Wandsworth Council has established a new committee to address the ongoing issues surrounding Hammersmith Bridge, which has been closed to vehicular traffic since 2019. The General Purposes Committee of Wandsworth Council met on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, and voted to create the Hammersmith Bridge Committee. This new body will examine the impact of the bridge's closure on residents, gather evidence, and make representations to the government for its reopening and for funding.

The committee aims to make the case to government for reopening Hammersmith Bridge to motor vehicles and to secure funding for that. It will examine the ongoing impact on residents of the bridge's closure and will gather evidence both from members of the public but also technical and financial evidence to support its representations.

Councillor Peter Graham clarified that the proposed committee is not a scrutiny committee but a standing committee without delegated decision-making powers. He argued that the issue is as much a heritage issue rather than a transport infrastructure issue and suggested exploring alternative options. These could include disassembling it, reassembling it somewhere else and building something that looked alike but had modern engineering, noting this is not an option that has ever been looked at and arguably cheaper.

Councillor Graham also highlighted the complexity of the repairs, stating that a lot of nuts and bolts that nobody can see have to be replaced with 19th century replica nuts and bolts. The current estimated cost for repairs is substantial, with Councillor Jo Rigby noting that you have to spend over 120 million, just to keep it open to cyclists and pedestrians. No opening to traffic. She also pointed out that £50 million has already been spent on it, and they can't even, at that level of expenditure, necessarily keep it open to pedestrians and cyclists. Councillor Rigby added that they spent nearly a million on the Costains consultation.

Councillor Graham stated that whatever the solution looks like is going to involve a lot of input, financial input from outside there, either central government or transport for London or possibly others. This is because Hammersmith and Fulham Council don't have the coffers to deal with it.

Councillor Malcolm Grimston expressed concerns, suggesting the committee could be a task and finish group or have its remit widened to include other river crossings. He also raised questions about the potential costs and resources Wandsworth would commit, asking, apart from this just being a bit of a chatting shop about how we fix bridges differently. What are we actually putting on the table in terms of cash and resources?

Councillor Rigby echoed these concerns about financial commitment. Councillor Graham countered that the committee itself would not spend money, but its work could lead to commissioning further studies.

Councillor Grimston suggested setting up a joint committee with Hammersmith and Fulham councillors to look at our joint issues here. Councillor Graham stated that he had no problem with setting up a joint committee with Hammersmith and Fulham if they were willing to do that, but noted potential practical problems due to funding agreements. He also mentioned that if Labour members in this borough talked more to their counterparts in Hammersmith and Fulham, they might have different views both about bridge engineering, and indeed council tax and council finances. It would be very helpful if they could start opening that dialogue.

Despite these reservations, the committee voted to establish the Hammersmith Bridge Committee. Councillor Grimston's motion to defer the decision for more detailed consideration and to explore a joint committee with Hammersmith and Fulham Council was lost. The full details of the meeting can be found in the Public reports pack 13th-Oct-2026 19.30 General Purposes Committee, and the Agenda frontsheet 13th-Oct-2026 19.30 General Purposes Committee.