H&F Conservative Opposition Launch Plan to Save South Fulham Businesses
With the devastating news that Wandsworth Bridge will be closed for a minimum of 10 weeks starting on the 24 July 2023 the Conservative Opposition in H&F has launched their plan to Save South Fulham Businesses.
Conditions for trading in the area were already difficult, many businesses have faced a dramatic decline in business activity in South Fulham since the introduction of the SW6 Traffic Schemes. The row of empty shops on the Wandsworth Bridge Road tells its own story. Cutting off the main route from Wandsworth for a summer will be devastating.
This is why we have launched “Our Plan to Save South Fulham Businesses”
Our Plan to Save South Fulham Businesses
Support Local Businesses through an emergency rebate. Ensure Wandsworth Council deliver as fast a repair as possible. Suspend the SW6 Traffic Schemes.
Support Local Businesses
Local businesses are the lifeblood of our community. We are calling on Wandsworth Council to provide funding for a business rates rebate to remedy the damage this closure will cause.
Faster Repair
We call on Labour-run Wandsworth Council to carry out as rapid a repair as possible, including 24/7 works and more staff. As a major arterial route, the longer Wandsworth Bridge is closed, the longer both our communities suffer. We are gravely concerned that there is no specific end date for the works and demand the Council provides one
Suspend the SW6 Traffic Schemes
While the Scheme to the West is still in its trial, we call on Labour-run LBHF to suspend the SW6 Traffic Scheme so those from outside the Borough can continue to access our shops and are not discouraged from visiting our local business and residents.
Commenting on the plan Greg Hands MP said, “The 10-week full closure of Wandsworth Bridge by Labour-run Wandsworth Council will be a hammer blow to businesses and constituents of Fulham and Chelsea. We are already swamped with diverted and displaced traffic from the closure of Hammersmith Bridge and dealing with the Labour-run Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s controversial SW6 Traffic Scheme. Now that we are faced with the closure of Wandsworth Bridge – it is a triple whammy of grief for businesses and constituents!”
And Cllr Jose Afonso (Spokesman for the Environment) said, “Small independent businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy in Hammersmith & Fulham. Having survived Covid and the introduction of the SW6 Traffic Schemes, the closure of Wandsworth Bridge will be catastrophic for businesses in South Fulham. Our Plan delivers the temporary reprieve our local businesses need, and represents a pragmatic solution to what is a difficult problem.”