On 21 October, Hammersmith and Fulham Council closed Harwood Terrace to vehicles. This was the Council’s chosen decision to deal with longstanding complaints by local residents about rat-running along this street. 

I wrote to the Council on 16 October, ahead of the proposed closure, to express my concerns about this proposal, to seek answers on the consultation process, and to question how the closure would be monitored. The Council’s response to me a fortnight after my letter to them was wholly inadequate. A majority of respondents to the Council’s own consultation opposed the closure. No alternative routes have been put in place for road users. The closure did not even appear on the Council’s own online road works search tool.

As such, I am calling on Hammersmith and Fulham Council to end the closure of Harwood Terrace with immediate effect.

I appreciate that many residents face issues in terms of traffic issues in this part of Fulham as well as the wider area. However, any changes to any current traffic management arrangements must:

• Be underpinned by a proper traffic studies, so the Council can quantify any impact that changes may have to the wider area.
• Enjoy the broad support of local residents in the wider area.
• Avoid simply pushing traffic onto other neighbouring residential streets

The closure of Hammersmith Bridge is already putting the road network across Fulham under serious pressure with an additional 4000 vehicles daily using Putney Bridge, an additional 2000 vehicles using Wandsworth Bridge, and an additional 1000 vehicles using Battersea Bridge. Now is not the right time to be implementing piecemeal experimental traffic orders without the above criteria being satisfied.

Harwood Terrace is effectively the only route into and out of the Sands End area during rush hour because of the traffic light configuration at the intersection of Bagley’s Lane and the New Kings Road. The Council should abandon this ill-thought out road closure immediately. It is totally unacceptable that local residents are now facing delays of up to one hour, and in many cases even longer, just to leave or return to their homes. Please find my latest letter to the Council on this issue below.

Greg Hands

Conservative Candidate for Chelsea & Fulham

Please find my petition calling on the Council to re-open Harwood Terrace at the bottom of this page.