Hammersmith Bridge Lit Up With Valentine's Message


Residents say they are broken hearted over lack of action

Hammersmith Bridge lit up. Picture: Hammersmith Bridge SOS

A Valentine’s message to the Prime Minister, the Mayor of London. the transport minister and the leader of the council has lit up Hammersmith Bridge as residents aim to highlight perceived inaction over reopening.

This weekend marked six months since the bridge was fully closed and a local campaign group chose to mark the occasion with the UK’s biggest Valentine’s card addressed to Boris Johnson, Sadiq Khan, Grant Shapps and Stephen Cowan (leader of Hammersmith & Fulham Council: the owners of the bridge) with love from the residents of SW London. It bears the message: "Broken Hearts, Broken Promises, Broken Lives, Broken Bridge".

It is nearly two years since the bridge closed to vehicular traffic and rows continue between the government, the Council and the Mayor as to how the reopening should be funded despite the formation of a task force that was intended to accelerate the process.

Hammmersmith Bridge SOS, who staged the illumination, said, “Children are enduring very long commutes to get to school in the dark on unsuitable flooded footpaths. Elderly people and workers are suffering much longer journeys to go about their daily business. When lockdown ends, the severe traffic congestion and pollution issues around Putney, Chiswick and Kew Bridges will return as a result of the loss of this major London artery.

“In a recent survey we conducted in association with the Barnes Community Association, 88% of responders in the local area said the bridge closure was having a significant negative effect on their mental health. The bridge closure has also had a serious impact on local businesses; many already pushed to breaking point by the pandemic.

“It is a great shame that we need to raise further attention to the complete inability of politicians from all parties to find a satisfactory solution, to proceed with the funding and works to repair Hammersmith Bridge. Also, to deliver the urgently needed temporary pedestrian crossing.

“Our Valentine’s card is intended to be a fun and entertaining way to draw attention to what remains a serious issue. The Bridge closure is a real problem for people, businesses and local lives in general. We very much hope our message will get through to the politicians concerned: SW London is fed up and angry with waiting for progress and results to no avail. “

Even should the method of funding be agreed, the latest estimate is that it would take six years for the bridge to fully reopen.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We’ve always done that and won’t be changing, in fact we’d like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we’d be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you’d like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.


February 15, 2021