Forum Topic

Mayor on bridge building

I see Mayor Khan has sent a congratulatory message to the President elect looking forward to building bridges.  Hammersmith maybe???

Andy Pike ● 1996d10 Comments

It looks like they are going for a repair instead of a replacement.Surely costs/benefits as well as an environmental impact should have been considered before deciding what is best?Unless these are detailed somewhere I can't see the justification for repairing Hammersmith Bridge II - time is well overdue for it's succession IMO.

Ed Robinson ● 1990d

I couldn’t find the thread on Hammersmith Bridge - honestly this website is so clunky - but there has been some progress. See https://www.gov.uk/government/news/hammersmith-bridge-taskforce-meeting-13-november-2020

Catherine Schade ● 1990d

😂😂😁

Andy Pike ● 1995d

Oh dear, I sense yet another tedious diatribe from Lady Blake-Milton is on the way...

Richard Carter ● 1995d

There is a cloud over the selling of Elliot School grounds still - something is being hid.

Clifford Cowell ● 1995d

I agree. Even without the current crisis, a single council would always struggle to fund maintaining decaying Victorian bridges. And politics quickly gets involved so the Tories take a pop at Labour and vice versa. Very tedious!  A single authority with a long term maintenance programme and appropriate funding would have made more sense. The problems of Hammersmith Bridge pre-date the current Labour council just as - to take one example - the failure to maintain Elliott school over 30 years do not pre-date Tory control of Wandsworth. The playing fields had to be sold to cover a huge maintenance backlog, if I recall it correctly.

Jonathan Callaway ● 1995d

And they have had 35 years to save for today. That's Councils of both major political persuasions over those years.But it would have made sense when setting up the GLA to once again put the bridges under the control of the London wide strategic authority.

Andy Pike ● 1995d

"I'm surprised all the major London bridges aren't under one authority."The London County Council was responsible for Hammersmith Bridge, and the responsibility was passed on to the Greater London Council in 1965.Then guess what? "The Local Government Act 1985 dealt with the abolition of the GLC, and transferred non-trunk road bridges in their entirety to one of the two London boroughs that each bridge lay within – the choice of borough to be decided between the two councils, or failing agreement, by the Secretary of State for Transport. In addition to the bridge, the London borough taking responsibility also gains 100 yards of approach road from the other borough. For Hammersmith Bridge, the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham took responsibility." (Wikipedia)So, thanks to Thatcher and the Tories, "Hammersmith & Fulham (H&F) Council is the highway authority for Hammersmith Bridge and is responsible for its maintenance and repair."

David Ainsworth ● 1995d

I didn't think the mayor was responsible for bridges.I seem to remember we have a Minister for London too - somewhere. And the previous mayor's garden bridge became compost.On a more serious note - I'm surprised all the major London bridges aren't under one authority. Given the uncoordinated closure of them and the specialist maintenance you would think it would make sense. Not TFL as I think that is too big now nor the department of transport. Just an idea!

Ed Robinson ● 1995d

Very good Andy!  Yes if only we had a May focussed on his day job of helping rather than hindering London.  Sadly the job does not seem to attract many applicants with that bent it would seem.  Joe Biden will be long gone before Hammersmith bridge is up and running it would seem 🙄

Mike Warman ● 1995d