Forum Topic

Gilligan’s Islands, & a SPAD on the move?

Noticed this news item on the site with a quote:“One former Hounslow councillor said to us, “When discussing Cycleway 9 with Andrew Gilligan, the first thing that becomes apparent, is that he is not simply broadly in favour of the scheme but has an unbelievable knowledge of the detail of the project. He has a grasp of the challenges at every junction which seem to be firmer than engineers working on the scheme and is utterly determined to see it through. Without him it would never have got this far and once he is gone it will be much more vulnerable to arguments against it.” “Wonder what will happen to this key SPAD, with changes in the wind? Will the what some dubbed the “Penny Farthing Cummings” be able to sustain his mission to put disabled people at a disadvantage compared to his Lycra clad zealots? Maybe he’s already been dumped. Updates appreciated.https://www.onlondon.co.uk/andrew-gilligan-boriss-penny-farthing-cummings-pedals-back-to-city-hall/

Russell Pearson ● 1533d32 Comments

I’ve always said the cycle lobby had friends in high places, but this is stillquite an eye opener. Who’s the former Councillor ?

Maggie Dodge ● 1533d

The council and Andrew Gilligan clearly have no interest in the needs of pedestrians, particularly the infirm and elderly. For us the cycle-lane is a disaster.

Michael Preece ● 1533d

https://www.facebook.com/groups/110818819408922/permalink/1377834172707374/

Maggie Dodge ● 1532d

I heard a similar tale about Gilligan from a different person who made the mistake of saying he was from Chiswick when he met him at an event. The next half hour was a monologue from Gilligan on the benefits of Cycleway 9.The other interesting snippet from this article is the failure of TfL to fund the extension of Cycleway 9 to Brentford. You could read that as a waning of Gilligan's influence in how the limited funds available are being disbursed or you could conclude that the challenges of implementing segregated cycling on Kew Bridge Road and Brentford High Street are just too great.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1532d

With the exception of the Punic Wars, the 'evil cycle lobby' [sic] has been accused of having caused everything and anything.

Francis Sheehan ● 1532d

You can also view it as the editor of Chiswickw4, Russ and Jeremy Parkinson clutching at every straw possible that a 'deus ex machina' will arrive to take away those cycle lanes...Jeremy's memory is failing him again because the design for the cycle route between Kew Bridge and Brentford was consulted upon in 2017 and they have even built a section through Watermans Park.  I think funding for that may have been different as it was linked to regeneration of the park.For the rest of the construction, yes, it is dependent on a long-term funding deal for TfL along with hundreds of other projects in the same boat.  In terms of priorities, it will be towards the front of  the queue because it is basically 'shovel ready' unlike many other projects where more work is needed.

Michael Robinson ● 1532d

Michael, you need to stop thinking that people who tell you things you don't want to hear are your enemy. I just offered my snippet of information on Andrew Gilligan as confirmation of the accuracy of the report. Speculation on the impact of his likely departure of Andrew Gilligan  isn't only the province of people who want to see the end of Cycleway 9. Carlton Reid, the editor of Bike Biz has said that Gilligan's ouster would be very bad news for the installation of more cycling infrastructure in London and like wise this article in the very pro-C9 Road.cc indicates they believe it could be a watershed moment if he goes.https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-investment-insufficient-says-cycling-uk-294287My memory isn't failing me on the current state of C9 west of Kew Bridge. I was aware of the section of the Cycleway through Watermans Park as I've actually cycled on it. It may be that availability of a different pot of funding allowed it to progress but it is also the case that it was relatively cheap and straightforward to implement compared to other sections.As far as I can recall, I haven't seen designs for the full length of the Cycleway from the Steam Museum to Morrisons. If they exist I'd be grateful if you could point me in the right direction.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1532d

Jeremy,  as you are concerned about the accuracy of the chiswickw4 report, it says, "Gilligan was widely reported to have been furious when Sadiq Khan shelved Cycleway 9". Perhaps you can find where this was 'widely reported'.  I certainly can't.  Not to mention the claim that Cycleway 9 was 'shelved', which it wasn't. After the end of Johnson's mayoralty in 2016, Gilligan had no involvement at all and yet that was when C9 went out to consultation, the decision was made to proceed and construction started. Building him up as the person pulling all the strings is just wishful thinking. You can get an overview of the designs in the documentation for the 3 September 2019 cabinet meeting on the Hounslow website.  TfL did also publish the detailed engineering designs as a FOI on their website and I downloaded them from there but frankly, I couldn't be bothered looking for these again so you can look for yourself or even do another FOI. As a sneak preview, here is part of one of the designs.

Michael Robinson ● 1532d

I do hope that the next Tory leader will decide to treat London and its Mayor in a fair and equitable manner. Gilligan seems to have been the agent on TFL's  board of Johnson's spiteful campaign against Sadiq Khan. The continued refusal to fund TFL's budget on a long-term basis is plainly damaging to London.

David McLoughlin ● 1532d

It's not clear whether the report is referring to the Cycleway being shelved when it was shelved following Sadiq Khan's election when it was just in the design stage or when Covid-19 struck and the permanent scheme was abandoned. Either way it is very difficult to imagine that Gilligan wasn't angry and Dave Hill's OnLondon site reported that he was in the first case at least.Gilligan hates Sadiq Khan with a furious passion so is furious with everything he does. He said in 2018, "Sadiq Khan is a self-aggrandising incompetent who has failed to fulfil his promises, has alienated his colleagues and now won’t take ownership of the Crossrail fiasco."Nobody but Michael is pretending that the likely defenestration of Gilligan isn't significant. However, it is probably worth remembering that it was actually Grant Shapps that appointed him, not Johnson (although obviously Johnson told him to). This odious little toad ditched his leadership bid to hitch his wagon to Sunak which suggests he is betting on him being the next PM and Shapps standing for leader was just a bargaining chip. He obviously knew he wasn't going to get the necessary backing to be on the ballot but will have sold his support for the promise of a job.He isn't bright or talented enough to have one of the senior offices of state so might be prepared to say that his experience in transport means he should keep the role. He then might conclude that having Gilligan around to persecute  the Mayor might be a good idea. Long shot but it is the only scenario that I can think of in which Gilligan survives.If Sunak doesn't win it could be Penny Mordaunt who is the next PM. As the darling of the Fair Fuel campaign she'll have Gilligan out immediately after Nadine Dorries is given her marching orders.

Francis Rowe ● 1532d

Dave Hill loves Sadiq and hates Johnson so there are agendas all over the place.Another explanation is that the chiswickw4 article is simply wrong about this claim. Their main objective is generating clicks and in that respect it seems to have worked. This is just the latest straw that Francis and others are clinging to. We’ve had their predictions of the doom of the Cycleway as a result of the original opposition, the Onesies judicial review, TfL funding, and any number of other contrived reasons and they have been wrong every single time.The TfL board is there to provide oversight, not make decisions. The Canary Wharf group FD was a member of the TfL board at the same time Canary Wharf group were paying lobbyists to try and stop the east-west cycle lane and it made no difference.

Michael Robinson ● 1532d

They predicted the doom of the Cycleway and other similar projects on the basis that the pandemic would mean that more road space needed to be reserved for cars. This is car brain - sufferers of car brain are unable to process any new information without concluding that it must signify the need for going back to the only and right way of doing things and prioritising the car over anything and everything else.Car brain leads to some amusing unexpected and contrary outcomes. Like when the Onesies argued in their attempt at the JR that the cycle lane was discriminatory because it prevented pick up and drop off of disabled and elderly people near shops, restaurants etc. The result? TfL and LBH will remove parking spaces on the side roads between Chiswick Lane and Heathfield Terrace to create taxi pick up and drop off points that will rarely be used. Thus nullifying the Onesie threat of an equality challenge. That played straight into the Evil Cycling Lobby's hands by reducing space and therefore demand and utility of private motor vehicles. Thank you Onesies!

Paul Campbell ● 1532d

I'm slightly confused about the point you are making Michael. It seems to me totally uncontentious to say that Andrew Gilligan was cross about the winding back of his cycleway programme when Sadiq Khan became Mayor. If you doubt that perhaps ask Andrew Gilligan, I'm sure he will be happy to confirm. The idea that he wields no direct day to day influence on policy due to his position on the board is just risible. Ask anyone who works for TfL. I can't speak for Francis, but, while I am sceptical about Cycleway 9, I most certainly do not want it to be removed at the moment. A lot of money has been spent on it and we need to allow evidence to present itself either way about its impact. Observing that Gilligan's departure may accelerate its end is not the same as wishing it to happen.As for the plans for the Brentford section of Cycleway 9, I had to chuckle at your claim on the one hand that it was 'shovel ready' but then telling me that I need to do an FOI request to see the plans. This may have much in common with Johnson's 'oven-ready' Brexit in that it doesn't stand up to scrutiny. I have no dog in the fight with regard to an extension of the cycleway to Brentford, I'm just genuinely intrigued how they overcome the physical space constraints on certain sections particularly at the eastern end of Brentford High Street and Kew Bridge Road. What you appear to be telling me is that Hounslow and TfL have a cunning plan but they can't tell us about it.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1532d

Jeremy, I agree with you. I didn't like the original temporary scheme partly because bottleneck created at Chiswick Lane junction was so obvious but that may be rectified by the new design. Time is needed to correctly assess it.I don't either drive or cycle enough locally to be totally confident in what the right thing to do is but I can recognise overblown claims for the success or failure of Cycleway 9. What is pleasing to see is that there are more voices on this forum, some tending in favour of the cycleway, some tending against who don't see its existence as the defining issue of our age and are willing to honestly assess evidence not weaponise it to make their side of the argument.Quite why Michael doesn't see the changes at the top of government has being potentially significant for what happens on Chiswick High Road is hard to see but he must recognise that Johnson probably the most pro-cycling PM that we will see for at least a decade and, through Gilligan, he took an active interest in the detail of London's cycling infrastructure which is astonishing for a man with so little interest in detail generally.The candidates for Tory leader are not even mentioning climate change let alone cycling infrastructure, so things are going to change. A lot will depend on whether the new leader sees London as lost territory (almost certain if they are from the right of the party) and seeks to use transport as a stick to beat Sadiq Khan with or believes that seats can be won back here if Londoners are allowed to make their own decisions. I'm pretty sure, with Gilligan off his back, Sadiq Khan would share our view that a critical look should be taken on Cycleway 9 but that it should be given plenty of time to prove that it is working.

Francis Rowe ● 1532d

“It seems to me totally uncontentious to say that Andrew Gilligan was cross about the winding back of his cycleway programme when Sadiq Khan became Mayor. If you doubt that perhaps ask Andrew Gilligan, I'm sure he will be happy to confirm.”I did ask Gilligan when I met him at a corporate event in early 2018.  Of course he had been out of the loop for over a year at that time. He thought that TfL could have got the C9 consultation out a bit earlier than they actually did but then TfL thought it needed more work. Absolutely no mention of being cross or Cycleway programmes being scaled back. He thought C9 was safe because Hounslow was pretty safe to remain Labour. It is the Conservative councils like RBKC who are shaky.I have regularly asked people from TfL if their work is influenced by Gilligan and their answer has always been no.Regarding the C9 plans west of Kew Bridge, yes there is a plan but I couldn’t be arsed spoon feeding you so if you want to see it, you’ll need to do some work yourself and actually look for it.

Michael Robinson ● 1532d

If Gilligan had influenced TfL work do you think the TfL people would have said yes?

Andrew Jones ● 1532d

Things that have to happen for Cycleway 9 to still be there when the few cling-on antis are in care homes asking the healthcare assistant wiping their backside when it will be ripped out (the cycle lane): 1. People cycle on itThings that have to happen for Cycleway 9 to be removed: 1. The Conservative Party Membership chooses Maggie Dodge for next PM2. She appoints Joanna Biddolph to SoS for Transport3. They make Russell Pearson a SPAD and place him on the Board of TfL

Paul Campbell ● 1532d

I thought they were more Antony and Cleopatra, with infamy as an afterthought.

Russell Pearson ● 1532d

These were all informal off the record discussions so they had no reason not to tell the truth.  There's no secret about what is influencing things at TfL at the moment and that is the lack of any long term funding plans.  So if more funding does become available, there is a priority view of what projects will be worked on and if it doesn't, then its "managed decline".Of course, the lack of long term funding plans is likely a government tactic to make life as difficult as possible for Khan,

Michael Robinson ● 1532d

Paul, the heat seems to be giving you nightmares. I suggest a garlic mouthwash to clear the spitting feathers. And more prunes.

Russell Pearson ● 1532d

Not a nightmare. A highly amusing vision (to me) of how the candidates for office would have to be even more ludicrously idiotic than the available selection preening themselves in front of the geriatric xenophobes for Chiswick's most fervent reader of White Supremacist's Weekly to have his fantasies realised.

Paul Campbell ● 1532d

What a weird comment - exactly who are these ‘geriatric xenophobes and white suprematists’ and what weekly are they reading?

Russell Pearson ● 1532d

I gave up teaching you how to read and understand a while ago Russ. Run it by your "local wags" at the Copper Cow as they are renowned wise elders of our community. Apart from that time they made you tell David Giles to call Brentford Councillors "The Taliban" .....In the meantime Francis' carefully constructed logical leaps of faith come under threat as reps of both Penny and Rishi comfirm on Newsnight that they are committed to Net Zero targets and the spending associated with achieving them.Is it too late for the Onesies to get Dodgy Mags elected?

Paul Campbell ● 1532d

Michael, it would appear from what you say that Andrew Gilligan presents a different face to different people but you can't make a sustainable argument that he doesn't get cross when cycleway projects he initiated are postponed or shelved.TfL is a large organisation and it is unlikely he interferes in the day to day activity of every employee but I have spoken to one who tell me that he actively concerns himself in detailed issues and dictates policy at a micro-level. Also you need to speak to people working at Ealing Council about how he involved himself in local government transport matters.As for the Brentford cycleway plan, I'm going to have to conclude it doesn't exist. The alternative possibility, that Hounslow Council have a 'shovel-ready' plan but are making it impossible for residents to review, is too uncomfortable a prospect to consider.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1531d

Jeremy, You haven't told everyone about your discussions with Andrew Gilligan. Or are you saying that you have never met him and everything you post is just hearsay?
As to the design for the Brentford Cycleway, I've already posted a sample to show it exists.  It even says "design" on it.  I hear that contractors have recently provided quotes for construction of the design so the work can proceed this financial year dependant on TfL finances. I'm sure you would agree that contractors wouldn't provide a quote for a non-existent design, would they?  As I said, I'm not spoon feeding you and you will need to actually do something yourself to get them rather than expect everything to be handed to you.

Michael Robinson ● 1531d

Khan has destroyed TFL and does not deserve a single penny more in funding to waste on excessive salaries and bonuses for his cronies

Paul Fisher ● 1531d

Why doesn’t everyone get that about Khan?

Maggie Dodge ● 1531d

Michael, I've never met him and never claimed to have met him. I posted originally to say a conversation which an acquaintance of mine had confirmed other reports about his particular interest in Cycleway 9.Thanks for reposting the picture you posted earlier. I'm not expecting anything to be handed to me. I tried and failed to find the designs for the shovel ready cycleway you claim exists. There were some designs published and consulted on earlier this year for a route between London Road and Brentford High Street which this map may form part of but they don't seem to be readily available online any more. According to Guy Lambert the funding for this isn't being made available.What I was actually interested in any design for the section before you arrive at Watermans Park travelling west. I'm afraid I'm going to have to assume these designs don't exist  unless someone can produce them. The linkages with Watermans Park are poor and most cyclist prefer to carry on on the main road so it would have been nice to have been reassured that there was a plan to tackle this issue.

Jeremy Parkinson ● 1531d

Well he’s had a free run under Boris. Been able to wreak ideological havoc, especially with Gilligan in place. One can only hope that changes with a new Tory leader, but given the shambles they’re in, that’s optimistic.

Russell Pearson ● 1531d

Let’s be optimistic. This bunch of selfish bully boys have had their day for tooooo  long

Maggie Dodge ● 1531d

Another two week funding extension. Plus four comments from three people who just hate the fact that Sadiq Khan is popular with Londoners.  Including every Chiswick ward. He's also , unlike his predecessor, not a liar or someone who seeks to reward former lovers with plum jobs.  That's just the top two charges on the sheet.

David McLoughlin ● 1530d

Sadiq Khan has worked miracles with the finances of TfL given the mess Johnson left them in and the withdrawal of the government grant.If you ask for details from those saying he is responsible for current financial crisis they will ignore the pandemic and claim that it was the fares freeze that is the reason. Clearly most Londoners are not falling for this nonsense and those that are willing to parrot it are generally not users of public transport.Johnson was delighted to use Gilligan as a means to further humiliate Khan but I don't think any of the candidates will be particularly bothered to carry on a fight relating to the petty politics of the London Mayoralty. Gilligan probably has too many enemies, not just in Tory boroughs but in Labour Councils and within TfL itself to survive that long.However, I don't think his departure will change that much. The bigger issue is the starving of London's transport network of cash to the extent that it is in a spiral of decline. The Tories have written off London and they believe that headlines about cuts to transport in London play well in the north and the Midlands. I can't see any of the potential new leaders changing this approach.

Mark Evans ● 1530d