Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to Written Answers by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 29 September (HL10314) and 11 October (HL10459), what assessment they have made of (1) the impact of the closure of Hammersmith Bridge on traffic in south-west London, and (2) the reasons for the length of the closure; and what steps they are taking to ensure that the bridge is opened to traffic again as soon as possible.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Hammersmith Bridge is owned by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), and therefore the responsibility for maintaining the bridge, and making decisions on its repair, lies with the borough. As the asset owner and project lead, it is for LBHF to make any assessments regarding the impact of the closure of the Bridge on traffic in south-west London. The Borough is also responsible for making any decisions in response to safety issues that may arise on Hammersmith Bridge, including restricting access to certain forms of transport.
The next step to the permanent safe reopening of the bridge to all users lies with LBHF. The Borough and its technical advisors have been continuing to work on the production of an Outline Business Case for the required Strengthening Works, which is a condition for the release of any further Government contribution to the cost of repairing the bridge.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 29 September (HL10314), when the Department for Transport's scrutiny period of the governance processes in regards to Hammersmith Bridge will conclude; and when they will announce a timeline for the re-opening of Hammersmith Bridge to traffic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport and Transport for London (TfL) are working closely with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) to ensure that an effective business case is submitted for the necessary strengthening works on Hammersmith Bridge. Once submitted, the final business case will be robustly scrutinised by my Department and by TfL to protect the national taxpayer’s interests and ensure that projects with strong business cases receive Government support. Given the thorough nature of this process, I cannot yet give a specific date for completion.
As the asset owner, the responsibility for the required repair works lies with LBHF. As such, my Department cannot make any decisions or give estimates on the expected date for the re-opening of Hammersmith Bridge to traffic.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 13 September (HL9790), when they expect the business case development process to report.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Department for Transport continues to work constructively with the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham – the asset owner and lead for the Hammersmith Bridge project – and with Transport for London to make progress on the Outline Business Case. This is currently undergoing scrutiny through the Department’s governance processes. LBHF is being kept appraised of developments, and a report will be issued once the governance processes have been fulfilled.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask His Majesty's Government when they expect Hammersmith Bridge to reopen to traffic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Transport in London is devolved. Hammersmith Bridge is owned by the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) which is responsible for its repair and maintenance.
Stabilisation works are underway; a business case for strengthening works is in development. Providing a schedule for the full reopening of the bridge is part of the business case development process.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to their long-term funding settlement with Transport for London, what discussions they have had as part of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce about when the Bridge will re-open to motor traffic.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF), the Government, and Transport for London (TfL) are committed to reopening Hammersmith Bridge to motor traffic. LBHF is developing a business case for the second stage of repair work to the structure, which will allow the bridge to re-open to motor traffic. This business case will set out the engineering options to do so, including the costs and timelines for the project.
A further meeting of the Taskforce will be considered when members put forward substantive agenda items for discussion. The Taskforce publishes a report of each meeting on the Government website.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government when Hammersmith Bridge will reopen to motor vehicles.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The London Borough and Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) owns and is responsible for the maintenance of and repairs to Hammersmith Bridge.
As stated in my response to your previous question [HL6799], the next stage of the project is to reopen the bridge to motor vehicles. London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) is currently reviewing delivery options and developing a business case for this stage. Providing a schedule for the full reopening is part of this development process.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 9 March (HL6483), when they expect Hammersmith Bridge to re-open.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) owns and is responsible for the maintenance of and repairs to Hammersmith Bridge.
LBHF reopened the bridge to pedestrians, cyclists, and river traffic on 17 July 2021. It commenced work to stabilise the bridge for pedestrians, cyclists, and river traffic on a permanent basis in early March 2022.
The next stage of the project is to reopen the bridge to motor vehicles. LBHF is currently reviewing delivery options and developing a business case for this stage. Providing a schedule for the full reopening is part of this development process.
Whilst the responsibility for maintaining the bridge and making decisions on its repair lies with the LBHF, the Government has taken concrete steps to find a resolution that ensures the permanent reopening of the bridge to all users. A Government-led taskforce, chaired by Baroness Vere, was set up by the Department for Transport (DfT) in September 2020, to work towards the safe reopening of the bridge.
As part of the Extraordinary Funding and Finance Agreement announced on 1 June 2021, the Government has committed to directly contributing up to one-third of the total funding for the project, but no more. This is subject to a commitment from Transport for London (TfL) and the LBHF to do the same.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how many pedestrians were knocked over by cyclists in each of the last three years; and of those, how many sustained serious injuries.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The Secretary of State for Transport has committed to tackling dangerous cycling by making sure the process for prosecuting dangerous cyclists is more straightforward.
The number of reported pedestrian casualties, including seriously injured (adjusted) casualties, in collisions where the pedestrian is hit by a pedal cyclist in each of the last 3 years is shown in the table. The Department does not hold any data on uninjured pedestrians knocked over by pedal cyclists.
Year | Serious (adjusted) | Total pedestrian casualties hit by a pedal cyclist |
2018 | 154 | 482 |
2019 | 134 | 408 |
2020 | 103 | 308 |
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government how much money they have spent constructing cycle lanes in each of the last five years.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
Local highways authorities are responsible for constructing cycle lanes in their areas. On 7 February 2020, the Department published a detailed breakdown of annual investment in cycling and walking from 2016/17 to 2018/19 alongside the first report on progress made towards delivering the Cycling and Walking Investment Strategy (CWIS). This includes information on how much funding each local authority received over that period for active travel schemes including cycle lanes. The Department aims to publish shortly an update including a breakdown of annual investment in 2019/20 and 2020/21. Copies of the previous report to Parliament and funding breakdowns by local authority covering the years up to 2018/19 are available in the House libraries as well as on gov.uk.
Some of the information, such as a breakdown of how much capital funding was provided to each local authority for active travel schemes in 2020/21 under the Active Travel Fund, is already available on gov.uk.
Asked by: Baroness Hodgson of Abinger (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the fourth extraordinary funding settlement for Transport for London includes funding for the repair and reopening of Hammersmith Bridge.
Answered by Baroness Vere of Norbiton - Parliamentary Secretary (HM Treasury)
The repair and reopening of Hammersmith bridge to all users, including motor vehicles, remains a government priority.
The fourth extraordinary funding settlement reaffirms this position and includes a commitment from the government, Transport for London (TfL) and London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) to take forward a share of the costs for the repair and reopening of Hammersmith Bridge. Any government funding for the bridge will be subject to the approval of a business case submitted by LBHF to Department for Transport (DfT) and TfL.