Emerge onto terra firma from Hammersmith Station and head towards what is often described by locals as a “baffling embarrassment”, where one of the oldest suspension bridges in the world still stands despite its many threats, over the years, to fall into the Thames. Back in 2019, after engineers conducting a safety assessment noticed micro-fractures in the cast iron pedestals holding the bridge together, the crossing was closed to motor vehicles. Since then, Hammersmith Bridge — a Grade II* listed, ornate green marvel made out of wood and wrought iron constructed 140 years ago — has become the site of a bureaucratic deadlock that has often been described as a “disgrace for London”. Locals complain about their experiences being ignored, dismissed or weaponised in the interest of political point-scoring.
Bridge of sighs: a skyrocketing repair bill
The Victorian artery was initially built for horse and carriage, but some 22,000 cars and six bus routes were passing over the bridge every day. After millions were spent on stabilisation works, the bridge was reopened to pedestrians and cyclists in 2021. Almost seven years since it was closed to traffic and, crucially, public transport, costs to fully fix the bridge to accommodate cars have ballooned to an eye-watering £250 million. But who foots the bill? Currently, the understanding is that the total cost for the repairs would be split three ways between the London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham, the Department for Transport (Dft) and Transport for London (TfL).
Hence the hold-up: arguments over who pays what… and even if they will pay at all.
As the May elections approach, the debate is hotting up again. Minister for Roads and Buses Simon Lightwood recently signalled that a deal to break the funding stalemate is getting closer, but with no indication of how or when the potential donation from the Government’s newly-introduced “Structures Fund” would be determined. Critics say that the timing of this announcement in the lead-up to the elections is politically motivated.
What is undeniable is the seismic impact that the bridge’s closure is having on residents. The closure of bus routes is one of the biggest issues. Without refurbishment, buses will not be able to cross the bridge due to the 1.5-tonne weight limit — a standard London bus can weigh up to 18 tonnes when full. Richmond Liberal Democrat councillor and transport committee member Marjory Millum says that there had been “a hasty, emergency reshuffling of bus routes when the bridge closed, which was done very quickly and without much thought”.
Simon Roach, centre director of Castelnau Community Centre in Barnes on the south side of the bridge, says the closure of several bus routes has meant that elderly residents in Barnes can feel trapped. Those suffering from mobility issues or illness cannot always take a lengthier bus journey to Hammersmith, which diverts through Putney. “There are lots of people who need to go to Charing Cross Hospital, who are having to undergo stressful journeys and potentially risk not making their appointment in time,” says Roach. For the less affluent, the lack of public transport across the bridge “cuts off their ability to shop at prices they can afford. Lots of those people are forced to shop very locally, either in Tesco locals or Sainsbury’s locals where we know the prices are pumped-up, or shops in Barnes which can cater more to people who have a greater amount of disposable income,” he says.
Protests and counter-protests
There is, of course, a knock-on effect, too. Putney and Roehampton MP Fleur Anderson says that Putney’s “less resilient” transport network has been overwhelmed. People have complained locally that traffic doesn’t disappear, it gets funnelled elsewhere.
Campaigners, however, are quick to refute this belief. Charles Campion, an architect and urban planner from Barnes, explained how traffic data disproved the idea that tens of thousands of cars had fed into traffic elsewhere. “Traffic’s down on all bridges,” he says. Indeed, Freedom of Information (FOI) data published by TfL in 2025 proved that river-crossing traffic on nearby bridges had largely decreased over the years. Millum says, “The people that want the bridge opened [to cars] will not accept the data. There are less cars on the road. People are working from home, people are accepting the commutes are just too onerous, and taking alternatives.”
Many residents have had enough. Anderson held a protest in January of about a hundred residents, urging the Government to fully reopen the bridge. She says that when the bridge initially closed, a task force was set up, but at some point, “the task force just stopped, and nothing else happened for quite a long time. And in that rally, we were really saying, please can the task force meet again?”
Millum told The Standard whenever she attempted to engage with local and central government about the bridge, she was often “referred back to this task force which nobody seemed to know anything about, how often they met, what remit they had”.
Not everyone agrees that the closure of the bridge has been wholly detrimental. A polite counter-protest gathered in rebuttal to Anderson’s demonstration, organised by locals in the Hammersmith Bridge is Open campaign. They highlighted the silver linings of the bridge remaining open to just pedestrians and cyclists — cleaner air, less noise pollution and safer journeys for those on foot or bike. Susie, who is disabled and crosses the bridge two to three times a week on a non-standard bicycle, said that since its closure, the bridge had become “a safe space for those who are so vulnerable”.
“I’m not the only disabled person to use that bridge. There are other wheelchair users and mobility scooters. We can line up, go down that bridge together having a conversation like three pedestrians would on a pavement,” Susie said. “And that’s an experience that is invaluable.”
And despite MP Sarah Olney’s speech during the January protest stressing the importance of “blue lights” access to the bridge, no emergency service has reported issues over response times. The London Ambulance Service told The Standard that they had “well-established plans in place to mitigate any impact caused by the works”. And a London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: “Our attendance targets are to get the first fire engine to an incident within a London-wide average of six minutes and a second fire engine within a London-wide average of eight minutes. Crews in Richmond upon Thames continue to meet this target.”
What are the options? Conservative opposition on the local council has called for a temporary, military-style bridge to allow cars to cross again while repairs take place. A faction of people online insist the bridge should be torn down and replaced with a newer model. One resident, Keren, who has lived near Hammersmith Bridge since the 1990s, called the idea “outrageous”, adding, “it’s not only a heritage, genuinely iconic bridge, but it’s functioning. Thousands of people go across it every day.”
Locals complain that the debacle has been reduced to a “motorist versus cyclist debate”, whereas the underlying story is one of government mismanagement. The consensus across all campaigners is that reinstating some form of public transport is crucial and would, according to Roach from Castelnau who speaks to residents daily, “answer a lot of people’s prayers”.
The bridge is a financial albatross around Hammersmith & Fulham council’s neck
Leo Murray, a local environmentalist who runs the Hammersmith Bridge is Open campaign, said that politics has muddied the waters — and that the issue is largely an economic one. “It’s a financial albatross around someone’s neck; which is currently around Hammersmith & Fulham council’s neck.” The cash-strapped borough says it cannot afford to pay its share of the £250m repair costs unless it raises money through a toll, an idea TfL and the DfT haven’t publicly supported.
Nobody is willing to take responsibility for the state of the bridge, and it has become something of a political football. During my reporting, I was bounced around several press offices who claimed it wasn’t their jurisdiction, and directed me to each other. Millum says, “It’s the three of them passing it around: TfL, central government and a Labour-controlled Hammersmith & Fulham.”
A TfL spokesperson said: “We will continue to work closely alongside the Department for Transport, the borough and other stakeholders on the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce to agree the right solution which includes ongoing discussions on how future work on the bridge might be funded.” It doesn’t sound like the DfT will be digging into their pockets any time soon, with their spokesperson batting away any hope of future funding, explaining that: “The repair and maintenance of Hammersmith Bridge is the responsibility of the London borough of Hammersmith & Fulham. We have already provided £17m to keep the bridge open for walking and cycling, and will continue to work closely with the council and Transport for London as we consider future funding through our new Structures Fund.”
It is one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges — which is why it is also one of Britain’s most expensive to repair
But residents aren’t convinced that Hammersmith & Fulham council is committed to resolving the issue. Murray, who was the co-founder and director of innovation at climate charity Possible until recently, claimed that an alternative solution posed to the council was met with much resistance. In 2023, Possible had proposed, fully designed and costed autonomous electric “shuttle pods” integrated with Oyster cards and contactless payment, which were capable of carrying 10 people at a time across the river. Trials of such pods have been readily available to use in Milton Keynes since last year. The cost came to approximately £10 million, a nominal amount compared to the £250 million figure. But Murray claimed interactions with the council were like “drawing blood from a stone” and he had to resort to petitions and FOI requests after being “unable to get an audience”. A council spokesperson disputed this account, telling The Standard, “It is not correct to say that we failed to engage with Possible. We discussed accessible crossing options with them and we continue to explore all possible options.”
No one has the money to repair it
“There’s a lot of polarisation, but it’s actually very simple,” says Campion. “No one’s got £250m to rebuild or refurbish the bridge.” A council spokesperson explains: “It was built in 1887, and is one of the world’s oldest suspension bridges — which is why it is also one of Britain’s most expensive to repair.” Following a bid submission last year, they are “currently waiting to hear whether the Grade II* listed bridge has been allocated money in the new £1 billion Structures Fund for transport infrastructure including bridges, tunnels and roads.”
Millum says she agrees that “Hammersmith & Fulham certainly don’t have the finance”. But she suspects that they also don’t have the will to do it. “It’s always been the case that it’s our residents on our side of the river that need that bridge more than theirs.” Residents expect more “opaque statements” and “government speak” as the May local elections approach.
I visit the bridge on a rainy Friday, just as local children are released from nearby schools. Even in the horrid weather, the bridge is busy with chatting parents and children, teenagers in uniform, damp runners, Lime bikes, scooters and tricycles. Staff of nearby businesses, pubs and cafés can’t recall what business was like before 2019. Everyone is convinced the bridge will “not go back to what it was”. But many ask: what if the bridge could be a chance for innovation, rather than a symbol of failure?
“There’s a real opportunity to look at how cities can work differently. But also there’s a need on the bridge itself to do something innovative,” Campion says. “There’s a solution out there which could point us to the way, the future of how we get around our cities.”
