Row over funding for Hammersmith Bridge repairs
By Sian Bayley, local democracy reporter
A row over funding for repairs for Hammersmith Bridge broke out at last night’s budget meeting at Richmond Council.
The council’s Conservative group proposed an amendment to next year’s budget to provide a £2million capital contribution for the repairs to Hammersmith Bridge.
Cllr Aphra Brandreth said the group would also hold Hammersmith and Fulham council, which owns the bridge, to account to pay its share.
“Our residents have suffered enough and this council needs to lead the way, to step up and support its residents, instead of making excuses for the failures of Hammersmith and Fulham council,” she said.
However, her suggestions were mocked by the Liberal Democrat administration.
Leader of the Council, Gareth Roberts, said: “£2m of money to go into that may seem an enormous amount of money, but the total bill is £140m.
“This is 1.4 per cent of the total bill. It’s nonsense. It’s something to slap on the leaflet,” he said.
Transport lead, cllr Alexander Ehmann, also claimed that in the past the Conservative Leader, cllr Paul Hodgins, had said he would take on the bridge liability.
Cllr Ehmann said this would have cost Richmond council £64m, equivalent to £800 per household, or a 52 per cent tax hike for a Band D property.
“We didn’t make stupid, ill-judged suggestions like taking on a liability for which our tax payers are not responsible,” he said.
“The approach of the Conservatives is to promise relief but to deliver in reality pain.”
However cllr Hodgins said this was not true.
He said the Conservatives were putting forward “a practical way to contribute and help move this forward”, adding “our residents are paying for this everyday.”
The Conservative amendment failed to pass.
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