Question to the Department for Transport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Baroness Vere of Norbiton on 9 March (HL6483), when they expect Hammersmith Bridge to re-open.

The London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham (LBHF) owns and is responsible for the maintenance of and repairs to Hammersmith Bridge.

LBHF reopened the bridge to pedestrians, cyclists, and river traffic on 17 July 2021. It commenced work to stabilise the bridge for pedestrians, cyclists, and river traffic on a permanent basis in early March 2022.

The next stage of the project is to reopen the bridge to motor vehicles. LBHF is currently reviewing delivery options and developing a business case for this stage. Providing a schedule for the full reopening is part of this development process.

Whilst the responsibility for maintaining the bridge and making decisions on its repair lies with the LBHF, the Government has taken concrete steps to find a resolution that ensures the permanent reopening of the bridge to all users. A Government-led taskforce, chaired by Baroness Vere, was set up by the Department for Transport (DfT) in September 2020, to work towards the safe reopening of the bridge.

As part of the Extraordinary Funding and Finance Agreement announced on 1 June 2021, the Government has committed to directly contributing up to one-third of the total funding for the project, but no more. This is subject to a commitment from Transport for London (TfL) and the LBHF to do the same.