Transport for London (TfL) has abandoned plans to install permanent defence barriers on most of central London’s bridges, despite a coroner’s report strongly recommending they be put in.
The transport agency said in a report on Tuesday (May 10) that it would “complete the Hostile Vehicle Mitigation (HVM) work on Westminster Bridge, but no permanent measures will be progressed on other bridges”. TfL estimated the cost of upgrading the bridges at £30m.
There are temporary barriers on seven other central London bridges: Tower Bridge, London Bridge, Southwark Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge, Waterloo Bridge, Lambeth Bridge, Vauxhall Bridge. These have been in place since 2017, when terrorists attacked people on Westminster Bridge and London Bridge.
Coroner Mark Lucraft warned in 2019 that these temporary measures should be upgraded. He said in a report on the deaths of the 2017 London Bridge attack victims: “I expect the relevant public authorities to make every effort to progress the installation of permanent measures on the London bridges.
“Funding disputes between public bodies would not be a satisfactory reason for delay in the planning and installation work.”
Abandoning these plans is yet another sign of the struggles facing TfL since the pandemic, when its fare income was slashed as people stayed home to slow the spread of Covid-19. £30 million is a relatively small amount for the transport agency, which had a capital investment budget of £1.3 billion in 2020/2021.
TfL owns Westminster and Vauxhall Bridges themselves, and is responsible for the road on Blackfriars, London and Tower Bridges but does not own the structure. Southwark Bridge is owned by Bridge House Estates, a trust linked to the City of London corporation. Waterloo Bridge is owned by the City of Westminster.
London mayor Sadiq Khan said earlier this year that: “TfL is committed to completing the design and build for Westminster and Vauxhall bridges (where it is the asset owner and highway authority) and concept designs for Blackfriars, London and Tower bridges (where it is the highway authority, but not the asset owner).”
He went on: “Southwark and Waterloo bridges are not within TfL’s scope as TfL is neither the highway authority, nor the asset owner of these bridges, however Southwark Bridge includes heavy trieff kerb style segregate cycle tracks, whose entry & exit points have recently been upgraded with HVM bollards.”
Asked whether Bridge House Estates would be putting in permanent barriers on Southwark Bridge, London Bridge, Blackfriars Bridge and Tower Bridge, a spokesperson said that the trust did not comment on issues of security.