Sometimes persistence in Parliament can pay off. My debate on the seven-year closure of Hammersmith Bridge this week was not the first time I held a debate on this issue, and I don’t think it will be the last. However, after raising 28 times in the House since I was elected, this debate got the best answers so far.
There is now a timetable for deciding when the £1 billion Structures Fund will be allocated. Closing the debate, the Minister for Roads, Simon Lightwood, announced that the funding is now open for business and that draft applications have to be in by 19 June. The guidelines give more information which the Minister held back but is very exciting for Putney residents, that final submissions are due by 3 August, and there will be decision in the autumn.
Hammersmith Bridge isn’t in my Putney constituency, so you may wonder why I care so much. It’s because Putney Bridge is the next bridge east along the River Thames and so my constituents are very affected by the closure of the six bus routes and re-routing of 22,000 vehicles a day.
For the communities of Putney and Roehampton, and our neighbours across the river, the impact of the bridge’s closure to vehicles since April 2019 has been felt every single day. It is one of the main issues that comes up in every community event, on the doorstep and when I’m stopped in the street.
It has caused congestion on all the roads leading to the Putney Bridge and made bus journeys considerably longer – an extra hour each way to Roehampton. It is bad for local businesses with delays in staff travel and deliveries. It is bad for the environment as the congestion increases pollution, and it is bad for active travel as the bus routes are so long and people are put off cycling by the heavy traffic.
In the debate I shared stories of the impact, including from the mum of a child with Down’s Syndrome whose daily journey to his school across the river and then sometimes back for hospital appointments is now hours when it was minutes. He has missed out on appointments and social activities as getting to them is too reliable.
Attending hospital appointments has become more complicated, more expensive and more exhausting since the bridge closed to vehicles, and they are frequently missed.
These difficulties are now being felt even more acutely with Albert Bridge also closed to traffic.
After years of uncertainty, having a clear process and timeline matters. It shows that the restoration of major structures like Hammersmith Bridge is now firmly on the national agenda, and it creates a real opportunity to move from stalemate to delivery. I welcome this progress and I am determined to keep working closely with the the Department for Transport, TfL and the councils and neighbouring MPs to ensure it leads to action on the ground.
I want to thank Hammersmith and Fulham Council for making the bridge safe for pedestrians and cyclists, at considerable cost. Their technical expertise and political leadership have kept this issue on the national agenda. I also want to thank Andy Slaughter MP and Sarah Olney MP for attending this and many debates and for their continued cross-river and cross-party partnership and shared determination to get this bridge fixed.
The next phase is crucial. I hope that the Hammersmith and Fulham Council application will be successful. Works must then begin swiftly to restore the bridge and the all- important bus routes re-opened.
Hammersmith Bridge is more than a historic structure. It is a vital link supporting jobs, families and public services across south-west London.
I welcome the progress made so far. But I’ll keep raising it in Parliament until we end the misery for all the Londoners who have lived with the impact of this closure for seven long years.
