Wandsworth Council Says Give Hammersmith Bridge to the Mayor
New Tory administration says 'leadership not managed decline' needed
The decision on funding for Hammersmith Bridge will be announced next month. Picture: Wandsworth Council
July 28, 2026
Wandsworth Council has made a call for responsibility for Hammersmith Bridge to be transferred to the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan. The recently elected Conservative administration is arguing that only clear mayoral leadership can end years of drift and deliver a fully funded plan to restore one of the capital’s most important river crossings. The intervention comes in the same week the Labour Mayor ruled out providing Transport for London (TfL) funding to help repair Albert Bridge, another historic Thames crossing currently closed to vehicles.
Albert Bridge, shut to motorists since February after engineers discovered a significant crack in a cast-iron component, requires £8.5 million of repairs before vehicles can return. Although reopened to pedestrians and cyclists in April, Kensington and Chelsea Council is currently funding the works alone. Responding to a question from London Assembly member Hina Bokhari, Sadiq Khan said TfL “is not sufficiently funded to take on the financial burden of an asset which is not its own,” adding that responsibility “sits with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea as the bridge owner.”
Despite this, Wandsworth Council says the case for transferring Hammersmith Bridge to mayoral control has never been clearer. Councillor Robert Morritt, Leader of Wandsworth Council, said the moment demanded “leadership, not managed decline,” warning that residents in Putney, Roehampton and across the borough could not be left with a “half-baked plan” that permanently excludes buses, emergency vehicles and general traffic. He argued that Hammersmith Bridge is a strategic crossing whose closure has pushed traffic onto Putney Bridge, worsened bus journey times and weakened transport resilience across south London.
Richmond Council has also renewed its campaign for a “fully connected” Hammersmith Bridge, rejecting the idea that pedestrian and cycle access should be “the end of the story.” Councillors highlighted the impact on elderly and disabled residents, hospital patients, carers, parents and key workers who rely on public transport. “This is not equality. That is not inclusion. That is not fair,” said Councillor Fiona Sacks.
The debate has intensified since Hammersmith & Fulham confirmed it will seek £128 million from the Government’s Structures Fund—far short of the £300 million needed for a full heritage restoration. Council officers warned that the 139-year-old Grade II* listed bridge’s condition amounts to a complete rebuild, with every part of the structure “rotten” and in need of replacement. The bid focuses on essential repairs that must be completed by March 2030, a deadline that rules out full reopening to vehicles in the current phase. However, it has emerged that £250million of the money that needs to be spent on restoring the bridge is required whether or not it reopens to motor vehicles. The £50million extra could be funded out of TfL’s budget if it was given more discretion to borrow.
Funding responsibility remains contested. Hammersmith & Fulham says it is still owed £22.9 million from earlier stabilisation works, while TfL disputes the scale of its commitments and the Department for Transport points to the £17 million it has already provided. Any cost overruns on the new bid would fall on the council.
Hammersmith & Fulham must submit its final bid by 3 August, with funded works required to finish by 2030. Officials warn that if the bid fails, a full closure—affecting more than 10,000 daily crossings—may be unavoidable. Wandsworth, Richmond and local MPs say they will continue pressing for a long-term solution that reconnects communities and restores public transport to one of London’s oldest and most fragile bridges.
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