TfL said Hammersmith and Fulham Council had missed it off of the consultation and design process for a new round of works to Wandsworth Bridge Road
Planned works to a key West London road have had to be pushed back once again after the local council 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. Hammersmith and Fulham Council had, however, 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 August 18, 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.
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has since seen correspondence indicating TfL, which is a statutory consultee for any changes to Wandsworth Bridge Road due to it being part of the Strategic Road Network, was missed off of the consultation and design process for the scheme.
As such it was unable to support the start of construction earlier this month, delaying the works further.
A spokesperson for TfL has separately confirmed to the LDRS the authority was not consulted at the design stage but that it is now working through the plans as quickly as possible. In the correspondence TfL said it has requested further details from the council and that Hammersmith and Fulham is to present the scheme to the transport authority’s Road Space Protection Group in the coming weeks.
Cllr Downer-Sanderson told the LDRS: “On September 5 the Labour councillor responsible for these works claimed [in a letter to the Conservative opposition leader Cllr Jose Afonso] the consultation went ‘way in excess of statutory requirements’. Yet it has now emerged that the council failed to even speak to TfL, who in their own words are a ‘statutory body for consultation for any material change in layout’.
“It is at least careless and at worst seriously incompetent to spend public money on contractors and preparatory work before TfL were even consulted. It is also fully in line with the Labour administration’s high-handed approach to the Wandsworth Bridge Road. This level of incompetence is deeply concerning. It’s costly, it undermines trust and it will make residents question whether this Labour council is fit to control public funds.”
Cllr Chevoppe-Verdier accused the Conservatives of seeking to “peddle lies and falsehoods about our work to transform the neighbourhood, put children’s safety first and remove poisons from Hammersmith and Fulham’s air”.
He continued: “They were punished for their tawdry behaviour last year by residents who chose Ben Coleman, who had worked tirelessly to improve the area, over their Conservative MP at the General Election. And the Conservatives’ pathetic efforts to divide the community will be rejected again next year because residents know that Hammersmith and Fulham Labour councillors work to build a stronger, safer kinder borough for everyone who lives here.”
A Hammersmith and Fulham Council spokesperson said: “As part of the standard consultation process, officials from TfL buses section have asked for a review of Hammersmith and Fulham Council’s programme to upgrade four safety crossings on the Wandsworth Bridge Road. This review of technical assessments for the programme has resulted in a necessary delay to the planned works.
“This is disappointing as we believe the work planned is good for buses and motor vehicles as well as improving safety for pedestrians and cyclists. We are now working with TfL buses to meet their specification and data requirements and hope to expedite the programme of works as soon as possible.”
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