Plans to undertake a “full tunnel regeneration” of the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels are in the pipeline. Greenwich Council’s acting cabinet member for climate action, sustainability and transport confirmed a plan to replace the often faulty lifts in the Greenwich tunnel had been agreed with Tower Hamlets Council.
Greenwich Council jointly owns the Greenwich tunnel with Tower Hamlets and the Woolwich tunnel with Newham. However, the South London borough has the responsibility for operating and managing both of the pedestrian river crossings.
The council has come under fire for their management of the tunnels, as frequent users have consistently complained about the lifts being out of action for extended periods of time. Greenwich has previously said that bespoke parts to fix the lifts are hard to get hold of which has led to delays in getting them operational again.
At a full meeting of Greenwich Council on December 3, cllr Calum O’Byrne Mulligan was pleased to confirm that the authority would be leading the way in fully refurbishing the Greenwich foot tunnel and its lifts alongside its council partner north of the Thames.
He said: “The week before last I had an incredibly productive meeting with Tower Hamlets, the cabinet member for transport and some of their senior officers, and I was very glad that they agreed we could proceed to the detailed design phase for full tunnel regeneration.”
Cllr O’Byrne Mulligan said the agreed master plan included replacing both the lifts with dual shaft systems which would increase “reliability and serviceability”. The plan also included works to improve the lighting and heritage aspects of the century-old crossing, as well as encouraging wider usage of the tunnel.
He said he was “incredibly glad” that Tower Hamlets had agreed the plan and revealed he had requested a meeting with Newham Council to implement a similar strategy with the Woolwich foot tunnel.
Cllr O’Byrne Mulligan also confirmed the council had been working with the mayor’s office to deliver “a coordinated approach for step-free travel that is reliable and fully accessible under the river for both Greenwich and Woolwich”.
He said: “These are a key strategic asset for London and something we can be rightly, very proud of here in Greenwich. TfL have been clear. They aren’t going to take on the tunnels and in fact they operate a minority of river crossings in London, both under and over the river, but they are working with us to take things forward.”
A group of Greenwich residents called upon TfL to take over management of the tunnels earlier this year as they feel the council doesn’t do an effective job of looking after them. Lifts Now—a progression of the Escalate Now group which successfully campaigned to have new escalators installed at Cutty Sark DLR station—remains “unconvinced” about this new announcement.
Group member Karin Tearle said: “We note the hopes for improvements are spread out over a long period of time. Meanwhile, the Woolwich foot tunnel north lift remains out of use and the south lift is unreliable. We were told this situation would be resolved in spring this year.
“We remain unconvinced by Greenwich Council’s current statement so our campaign Lifts Now will continue. We would like to thank the over 1,800 signatories so far of our petition and we will continue to advocate on their behalf.
“It is public pressure that has got us this far and we believe that two vital cross river and cross borough pedestrian and cyclist routes are best run by TfL rather than three individual boroughs.”
