Finger Pointed At Mayor Over Hammersmith Bridge Closure
Opponents say budgetary mismanagement is behind decision to close
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has been blamed for the closure of Hammersmith bridge, despite it being council-owned.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council yesterday announced it would be closing the bridge over 'safety concerns”.
In a statement, the council said: 'Our weekly safety checks have revealed critical faults and we have no choice but to shut the bridge. We're sorry we couldn't give you more warning.
'We have a fully tested plan to refurbish the bridge and we're ready to start work. But, due to government budget cuts, Transport for London (TfL) says it can no longer fund the planned refurbishment. This is a huge disappointment.”
Now Tony Devenish, the London Assembly Member for Hammersmith and Fulham, has hit out at Mr Khan for the problem.
Mr Devenish said, 'The state of Hammersmith Bridge has been a perennial issue which I have raised time after time with the Mayor over many months.
'It is completely unacceptable that this sorry saga has ended with indefinite closure; this will come as a real blow to the countless residents who desperately need this link to cross the river.
'Make no mistake, these failures come directly as a result of Sadiq Khan's mismanagement of the transport budget and reckless policies, such as his expensive and ineffective partial fares freeze.”
Hitting back at the comments, a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said Hammersmith Council made the right decision close the bridge.
The spokesperson said, 'The council owns the bridge and is responsible for its maintenance and refurbishment.
'However, TfL are looking at what they can do to assist the council in the short term to get the bridge back open, while helping them identify the money in the long term to fully upgrade the bridge.
'Refurbishment work would require substantial further design work and funding, at the same time as central government has decimated council budgets and removed TfL's operational grant for day-to-day running costs.
'Councils and TfL need the certainty of a long-term steady and sustained funding arrangement from government to allow London to cover the costs of its own infrastructure maintenance.”
Kate Oglesby - Local Democracy Reporter
April 11, 2019