Helen Mirren joins campaigners to save park from super sewer

DAME Helen Mirren has given her backing to the Save King Edward VII Memorial Park campaign.

Hollywood star and Wapping resident Mirren has come out ahead of the protest at City hall tomorrow to ask Thames Water to reconsider its plans for a sewer shaft at the site.

She said: “I give my full support to the SaveKEMP campaign. As a local resident I am aware how little green space there is in our area and hope that the beautiful King Edward VII Memorial Park Green continues to be a garden space for the many local people, who have nowhere else to enjoy a garden environment.”

Other celebrity supporters include comedian Lee Hurst and singer Kenny Lynch.

Campaigners will protest outside City Hall on Wednesday and ask Mayor Boris Johnson to support the campaign. They are asking Thames Water to consider alternative brownfield sites instead of the park for its Thames Tunnel project.

Emma Dunsire of SaveKEMP said: “We are delighted to count Dame Helen Mirren among our supporters. As a Wappingite, she is familiar with the park and can appreciate its importance on the social, environmental and also historical levels. Thames Water must reconsider and opt for a more sympathetic solution. The alternatives exist and denying them is just unfair and inconsiderate.”