Hammersmith Bridge: Residents concerned cost-sharing scheme won't go far enough
The 133-year-old crossing closed to motor traffic in April 2019
Last updated 6th Jun 2021
People living close to Hammersmith Bridge say they're worried government funding to fix it - won't be enough to guarantee it's re-opened.
The Government has insisted it will not pay more than one-third of the costs to fully repair Hammersmith Bridge.
The announcement was made this week, as the Department for Transport unveiled the details of TfL’s latest £1.08 billion funding agreement, intended to last until December.
Plans for how to fix the bridge in two stages have yet to be decided, but the overall cost is still estimated to be £100 million.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s leader Stephen Cowan reacted angrily to the Government’s announcement, accusing them of having “contempt” for south west Londoners.
The 133-year-old crossing closed to traffic in April 2019 due to cracks appearing in its iron pedestals. It was then closed to pedestrians and cyclists in August 2020 after the cracks widened during a heatwave.
The DfT said that future funding of Hammersmith Bridge will be dependent on each party – meaning itself, TfL and the council – agreeing to pay “a share of the cost”.
Its statement then added: “HMG the Government will not directly contribute more than one-third of the costs.”
Richmond Council has refused to contribute any funding.
In response, Mr Cowan said: “The Government is seeking to impose an unprecedented 33 per cent of the cost on Hammersmith & Fulham. That is tens of millions of pounds more than any other London council has ever paid for bridge repairs and comes on top of the record £8.6m we are already paying.”
Mr Cowan also said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps suggested Hammersmith and Fulham residents should pay higher council tax in order to fund the repairs.
The first stage of reopening the bridge will involve “strengthening works” to enable pedestrians and cyclists to cross it.
Engineers’ examinations of the bridge’s structural integrity, which are undergoing independent checks, advise that pedestrians and cyclists should only be allowed back on once a plan for the strengthening works has been confirmed and scheduled.
The Government said in this week's announcement that it wants “assessments” on this to be completed “at the end of June”, and has previously said it wants a partial reopening to happen this summer.
Stage two of the repairs could involve the council’s “double-decker” proposal, which would be paid for using a £3-per-journey toll. Permission to open a toll would be needed from the DfT, meaning the council can’t go ahead with this without government approval.
But despite the announcement, the Government has yet to comment on this proposal, which the council submitted to it three months ago.
Mr Cowan was also scathing of the Hammersmith Task Force, a committee set up by Mr Shapps in late 2020 to “bang heads together” and find a solution.
He said the Task Force has “spent the last nine months quashing any progress” and called it a “talking shop”.