On the 13th of July, Redbridge Council decided to close parts of Broadmead Road, specifically the bridge, between Charteris Road and St Barnabas Road, after the results of a survey revealed structural issues with the bridge passing over the Central Line.
5 months later, the extent of the damage to Broadmead Bridge and the progress being made on its refurbishment is still unclear. Since the bridge has been out of service, businesses across Woodford have been cut off from local customers, parents have struggled to get their children to school on time, and emergency services have had to take huge detours through residential areas.
In a recent letter sent to residents, Redbridge Council claimed that urgent funding from the central government was required to repair the Broadmead Road Bridge. As the local Member of Parliament, I was not informed about this urgent funding appeal before the letter was sent to residents. Moreover, I am very concerned that the Council have used their own resources to deliver a highly politicised letter to residents, at the taxpayers’ expense.
Subsequently, I have written to the Chief Executive, reminding them of their responsibility to ensure that the Council acts in the best interest of residents, rather than with political intentions. This has become more apparent in recent years, as I have just been made aware, via a Freedom of Information request submitted by Josh Mellor, a local journalist, that as early as 2014, Transport for London (TFL) raised significant concerns about the bridge and warned Redbridge Council that failure to act would result in:
“injury or service loss with the ensuing legal actions”.
It is clear to me that failure to let residents know this important fact and the Council’s failure to act on that warning has resulted in great inconvenience to residents and potential risk. I have asked the council to specify what work was carried out to improve the bridge’s safety following the concerns highlighted by TFL in 2014 and if TFL approved any such works.
Above all, the closure of Broadmead Road Bridge is now having a major impact on residents and local businesses. It is surely in the Council’s best interest to resolve this issue as soon as possible. I welcome any opportunity to work with the council and neighbouring MPs in bringing forward a solution and getting the bridge repaired as quickly as safely possible.
Please fill out the survey below and help me put pressure on the local council to re-open Broadmead Road bridge.
