A South London MP has said "action must be taken now" to take steps towards the repairing and full reopening of Hammersmith Bridge.

The Labour MP for Putney, Fleur Anderson, told a Westminster Hall debate in Parliament on Tuesday,21 April that the fixing of the crossing is key for many of her constituents.

She told of one woman whose 12-year-old son has Down's syndrome and complex needs.

"He attends a specialist school in Hammersmith on the other side of the bridge, which is the nearest school equipped to support him," she said.

"Before the closure, their journey was straightforward and manageable. Since then, it has become an exhausting and unpredictable ordeal, often taking well over an hour each way."

It was also revealed that an agreement splitting the cost three ways, between Hammersmith and Fulham Council, the Government and Transport for London (TfL), may be abandoned.

Local Transport Minister Simon Lightwood said the bridge would be a "good candidate" to receive support from a new £1 billion Government fund though did not confirm when any decisions would be made.

The Grade II*-listed bridge linking Hammersmith with Barnes has been shut to motor vehicles since 2019 when micro-fractures were discovered in its pedestals.

It was originally closed to all users though has since been reopened to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

The funding for the repairs has however proven a major sticking point.

Under a 2021 funding settlement the previous Government struck with TfL, it was stated the local authority, Hammersmith and Fulham Council, would pay a third of the total cost.

TfL and the Department for Transport (DfT) are to pick up another third each, with the total cost estimated to be more than £250m.

Since its closure the council, which has legal responsibility for the bridge, has spent more than £50m maintaining it and keeping it safe.

The ballooning sum required to fix the bridge has held up substantial works, though the council is hopeful it will be allocated money from the Government's £1bn Structures Fund.

Ms Anderson, who secured yesterday's debate, said she regularly has constituents email her asking about progress on the bridge.

"This month marks seven years since Hammersmith Bridge was closed," she said. "Seven years of disruption, frustration and avoidable hardship for residents across West London."

Ms Anderson noted the heritage of the Victorian suspension bridge, adding: "But it's not just about history, it's about people. Hammersmith Bridge has always been a lifeline, a critical connection across the Thames, used by thousands of cars, people, cyclists, and six bus routes. And for seven years that connection has been broken."

Ms Anderson said the impact of the costs on Labour-run Hammersmith and Fulham Council is "disproportionate" and that it cannot continue to fund ongoing repair works.

She asked Mr Lightwood when a decision will be made on whether funding is to be allocated for the bridge, an update on the cost estimate, and also whether any assessment has been made of potentially transferring all bridges to a singular London body, to oversee their management and upkeep.

She added: "Action must be taken now. Potential funding is not the same as secured funding, discussions are not the same as decisions, and processes cannot become excuses for further delay. Residents have waited seven long years. Seven years of severed communities, seven years of gridlocked roads, seven years of lost bus routes, seven years of daily hardship.

"It's not acceptable for a major transport route in our capital city. It's not acceptable for families trying to get to school or hospital appointments. It's not acceptable for businesses trying to survive. It's not acceptable for the many residents who rely on public transport simply to live their daily lives."

Ms Anderson's position received support from MPs including Sarah Olney, the Liberal Democrat representative for Richmond Park.

While saying she is "disappointed" the current Government has not engaged on the matter further, she said she believes it is "serious" about resolving it and reiterated the impacts of the closure on constituents.

The Labour MP for Hammersmith and Chiswick, Andy Slaughter, said there are three issues which must be addressed: defining the cost, what the opportunities are for funding it, and the issue of traffic loading, with a set of figures for concerns such as displacement needing to be agreed.

He also noted the council's financial constraints, saying it is "for the birds" that it can continue putting substantial sums into its maintenance on an ongoing basis.

Ms Slaughter said: "At the moment we have the worst of all worlds, which is nothing is happening while everybody is putting forward their own alternative version of reality or events. Certainly my constituents…want that to end."

Conservative MP for Mid Buckinghamshire Greg Smith, who was formerly the Deputy Leader of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, said he recalls concerns being raised about the bridge back in 2014.

He said: "I think it is across multiple governments very disappointing that we haven't been able to resolve the challenges on Hammersmith Bridge to this point."

He took aim at the local authority's approach to the bridge, telling the chamber: "Under a Labour council, a Labour Mayor and a Labour Government, the speed of action is slower than a cyclist with a punctured tire. Ironically of course that cyclist of course would be one of the few people who could actually make use of the bridge in its current state."

Mr Lightwood said the Government has provided support to the council to the tune of £17m and has also reconvened the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce in an effort to make progress on its eventual reopening.

On the Structures Fund he said the bridge would be a "good candidate" though that any support will be "contingent on finding a cost-effective engineering solution within a reasonable timescale".

He added it is important any solution is affordable within the fund's envelope though that he will not specify a minimum level of aid.

Mr Lightwood added his department "intends to assess higher contributions and additional third-party contributions favourably", and that the historical funding agreement was "under a different administration".

"We are taking action," he said. "We're not just leaving it there on the desk with inaction."

Ms Anderson praised the fact the third-third-third funding split is being reconsidered. She added that while she was "disappointed" no funding or taskforce dates were announced, "I have hope".

The Hammersmith and Fulham Conservative group has said if elected in May they will look to construct a temporary, military-style crossing to allow Hammersmith Bridge to be repaired.

Tory Leader Cllr Jose Afonso told The Standard: "Given the national fiscal situation we should admit the current solution is dead in the water and look at an alternative.

"It is unacceptable that over the timeframe that Notre Dame burnt down and was rebuilt, we still can't get an ambulance to cross the Thames at Hammersmith."

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