Planned works to Wandsworth Bridge Road have had to be delayed after the local council, Hammersmith and Fulham, failed to consult Transport for London (TfL). The transport authority is a statutory consultee for proposed changes to highways which form part of the Strategic Road Network, including Wandsworth Bridge Road in south Fulham, reports FulhamSW6.com.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council missed TfL off of the consultation and design process for a new round of works, meaning the start of construction has suffered further delays.
Conservative councillor Liam Downer-Sanderson, Shadow Cabinet Member for Environment and Ecology, said:
“[It is] at least careless and at worst seriously incompetent to spend public money on contractors and preparatory work before TfL were even consulted”.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council had originally planned to begin further works to Wandsworth Bridge Road in the week commencing 18 August, to last around a month.
They were to involve the installation of four new raised zebra crossings, new cycle hire parking bays, replacing the existing parklet at the Ryecroft/Bovingdon crossing with an extended kerb featuring communal seating, greenery and planters, and designated loading bays for businesses.
The changes were designed to function as part of the wider South Fulham Clean Air Neighbourhood (CAN), a scheme which has also seen cameras erected on streets to the east and west of Wandsworth Bridge Road to prevent out-of-borough drivers rat-running.
Cllr Florian Chevoppe-Verdier, Cabinet Member for Public Realm, wrote at the time that the works “are designed to boost the local economy by making the urban centre greener with more space for people, so promoting the area’s burgeoning café and hospitality sector”.
But construction was delayed by several weeks due to the “volume of correspondence” received during consultation, with the expectation that work may begin in September.
According to a report uploaded to the council’s website, 290 responses were received across two statutory notices, a Traffic Order Notice and a Section 32 Notice, featuring a mix of objections, general feedback and supportive comments.
The report made a series of recommendations in response to the submissions. These included deferring the installation of loading bays in Studdridge Street and Beltran Road and micromobility bays in Studdridge Street, Clancarty Road and Ashcombe Street.
(Pic: Mapillary)
