Richmond Council Calls for 'Raised Imagination' on Hammersmith Bridge
Borough denies it is 'end of the story' on full reopening
Most of the money has been spent by Hammersmith & Fulham Council
July 16, 2026
Richmond Council has renewed calls for Hammersmith Bridge to reopen to public transport and emergency services, stating it refuses to accept only keeping it open for pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic as “the end of the story”.
The Lib Dem council vowed to keep campaigning for a “fully connected” Hammersmith Bridge, linking Hammersmith to Barnes, after it was announced plans to fully reopen it to vehicles had been shelved.
Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham Council, which owns the Grade II* listed bridge, said earlier this month there was “no financial option available that would allow its full restoration” – estimated to cost £300million. It said these works would “essentially require a brand-new bridge to be built”.
Lib Dem councillor Alexander Ehmann, Richmond’s joint deputy leader, said the 139-year-old bridge had stood “as a failure of political administration and ambition” since shutting to vehicles in 2019.
He told a meeting of the council on Tuesday night (July 14) residents of Barnes, East Sheen, Mortlake and beyond had lived with the consequences of the closure for more than seven years, including longer journeys, lost bus connections and greater congestion.
Councillor Ehmann said that if traditional solutions had proven too difficult, the authorities “should not lower our ambition, we should raise our imagination” by looking at new technology, engineering solutions, funding models and partnerships.
Hammersmith and Fulham’s cabinet approved plans to seek £128m from the Government’s £1billion Structures Fund for essential repairs to the bridge on July 6.
It had hoped to secure the full £300m to fully restore the bridge, but a report by council officers said the Department for Transport (DfT) had instead recommended it apply for a “phased repair” to keep the bridge open for pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.
The fund criteria says the latest date for eligible schemes to reach completion is March 31, 2030, which does not allow for full restoration of the bridge.
Richmond passed a motion on July 14 pledging to “continue campaigning for a fully connected Hammersmith Bridge serving all residents”.
Councillor Ehmann said: “What disappointed me most about [Hammersmith and Fulham’s] cabinet report was not simply what it recommended, but what it failed to contemplate. No meaningful plan B, no serious strategy for restoring public transport and no pathway for innovation.
“No temporary solutions, no long-term vision, just a gradual acceptance that pedestrians and cyclists may be the end of the story.
“Richmond does not accept that. We have consistently argued that Hammersmith Bridge should once again provide public transport. Not because we’re nostalgic, but because modern cities depend on connectivity.”
Lib Dem councillor Fiona Sacks, representing Barnes, said the latest plans did “not provide a long-term solution, it is little more than a sticking plaster on a problem that will return to plague London again and again”.
She said the plans particularly impacted the elderly, disabled residents, patients trying to reach Charing Cross Hospital, carers travelling long distances, parents with young children, teenagers returning home at night and key workers who relied on public transport.
Councillor Sacks said: “For them, this is not a minor inconvenience. It is a barrier to healthcare, employment, education, family life and independence.”
She added: “The current proposal accepts a future where crossing the Thames at Barnes is only straightforward for those who are fit enough to walk or cycle. That is not equality. That is not inclusion. That is not fair.”
Councillors said Richmond would continue working with MPs, neighbouring boroughs, Transport for London (TfL) and the Government to push for a bridge “that reconnects communities”.
Labour MP Fleur Anderson and Tory-run Wandsworth Council have also pledged to continue fighting for the bridge to be fully restored.
The crossing was built in 1887 and is one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges.
It was shut in April 2019 after inspectors found micro-fractures in each of its four cast iron pedestals, which indicated a risk of “catastrophic collapse”.
It has since reopened to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic, with Hammersmith and Fulham spending £54m to maintain the structure.
The Government struck a deal with TfL in 2021 to split the cost of repairs three ways with Hammersmith and Fulham.
The council report said: “The council’s position – in line with this one-thirds principle – is that it is still owed money due from TfL, primarily, and DfT towards the £54m that has been spent on the restoration project.”
Council leader Stephen Cowan told the cabinet if there “was a magic money tree we could fix it, but we don’t live in something for nothing society”.
An announcement on whether the £128m bid has been successful is expected in autumn.
Charlotte Lilywhite - Local Democracy Reporter
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