Fleur Anderson Welcomes 'Signs of Progress' on Hammersmith Bridge
Planning to meet Minister to lobby for support from new fund
Fleur Anderson with campaigners calling for the full reopening of the bridge
June 23, 2025
Fleur Anderson has welcomed the announcement of a new government fund which could provide the financial backing needed to fully reopen Hammersmith Bridge.
The £500 million Structures Fund was revealed at the same time as the government published details of its spending review. The money is specifically for investment in major infrastructure projects and Transport Minister, Heidi Alexander, has confirmed that Hammersmith Bridge could potentially be one of the projects to benefit.
Following the announcement, the Putney MP said that she intended to meet with the Minister, who was formerly Deputy Mayor of London, to continue making the urgent case for Hammersmith Bridge and to press for clarity on how the fund will be allocated. Other local MPs such as Andy Slaughter of Hammersmith and Chiswick and Richmond Park’s Sarah Olney have confirmed they will be pressing for central government to provide capital to allow work on the bridge to procede.
The announcement also included a multi-year settlement for Transport for London (TfL). While this gives TfL greater capacity to invest in infrastructure projects such as upgrading signalling on the District Line, none of the funding has been specifically earmarked for Hammersmith Bridge leaving the Structures Fund as the most likely source of money for reopening..
Ms Anderson said, “The continued closure of Hammersmith Bridge has had a significant impact on congestion, pollution and longer bus times in Putney and Roehampton.
“It has cut off important bus routes and made it harder to cope when other routes face disruption."
The delay in restoring the bridge has increased repair costs. Hammersmith and Fulham Council has already spent over £48 million on specialist repairs to the bridge’s plinths, allowing it to reopen to pedestrians and cyclists. There is currently a funding agreement in place that would see the final costs split three ways between the Government, TfL and Hammersmith and Fulham Council.
Since the General Election, Hammersmith Bridge Task Force which hadn’t met for some time was reconvened in January, chaired by the Minister for Local Transport. At that meeting, urgent action was agreed and a range of updated costings and funding models were presented, feeding directly into the Government’s Spending Review.
Ms Anderson is cautioning against over optimism about the prospects of an imminent announcement on funding for the bridge, “This is a step in the right direction, but it’s not yet cause for celebration just yet. There’s still a long road ahead—I won’t stop until Hammersmith Bridge is fully reopened.”
“Thank you to everyone who has attended meetings, signed petitions, and written letters. Your voices have been vital.”
There are unconfirmed reports that announcements on the projects to be funded by The Structures Fund will begin next month.
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