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The £6 million bridge repair bargain

In all the time the Bugle has been covering the bridge saga, estimates for repair costs have done nothing but escalate alarmingly. Oh, how we look back to the halcyon days of 2014 when repair costs were estimated at £25 million or 2019 when engineers said they thought it would take 18 months to get the bridge re-opened to traffic. Compare that to this year’s most quoted figures where repair costs were estimated at up to £140 million,  and the expected re-opening date to traffic was projected to be 2027 at the earliest.

 

So perhaps the most unexpected story we could encounter is a sudden reduction in the cost to stabilise the bridge, and that’s exactly what has happened this month.

 

A big chunk of the £140 million bill was a £30 million allocation for keeping the bridge stable while replacing the roller bearings* on the bridges’ pedestals. However, in August Hammersmith & Fulham Council released a new stabilisation cost estimate of just £6 million – a whopping £24 million saving.

 

This new costing comes from engineering firm Mott McDonald and sits in stark contrast to the previous estimate from rival firm Pell Frischmann. So, what has changed? Quite a lot is the answer. The Pell Frischmann estimate pre-dates the detailed scrutiny of the bridge’s pedestals over the past year and the installation of a new temperature control system. 

 

Dr Steve Denton, the consultant engineer who compared the two proposals on behalf of Hammersmith and Fulham, says “The design concept for the Pell Frischmann proposal is to construct an external frame that provides an independent load path, eliminating reliance on the pedestals until they are strengthened and new bearings are installed. Given the uncertainties about the pedestals at the time the concept was first developed, it is entirely understandable why such an approach was initially taken.

 

“The Mott MacDonald solution involves the use of elastomeric bearings which allow any pressure to be applied equally to all four corners whilst protecting the vulnerable 134 year-old cast iron structure.”

 

Hammersmith & Fulham Council says it is committed to implementing the new solution as rapidly as possible. Council Chair Stephen Cowan says  “In order to expedite the works at speed, the council will go-ahead and fund the £6m package in anticipation that the DfT and TfL will subsequently reimburse the council with their one-third shares as outlined in the Government’s TfL funding announcement of 1 June 2021.”

Our September Hammersmith Bridge Q&A

How long will the stabilisation work take?
This phase of the bridge repair will take 48 weeks, shaving 3 months off previous estimates.
When will it start?
There is as yet no indication of the start date, we’ll keep you posted when we know.
Will people still be able to cross the bridge while this work is taking place?
Pretty much yes, although H&F says there may be short programmed periods of closure to allow some works to take place safely. Advance warning of any closures to minimise disruption will be given.
Will it be safe for cars to cross again after this work has been carried out?
It doesn’t seem so. The current opening of the bridge to pedestrians and cyclists has been made possible by the introduction of a heat control system but H&FC say that safety experts have decreed that opening on this basis can only be temporary. The stabilisation works in theory mean that the pedestrian opening can be put on a more permanent footing.
What needs to be done to the bridge to make it safe for traffic to cross?
Following the stabilisation of the bridge a major strengthening project needs to commence. According to a presentation made to the bridge Task Force by Dana Skelley, this would involve work including the replacement of the bridge’s deck and the replacement of all the 172 bridge hangers at a cost of around £80 million. 
What’s happening with the Foster Cowi bridge within a bridge proposal?
We believe that this is currently being re-costed and will be reviewed by consultant engineer Dr Steve Denton against the original proposals for bridge strengthening.
What does this mean for the ferry?
As we reported last month, we understand the plans for the ferry are still proceeding but on the basis that the ferry can be brought into operation only in periods when the bridge is closed. The new stabilisation plans mean there may be very little demand for a ferry over the coming months and a recent letter from Taskforce Chair Baroness Vere (see story below) seems to point to a cooling of interest in the ferry. However, if funds are ever found to cover the cost of the strengthening of the bridge, closures to pedestrians would seem more likely, particularly when, for example, the deck of the bridge is being replaced. If ferry plans and infrastructure are in place now then a ferry can apparently be deployed  quickly to cover these periods of closure.
*For a good explanation of why these bearings need to be replaced watch this Youtube video of a bridge Task Force meeting . The easy-to-understand technical presentation takes just a few minutes and starts 3 minutes and 28 seconds into the video.

Seconds out...

Google the words squabble and Hammersmith Bridge and any number of results will emerge. Politicians of different hues (Labour at Hammersmith, Tory at the Department for Transport) are talking to each other around the table of the Hammersmith Bridge Task Force – but does it seem to be a collaborative and collegiate conversation? Well the likelihood of that being the case seems to be low if you read the latest letter from Transport Minister Baroness Vere to Hammersmith & Fulham Council leader Stephen Cowan. The letter aims to set the record straight over a number of issues too labyrithine for us to detail here. The coolly polite letter is  a humdinger of a document, and offers an insight into the state of the relationship between the two sides. You can read it here, and see a counterclaim to one of Baroness Vere’s assertions here.

Rus in urbe

Anybody taking a stroll around Barnes Common in mid-August could have been forgiven for thinking that they had fallen down a wormhole in time as Shire horses passed by dragging a mowing furrow behind them. This vision of bucolic loveliness came to us courtesy of the friends of Barnes Common and Operation Centaur based in Richmond Park.

The horses Joey and William towed a mowing rig guided by driver Tom and they were literally working for their supper as all the hay made from cutting down the meadow will be given to them as feed.

The Friends of Barnes Common say that they mow several areas of the Common each year as part of their meadow improvement scheme but this is the first time it has been done by horses. Click here to see their short video. 

Lights, camera, action. Could the Mortlake Brewery become the new Pinewood?

Barnes is awash with front-of-screen talent but, as anyone who has attended a Barnes Film Festival event will know, we’re also home to many brilliant producers and technical specialists. And every single one of them is in high demand as the UK has become the film location of choice for Hollywood studios and streaming giants.

While once Barnes’ film industry talent might have travelled the world to find work, the world is now coming to them. Every major studio in the UK is currently booked up years ahead. Netflix has signed a ten-year lease with Shepperton Studios, Leavesden is now owned by Warner Brothers and Pinewood is being used exclusively by Disney.

And, in even better news for our local film techs some of them might achieve the ultimate ambition of the ten-minute commute as the old Mortlake Brewery is now being used as studio space. Currently shooting is a major new Apple TV series – Liaison, starring Eva Green and Vincent Cassel.

With studio space in high demand, Mortlake couldn’t be better placed to offer an alternative to Pinewood for production companies looking to shoot in the UK. Locals are hoping that what is currently a temporary use for the old brewery site could become something more permanent. 

It may be a pipe dream as the rewards for renting the land to production companies probably won’t match the profits to be made from building riverside flats. However, given that plans for the redevelopment of the site are in limbo, following Sadiq Khan’s decision to turn down the latest proposals for development of the site, there may be more productions on the horizon for our new local impromptu studio complex.

Hand in hand in our Parklet...

Covid has had such a seismic impact on our lives that it’s no surprise that it has added a whole new range of phrases to our language and popularised many more. Staycation anyone? Covidiot? The Rona? The latest new phrase to be added to the lexicon is ‘parklet’ which, according to Wikipedia, is "a sidewalk extension that provides more space and amenities for people using the street."

They are popping up all over London – Wandsworth apparently has eight of them – and now we in Barnes have one of our very own. Situated outside the parade of shops opposite the Green in Church Road our local parklet is, contrary to popular opinion, not just an extension of & Feast – the café it sits outside – but a community space. Anyone can sit there and bring along their thermos and packed lunch, or buy something from Gail’s or the Barnes Pantry to enjoy as an impromptu picnic.

It seems to be in constant use in the daytime but its arrival hasn’t come without controversy. Some of the local shop-keepers have said that the loss of parking spaces that have been removed to accommodate the parklet could have a detrimental effect on their businesses and recently an accident in which an e-scooter rider was injured was blamed on the parklet by a witness who said that the collision between the scooter rider and a car door was caused by her site-line being blocked by the parklet.

The new parklet has been funded by Richmond Council in response to a request made by the Barnes Community Association and the council says that they bring “environmental, social and economic benefits to local areas by transforming streets so that they are no longer considered as just a means of travel, but community spaces for everyone to stop rest and enjoy”(sic). The council also says that parklets schemes in Balham and Putney have benefitted hospitality businesses in some cases leading to an increase of roughly 30% in trade.

For the BCA, local Town Centre Manager Emma Robinson says “'I have been looking for ways to support businesses in Barnes and was keen to introduce a parklet as they have been installed with great success across London in the last couple of years and they have been highly acclaimed for the benefits they bring to the area and the income to businesses. They are valuable placemaking tools to enhance shopping parades as destinations for residents and visitors.  Most importantly it is a trial and so a temporary measure. I appreciate the concerns of the local shops but hope that they will support me to give it a go and see how it works before dismissing the concept.”

Seal of approval

After last year’s tragic loss of Freddie the seal you might forgive the seal population for avoiding Barnes but rather delightfully a new seal has recently been spotted swimming by Barnes Bridge.

There are currently over 4,000 seals in the Thames Estuary and that number is set to grow when the Thames Tideway project is completed in the next two years and sewage levels in the river drop dramatically.

After the awful incident of Freddie’s fatal dog mauling when he was hauled out on the boat ramp near St Paul’s, local BDMLR volunteer Mary Tester has been campaigning to strengthen the laws that protect seals and MP Tracey Crouch is supporting a parliamentary motion to make human disturbance of seals illegal.

Across the river in Chiswick, Mary has been working with the local council to install permanent seal safety signs in two noted areas where seals have been seen hauling out (Kew Bridge and Syon Reach), and she says she would love to see Richmond and Hammersmith & Fulham Councils following suit.

She is hoping Barnes residents will lobby their local councillors to have seal safety signs installed and is asking anyone who sees a seal to log the sighting on the ZSL London website .

 

She is also petitioning parliament and you can see the petition with has nearly 19,000 signatures here. 

Why the train might not take the strain

As if the transport chaos caused by the closure of Hammersmith Bridge to cars wasn’t enough, South Western Trains has recently announced that it is aiming to reduce the number of trains travelling from our local overground stations from December 2022 onwards.

According to Richmond Council, the railway firm’s proposed changes could see a 50% reduction in direct trains on some routes from South West London into Waterloo and would remove some key commuter services from stations including Mortlake and East Sheen. These stops could be removed from the Hounslow Loop leaving Mortlake and East Sheen stations with a services into Waterloo every half hour instead of every 15 minutes.

 

Richmond Council has condemned the new proposals saying that they haven’t been properly communicated and adding that the consultation document from the train company is not sufficiently clear.

The move from South West Trains has been met with condemnation from Richmond Council with transport spokesperson Cllr Alexander Ehmann saying “We are calling on South Western Railway to withdraw these proposals. If Southern Western Railway insist upon continuing this misguided consultation, we ask that they publish a clear and comprehensible timetable for all affected stations and ensure this is properly communicated to our impacted residents.” He added that “Increased usage of public transport is an essential part of our fight against climate change and by reducing local rail services, South Western Railway will further disincentivise residents to use public transport due to increased wait times between services."

You can download the South West Trains consultation document from their website.
Richmond Council is also encouraging residents to use #SaveSWRServices to voice their opposition to these proposed changes via social media.
 

Report your flooding worries

With the river on one side and Beverley Brook meandering between several Barnes streets and the Green, it’s no surprise that flooding is a concern for Barnes residents. Luckily, until the deluge that hit us in July, we have mostly got off lightly, but who knows what this winter and the next few years will bring.

The good news, however, is that the Environment Agency is working with both the London Wetlands Centre and the Friends of Barnes Common to find innovative ways to build more resilience to flooding locally.  Both the Wetlands Centre and the Friends of Barnes Common will be using nature-based solutions like urban wetlands and river restoration to combat climate change thanks to their share of a £6m grant from Defra which will be spent over the next six years.

As part of the project the Friends of Barnes Common are working to create a robust library of case studies over time and would like as many people as possible to send in their descriptions and photographs of flooding events in Barnes, Mortlake, Richmond Park, Sheen and Palewell.

To share your information just email sharon@barnescommon.org.uk. All photos should be named with date, location, author initials: e.g. 2021 May 14 Mill Hill AW

Barnes welcomes The Crossing

Residents of Little Chelsea have been flocking to White Hart Lane’s brand-new pub The Crossing after it opened this week.

The old Tree House site has been totally revamped and, as you can see from the photos above, the pub is beautifully designed. 

The timing of the opening couldn’t be better, coinciding with our mini Indian summer and allowing the Crossing team to showcase their newly landscaped garden area and state of the art outdoor kitchen. The rotisserie kitchen allows the team to add beautifully cooked chicken and onglet steaks to the menu and to lay on Sunday lunches with a difference.

Indoors, the menu and the kitchen team have been overseen by chef Anthony Demetre and the focus is on relaxed eating using great ingredients. Wines are by Corney and Barrow.

Particularly impressive is the upstairs dining area and separate bar which looks like a perfect space for private events.

House prices rise in Barnes

The Financial Times Weekend section devoted two pages to the property market in Barnes in August and, not surprisingly, the main focus of the article was the impact of the bridge closure.

Using figures supplied by estate agents Hamptons, the article highlighted an interesting trend in which house prices have grown while prices for flats have fallen slightly. Counter-intuitively, it seems that the bridge closure has led to some families moving into Barnes. The main driver of this trend seems to be from families with children attending the Harrodian and St Paul’s wanting to locate closer to the schools. On the other hand, childless professional singles and couples have not been looking at Barnes flats as much as previously, with the bridge closure being one of the reasons for their change of heart. The moral of the story then is that it may be time for property hunters to bag a relative bargain of a flat in Barnes.

 

Donovan Kelly from Winkworth who has lived and worked in Barnes for over 20 years, was also interviewed and quoted by the FT. He has said, “The land registry data over the past 20 years highlights the consistent demand for property in Barnes, resulting in enviable exponential growth and resilience to the social, economic and political factors over this period of time, due to the outstanding schools and being a wonderful part of London to live in.”

Two new bumper Barnes books

Local photographer Andrew Wilson has two major Barnes projects in the offing.

 

He’s just updated his best-selling Wild About Barnes book with new photography and a focus on our local hero shopkeepers who kept us all going during the pandemic. And hot on the heels of the new Barnes book will be Wild About the Wetlands which he describes as “the most exciting thing he has done to date”. Three years in the making, the book is full of spectacular wildlife and landcape images. It has a forward by Mark Cawardine and contributions from one of the centre’s founding fathers Gyles Brandreth. Andrew will be donating 10% of the profits from books sold outside of the Wetland Centre to the WWT trust and hopes to raise a lot of money to support our brilliant local resource.

Find out more about the Wetlands book and pre-order it here.

Tough sentences handed down for drug dealers in Barnes 'cuckoo' murder case

Mystery still surrounds the tragic murder of Barnes musician Blaise Algar in Nowell Road in 2019. The jury at the recent trial of a drug dealer who had been involved in what is known as cuckooing (taking over the home of a vulnerable person) in relation to Mr Algar found Emeka Dawudu-Wudu not guilty of the musician’s murder. However, Dawudu-Wudu and two of his associates, were convicted of the murder of another drug dealer as well as perverting the course of justice in connection with the death of Mr Algar. Sentences handed out ranged from 28 to 31 years. 

 

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