package of new environmental measures. These include helping to capture and reuse the waste energy that will be generated by the proposed Barking Power Station to help provide heating and hot water for up to 90,000 homes and save up to 90,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year." When a Thames Water spokesperson was contacted to provide some details of the initiatives, Disconnector's colleague was told that Thames was "happy to co-operate" and that "there will now be talks". As for exactly what will be involved and what has actually been agreed, "it's very early days". No details were forthcoming. As for the deal involving Barking Power Station, a spokesperson at the London Development Agency confirmed that no contract had been signed yet. Disconnector is left with a rather strong impression that calling it a deal is slightly over- egging the pudding at this stage. Frankly, it's a bit of early spin from the new Mayor!