Council Pressed on Future Transport Schemes in the Borough
Opposition raises Northern Line extension and Wandsworth one-way system plans
A visualisation of the stalled Wandsworth Town one-way system
July 25, 2023
Wandsworth Council has been urged to explain what steps it’s taken to secure the £750million needed for a new Northern Line extension, after commissioning investigations into the potential scheme. A Conservative motion at a Wandsworth Council meeting on 19 July raised concerns about transport schemes in the borough, including plans to redesign Wandsworth town centre’s one-way system.
The motion accused the Labour administration, which took control of the authority for the first time in 44 years last May, of failing to “deliver high quality transport planning and infrastructure for Wandsworth residents”. It said Wandsworth “is becoming a more difficult place to get around – journeys are taking longer, routes into and out of the borough are often blocked and the council is failing to stand up to the Mayor of London to protect the interests of residents and businesses”.
The motion welcomed investigations into extending the Northern line from Battersea Power Station to Clapham Junction, after the council green-lit a pre-feasibility study into its estimated costs, constraints and benefits earlier this year. But it said “no viable proposal” on funding the scheme had been put forward.
It also claimed a “lack of progress” had been made on Transport for London’s (TfL) bid to the Department for Transport (DfT) to redesign Wandsworth town centre’s one-way system. The scheme would involve rerouting the A3 and A205 South Circular to the north of the town centre and restricting the central section of Wandsworth High Street and Garratt Lane to buses and cyclists.
But Labour councillor Leonie Cooper slammed the motion for having a “blame everyone else attitude”. She said the council is working on “getting a really top-quality bid together with TfL” for the Wandsworth one-way scheme.
The motion added the council had “failed to deliver a lasting solution to the problem of hire bikes and scooters blocking pavements across the borough”, while raising concerns the ten-week closure of Wandsworth Bridge, which began on 24 July, would cause “gridlock”.
Conservative councillor Daniel Hamilton, who put forward the motion, said the council had not reviewed its major transport schemes “in a way that has benefitted local residents” at the meeting on 19 July.
He said the temporary closure of Wandsworth Bridge would “wreak significant chaos and misery on Wandsworth residents” while “alternative river crossings such as Putney Bridge are already under severe strain from the closure of Hammersmith Bridge”. He added “no additional plan” had been put in place to monitor noise from the construction site for the Wandsworth Bridge repairs, or extra air quality monitoring along diversion routes.
The motion made several demands, including calling on the council to “outline the practical steps it has taken to secure the projected £750million in government/mayoral funding to realise the Northern Line extension” and for clear plans on the completion of the Wandsworth Bridge repairs “on time and on budget”.
At the meeting, Labour councillor Jenny Yates said Wandsworth Bridge was temporarily closing for “essential safety repairs” as its weight-bearing parts need to be replaced. She said: “The previous refurbishment works on the bridge under the previous administration started in 2020. They ran over time and over budget.
“This time, we’re doing everything we can to keep the work on track and we’re making huge efforts to inform residents about the bridge closure.” She said the council had recently installed six traffic monitoring sensors and three air quality sensors in Putney Bridge.
Councillor Yates said the authority is encouraging walking and cycling, along with slashing air pollution – including installing 150 more bike hangars this year, consulting on more school streets, training cyclists and progressing cycleways on Queenstown Road, Burntwood Lane and Garratt Lane. She said the council expects to have an agreement in place requiring e-bikes to be parked in designated bays in autumn.
She claimed the previous administration had not surveyed the state of roads and pavements at its council estates but the authority is “sorting this out now”. She added it would spend the extra £5million it had set aside for potholes and pavements “so all our residents benefit”.
Labour’s Leonie Cooper said in response to the motion: “We ask you to work collaboratively, put aside that old attitude.” The motion was rejected at the meeting.
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said it had commissioned Foster + Partners with COWI to present their planning proposal to install a temporary bridge to facilitate the full strengthening and restoration of Hammersmith Bridge. They said: “It will allow the river crossing to reopen to cars, buses and motorcyclists earlier than previously planned and while the restoration of the bridge takes place.”
A spokesperson for the Mayor of London said: “The Mayor has a strong track record in delivering transport improvements across the capital including in Wandsworth. Despite the impact of the pandemic on TfL’s finances, the Mayor will continue working with all London boroughs to deliver the changes needed to improve public transport and support people to make more sustainable transport choices like walking and cycling. In this way he will ensure we build a safer, greener and more prosperous city for everyone.”
Helen Cansick, TfL’s head of healthy streets investment, said it is working with the council to develop plans for Wandsworth’s one-way system. She said: “This is a complex project in a challenging location and we want to ensure that any investment achieves the best possible outcome for the local community.”
Ms Cansick added: “We’re determined to ensure people living in every borough can travel safely and sustainably, which is why we’re working closely with Wandsworth Council to make it easier for people across the borough to walk, cycle and use public transport.
“We have allocated £2.9m over two years for investment in Healthy Streets through the Local Implementation Plan process and are also due to start construction on the next phase of the Nine Elms Healthy Streets corridor by the end of the year.
“This will create new cycle lanes and make it easier to walk along Battersea Park Road, connecting the Nine Elms community with a wider network of cycle routes. Additionally, the Northern Line extension which opened in 2021 includes new stations in Wandsworth at Battersea Power Station and Nine Elms.”
Charlotte Lillywhite - Local Democracy Reporter