Update - 15 May 2024 - Greg Hands welcomes the Minister for Roads and Local Transport to Fulham
On Wednesday, 15 May Greg welcomed the Minister for Roads and Local Transport, Guy Opperman to Fulham, to see the practical impact of local traffic schemes. Particularly, the negative impact on local businesses.
They visited Wandsworth Bridge Road and spoke to businesses including Il Pagliaccio Restaurant and Randalls Butchers and a tutoring business. They heard how the scheme had impacted these businesses, such as the loss of trade and we discussed how the scheme has affected the area with businesses either moving or closing.
Greg is calling on the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham to take action to make sure that businesses can continue to thrive on Wandsworth Bridge Road.
Read more about this discussion in Greg's press release here.
ENDS
Update - Greg's campaign regarding women's safety concerns
Earlier this year (2024) Greg launched a petition regarding women’s safety concerns.
A very serious concern shared by local women and women-owned businesses, which was reflected in media coverage, is that many Uber (and other mobile app taxi services) drivers were refusing to enter the area(s) due to fear of being fined. Alarmingly, this was resulting in women not being dropped off at their front doors, and instead women were dropped off outside of the zone(s). Women were then having to walk home, often alone, at night.
Ensuring that residents feel safe is a priority for Greg. Residents and business owners were calling for action and so was Greg! Women’s safety is an important issue that needed to be urgently addressed by Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
Following Greg's petition, and with significant effort led by local women like Hillary Cannon, the Council finally reached agreement with Uber to allow their drivers to enter the controlled Fulham SW6 traffic zones. Whilst it is great news that a solution has been found following the campaign, Greg has received reports of not all Uber drivers knowing about the new guidance.
Greg remains concerned about the impact the schemes are having on local businesses. LBHF must find a solution for the traffic schemes to work for local businesses and our local economy.
Greg continues to work with local residents and businesses to find solutions and make our case for the Council to re-think their traffic schemes.
ENDS
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham (LBHF) is responsible for the SW6 Traffic Schemes.
Since the introduction of the SW6 traffic schemes to the east and west of Wandsworth Bridge Road, by LBHF, Greg has been contacted by countless residents and local businesses about their impact on the local area.
Therefore, Greg decided to survey residents across Chelsea & Fulham on the SW6 Traffic Schemes, first in South Fulham and then expanding across the rest of the constituency to see if the schemes were working for residents. The results are in:
- 70% of respondents across Chelsea & Fulham do not support the schemes.
- 61% of respondents in South Fulham (where the two current schemes are) do not support the schemes.
Over 3,800 residents across Chelsea and Fulham have responded to the survey, with every part of the constituency being opposed to the schemes.
Residents both in South Fulham and across the rest of the constituency do not support the schemes by an overwhelming margin. Therefore, following these results, Greg has been urging the council to conduct a full Fulham-wide traffic management study alongside a Fulham-wide consultation to end this divisive and piecemeal approach that has turned neighbour against neighbour.
Greg is devastated about the impact the schemes are having on local businesses and condemns the way Labour-run LBHF has treated them throughout the trial and implementation of the schemes.
You can read more about the traffic survey results here: https://www.greghands.com/news/special-bulletin-traffic-survey-results
Thank you to everyone who took the time to complete the survey.