Hammersmith Bridge - the real impact of its closure on our community
Hammersmith Bridge: the real impact of its closure on our community
By Emma Robinson and Raphael Zachary-Younger
This month it is a year since Hammersmith Bridge closed to traffic. One year on we wanted to understand better the impact this has had on residents and businesses and to explore how we have adjusted to the closure of this major traffic artery. So we embarked on a major data gathering exercise asking business owners to share their stories of how the bridge closure has affected them and pulling together up-to-date information on pollution and traffic movement to show to true picture of life in Barnes post bridge closure. We want to share our findings with you.
Shopping in Barnes
We contacted local retailers to ask them what the impact has been on their businesses since the bridge closed and followed this up with personal visits to as many businesses as we could reach before our deadline. 75 business owners responded to our request for information. Their responses showed a very mixed picture. Whilst 40% of businesses report a decline in trade, 41% report that business is the same and 19% have even seen an improvement in trade.
In addition we received economic spending data from Mastercard. Interestingly this data not only indicates there’s no slowdown in economic spending in local shops in SW13, but in fact shows a 21% increase. The data also shows an increase of 13% in shops north of the bridge in W6. (The average figure for London is an increase in spending of around 9%).
Our research showed that the businesses that reported a loss in trade are those that rely on custom from the other side of the river. Their customers are being put off by the very long travel times to get to Barnes.
Glazed by the bridge, which provides all kinds of glass, has a strong customer base over the river and so has seen a major drop in trade. A pizza delivery business in the same area which relies on a car and motorbike-based delivery service with many customers over the river has felt a similar impact. Yet at the same time, cafes in the area are doing ok. Sips and Bites in the same parade experienced a significant drop in trade when the bridge first closed but this has improved over the last few months to a point where business is good. Spoonful over the road reports that business is fairly consistent.
On the High Street it’s a similar picture. A number of businesses have seen a drop in custom yet others are doing well. Pets Corner store manager Debra told me: ‘Pets Corner has seen an increase of around 8% in customer numbers since the bridge closed and between 8% and 10% net sales growth for the same period. Although a decision was made early on to cancel our home delivery service due to the bridge closure we haven’t seen any negative impact on sales’. No doubt because residents don’t want to sit in long queues to Pets at Home.
Lea and Sandeman’s business is as strong as ever. Barnes Fruit and Veg is doing well. Marks and Spencer is doing well (no surprise). Sainsburys reported the impact of lower passing trade, but nothing as damaging as the recent long period of gas works on the High Street.
Businesses at the river end of the High Street are finding that standing traffic brings in new trade. Whilst people are sitting in jams they notice local businesses and make a note to pop in later. Ruta, the owner of the Riverside Gallery, reports that business is better as new customers are coming over the bridge from Chiswick.
On Church Road some businesses are doing better than others. Our fashion businesses seem to be faring well as more customers shop local. Nina told us that she initially saw a drop in trade when the bridge closed but that picked up fairly quickly and has been consistent since. She puts this down to residents choosing to support their local shops. Iris reports no change.
In the same parade, The Peach Tree tells me that customers are struggling to get to their appointments and that this is having a major impact on business. Olympic Studios Records a few doors up is doing well, even though the shop is only open for a few days each week.
Around the corner Blue Lavender and Kate Anderson Spa, who have a loyal customer base, have not felt a major impact from the closure of the bridge. But Mail Boxes etc is suffering from a lack of passing traffic.
Shoe repair businesses in the area report a loss on the previous year. Dry cleaners are also reporting a drop in business.
Businesses on Church Road feel that Barnes is quieter and footfall is lower and report that the bad weather and Brexit have had a big impact on sales this year and expect Covid-19 to take its toll.
Interestingly while Church Road feels quiet, the story in the High Street is different. Our monthly Saturday lunchtime footfall counts, which we started in November 2016, show a steady increase in footfall in the High Street at the weekends. This count has shown a regular climb from 530 adult pedestrians and cyclists per hour to consistently around 1200 rising to 1350 for the last two years or so. This figure has been unaffected by Hammersmith Bridge’s closure to cars and buses. Last count in February was 1230 for the hour.
On White Hart Lane, which is traditionally a quieter part of Barnes with many destination businesses and a significant number of excellent cafes, the picture is the equally as mixed. Some of the cafes are busy. Café 66 which opened just before the bridge closed reports monthly improvements in business. No 40 is busy as ever. Whilst local custom is strong, Marianna Hadjigeorgiou who owns Tatler-recommended tea room Orange Pekoe told me: ‘Weaker transport links from London have meant dramatic reduction in tourists visiting from London that would come for Afternoon Tea. We would often get Japanese and Chinese tourists that would make a special visit to Barnes and Orange Pekoe as we have always received good international press coverage as a London Tea Room. This has practically ceased. Afternoon Tea visitors at the weekend has more than halved for us.’
Oh Darling, which moved to Barnes from East Sheen has very quiet days with the retail business but reports that the beauty side of the business, which has been extended recently, is doing really well.
A message that came out consistently in this research is that the shop local campaign seems to be working. A number of businesses reported a drop in business when the bridge closed as customers from further afield stopped coming to Barnes, but this was followed by an increase in business as residents locally switched to supporting their local shops.
Movement in our shopping parades
A clear indicator of the impact on an economy is the ability of businesses to survive. Over the last year we have lost a number of longstanding businesses – Luma, Annie’s, Sonny’s and Castelnau Tiles. How much of their decision to close was solely down to the closure of Hammersmith Bridge we don’t know. But encouragingly we have gained a number of new businesses – Church Road, ilocal on White Hart Lane, Barnes Fine Art Gallery on Church Road, The Waterman’s Arms. A long-standing empty site by the level crossing on White Hart Lane has recently been let to a new make-over business.
Despite our initial fear that shops that we lose will stay empty, we have seen new business coming in to replace nearly every shop that was closed and new businesses in long-term empty sites. The Annie’s site has been re-let and it looks likely that the NatWest site is soon to be occupied by Co-op.
Tourism
Our major tourism destination, the London Wetlands Centre, is coping with the restrictions on our public transport links with central London. Whilst visitor numbers from central London have dropped, they have been balanced out by visitors from across the borough and the Home Counties meaning that the anticipated impact hasn’t been felt.
Our other major tourism draw, Olympic Studios is finding that, whilst the cinema business is doing as well as ever, the business’ ability to secure events which bring people over the river has plummeted as people are put off by the long journey.
Orange Pekoe’s successful tourism market based on its award winning afternoon tea credentials has also been hit. Clearly tourists can no longer easily make it to the area so they don’t come.
Air quality
Since the bridge closed we’ve been keeping a close eye on pollution levels in Barnes and in the wider area. The nearest air quality monitoring stations are located near the junction of Lower Richmond Road and Putney High Street and on Chiswick High Road.
The level of pollution hasn’t increased, and in fact seems to have fallen overall. There are a couple of strange peaks at the end of 2019 and the start of 2020, but the average values are lower than before the bridge closed. In Chiswick, we can see the same pattern as for Putney: pollution is no worse than before, and may have actually improved.
As for the monitor station on Castelnau, it's no surprise we have seen pollution levels falling dramatically since the daily traffic jams have disappeared. Castelnau is now an oasis of calm and a pleasure for both residents and people traveling by bus, bikes or on foot.
More information and detailed analysis can be found on the London Air Quality Network website.
Traffic
Since last April traffic congestion in the wider area has increased, as motorists are diverted to Putney or Chiswick bridges to get across the river, particularly in rush hour. Traffic counts conducted regularly by TfL show some drivers have started to change their behaviour either switching to other forms of transport or giving up their journeys altogether. This phenomenon, which takes place following a closure of a major through route, is known as traffic evaporation, and is well documented.
Hammersmith Bridge used to take around 25000 motor vehicles a day. Since its closure, surrounding bridges (Kew, Chiswick, Putney, Wandsworth and Battersea) have absorbed around 14,500 vehicles. This leaves around 9,000 journeys a day (or 38%) which have evaporated. The map also shows many main routes and junctions in the area have seen a rise in number of vehicles (though it’s important to remember that unlike the bridge crossing figures, it’s probable some vehicles were counted in more than one location).
This pattern has been recorded before. A report from 1998, when the bridge was closed to motor traffic for nearly a year, suggested a 10% reduction in overall traffic in the wider area.
What we have been doing
The impact of the closure of Hammersmith Bridge has been a priority for the BCA over the last year. We have been working on behalf of members to ensure that the views of residents of Barnes are heard at the highest levels in discussions about the future of Hammersmith Bridge.
We have met with all major stakeholders and continue to meet with them as necessary to ensure that our concerns are heard. We have met with our MP and with leaders in our own Council and in Hammersmith and Fulham and officers at TfL.
More recently we have partnered with local groups to form a strong coalition which will enable us to have greater influence in our lobbying. We are working together with our local schools and churches, FiSH, Castelnau Community Centre, Barnes Workhouse Fund, the OSO and others and our current priority is to secure the build of the temporary pedestrian and cyclist footbridge as soon as possible in face of the possibility of complete closure of the bridge.
We successfully campaigned for the return of the 209 and continue to push for greater frequency of the 533. We also persuaded TfL to offer the 72 bus service from the bridge to Hammersmith tube station.
We’ve been also asking our MP and the leader of H&F council to improve the lighting and CCTV coverage on the bridge to increase safety of pedestrians following recent reports of residents being attacked while crossing the bridge after dark.
We have partnered with Ginger, a local company focusing on clean transport, to offer a rickshaw service to Hammersmith for more vulnerable residents. After the service was stopped late last year we have been lobbying TfL for its return.
This partnership has now been extended to a new home delivery services so that we can bring our fabulous local shops to your doorstep.
We have secured funds from the Council for a shop-local campaign run by a team of local volunteers to remind residents and people from outside Barnes of all the reasons to use our local businesses.
Work on the bridge – update
The current stage of the work on the bridge remains investigative and is likely to be completed in early April. The plans for the temporary bridge for pedestrians and cyclists will be shortly submitted to H&F and Richmond planning committees. TfL are hoping to erect the bridge during the summer which will allow the bridge to be shut completely enabling work to be accelerated. It’s important to remember, approval of the temporary bridge is linked to securing the funding required for the repair works of Hammersmith Bridge. Stakeholders such as the Port of London Authority, the Environment Agency and others would like to make sure the proposed bridge will not become permanent, so will give it the go ahead only after it is clear that funds to repair Hammersmith Bridge are in place. Both H&F and Transport for London are hoping to secure the funding shortfall of £95m from Central Government.
Image courtesy of Evening Standard