Taskforce Meeting #17 Held On 20 July 2021

Progress statement:

The seventeenth meeting was chaired by Transport Minister, Baroness Vere. Attendees included the Project Director Dana Skelley, along with representatives from the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF), the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, the Greater London Authority, Transport for London (TfL) and the Port of London Authority. Dana Skelley, speaking on behalf of the Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce, said:

• At the meeting, the Taskforce discussed the positive development that Hammersmith Bridge reopened to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic on 17 July 2021. This represents welcome progress, delivering benefits to local people,

• The Taskforce is keen to maintain momentum. LBHF is working, with support from DFT, on producing a business case on the preferred engineering solution so the bridge can be reopened permanently to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic and eventually to motorists. Also, LBHF has sought an expert engineering opinion on the repair options for stabilisation and strengthening the bridge and confirmed it would share the preferred stabilisation option with the Taskforce members next week.

• The Taskforce noted that the department had shared the first draft of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on funding with LBHF. The MOU and the completion of investigative works to inform the consideration of a temporary reopening were conditions of the extraordinary funding and finance deal with TfL on 1 June.

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Note that the following paragraph - which highlights the date the taskforce was set up nearly a year ago and has been the footer of every statement so far - was again left off...

( The Hammersmith Bridge Taskforce was set up by the Department for Transport in September 2020 to work towards safely reopening the Hammersmith Bridge. The taskforce is chaired by Baroness Vere and includes representatives from TfL, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, Network Rail, the Greater London Authority and the Port of London Authority. )