Cllr Harcourt describes Hammersmith Bridge problems

At our AGM on 12th June, members of the audience asked a number of questions about the Bridge.

As we reported in our recent newsletter and over the previous 4 years, the bridge has been in trouble for a long time, not helped by a couple of bomb attacks in its history.

Fortunately Councillor Wesley Harcourt (Cabinet Member for the Environment) was in the audience, and offered us an impromptu update on the works to repair it.  He made it clear that the Council is committed to repairing it as a fully working bridge, and that final decisions on the scope of work are yet to made as they depend on the level of funding available from TfL (who want to run double-decker buses), and the Government.  The two key issues appear to be:

1. The level of structural repair, over and above the minimum required to run the original 7.5 Tonne vehicles, is dependent on the funding available.
2. The funding is not yet all in place (principally Government, which as we know is otherwise distracted)

He described the cracks found, and mentioned the details, photos and videos available on the council website here. He also described the effect on traffic on other bridges and roads, notably Chiswick, Putney and to a lesser extent Wandsworth, plus the apparent disappearance of 25% of the bridge traffic, though that may be variability and measurement error. He noted that more environmentally-friendly electric buses actually weigh more due to the batteries, just to add to the mix.

He committed to the council finalising plans and schedule in August, though we have no idea how long the work might take as yet, due to the many variables, and 3 years remains the disappointing figure quoted. We urge the council to embark on the essential repairs as soon as practicable, notwithstanding Government inertia. The outcome of these discussions can’t be resolved soon enough.

Click on the newsletter image to open the pdf 

The Special 20-page Anniversary Newsletter has been published, celebrating 30 years of Hammersmith Society Awards. Printed copies are being distributed to subscribing members.

Hammersmith Highline location (photo: Hammersmith BID)

We’re intrigued by the possibility of a linear park or alternative use for the disused part of the District Line viaduct between the Kings Mall flats and the new Sovereign Court, as proposed by Hammersmith BID and West London Link (known for the Flyunder concept) as part of the London Festival of Architecture 2019.  Inspired by the New York highline and the Promenade Plantée in Paris that preceded it, there’s a competition open for ideas – details here. The project has it’s own Twitter page, where you can follow progress.

Given the challenges of the location and some of the similarities, we’re attracted to the new tropical roof garden above the Crossrail station at Canary Wharf as a source of inspiration, but the site will lend itself to many interpretations, so do please take part if you have ideas.

Several committee members attended the latest Heathrow Consultation held on 24th Jan.  A more detailed article will appear in the next Newsletter, but in the meantime the essential take-aways are summarised in the graphic shown, short-cutting the 26 consultation documents. 

“Arrivals-1 for the northern runway”

This shows one of the most problematic proposed new arrivals flight paths “Arrivals-1 for the Northern runway” (used 75% of the time for early mornings), overlaid with a “heat map” of the Society’s membership. Make no mistake, the majority of members would be directly overflown at 2000-3000ft.  The “Arrivals-2” option is worse for some members, with overflights between 2000-2500ft in the southern part of Hammersmith.

We urge you to respond to the online questionnaire answering “neither – prefer no expansion” to most questions, or use appropriate detailed responses largely the same as Chiswick’s, see: http://chatr.org.uk. You must do this by 4th March.

Currently, no Hammersmith residents are directly overflown, and those living North of King Street (the majority of our members) hear rather less of the early morning arrivals along the river that plague those living further South, particularly in TEAM mode between 6-7am as described here.

TfL has issued its response to previous consultations on the cycle route from Kensington Olympia through Hammersmith and Chiswick, and says construction of the route on the north side of the Hammersmith Broadway gyratory will begin this year.

There are no substantial alterations to the section from Hammersmith Broadway to the end of King Street. Local criticism had centred on the congestion of traffic and pedestrians, and the  likely delays for buses if the roadway is narrowed at the east end of King Street to make space for a segregated two-way cycle lane: TfL says delivery vehicles will use parking bays or park in Blacks Road or Angel Walk. We are sceptical as to whether that message will get through to security service vans delivering to banks, for example.

There were also worries about  increased risk to pedestrians from cyclists. TfL has decided to drop the term “Super-Highway”, saying it sends the wrong message. A local family cycling group has welcomed the scheme, so let’s not forget it is not just fast commuter cyclists who want cycle lanes.  But the TfL report specifically excludes the option of a commuter route parallel to the length of the A4, and is vague about the prospect of a fast route in Hammersmith,  which the Council announced last month. 

We understand LBHF is having further discussions with TfL.

 Click on the report image to download it from TfL.

Old Oak HS2 station (image updated post-exhibition launch)

A number of exhibitions are being held across the borough this month concerning the design of the HS2 station at Old Oak, which is at the heart of the OPDC area. This is the major interchange between HS2 and The Elizabeth Line (Crossrail), due to be the busiest interchange in the UK after London Waterloo.

The architects are WilkinsonEyre and let us hope they come up with a design which measures up to the importance of the project.

Details of times and locations are shown in the diary with links to maps – the first event is today, 5th February.

Heathrow impact (image: H&F council)

On Thursday 4th Oct all the organisations presenting a legal challenge to Heathrow expansion will be in court seeking permission to go ahead.

H&F Council have now joined 4 other Councils to challenge the Heathrow decision. Friends of the Earth are challenging it on climate change grounds, and Greenpeace on grounds of air pollution.

The judge will decide which, if any of challenges, can proceed to a full hearing. The campaign needs a big crowd inside and outside the court to show public opposition. The permission hearings will be at the Royal Courts of Justice, if you support the challenge and can attend, please be there by 9 am.

Hammersmith takes one for the TEAM

For those in any doubt as to what 3rd runway traffic might look like, this is what TEAM landing patterns already look like at 6.30 am on a Sunday morning even when the alternation schedule plans to only use the southern runway!  See this link for the current alternation schedule and an understanding of the carte-blanche that is TEAM. 

TEAM landings Sunday 30th Sept 2018, 6.30 AM. Image courtesy Flightradar24.com

Heathrow noise – Airports Commission final report

You may well be aware that the Government published a document on 5th June which would effectively give outline planning permission for a third runway at Heathrow. Parliament will vote on this in next 2 1/2 weeks. As the Hammersmith Society has said repeatedly, a third runway would have significant negative effects on Hammersmith: increased noise (with the health impacts that brings) from more flights and a new flightpath, increased pollution from more traffic on the A4 and A40 through the Borough, and vastly increased pressure on public transport infrastructure going into and out of central London. If you share these concerns, do email or write, as soon as possible,  to your MP who for most of us is Andy Slaughter (), and the Minister for Transport

The Chair of the  H&F Resident-Led Commission on Airport Expansion, Christina Smyth, has written the following blogpost on the Council’s website: