21/09/2026
Calling residents of and
Its time to get this river crossing finished, and to do that we need the mayor to know what you think.
You can tell him here: https://consult.london.gov.uk/londonplan
We have, along with several Wandsworth, Chelsea and Fulham residents, submitted a representation on the draft London Plan consultation. A summary of the submission is below. I hope that as local people and businesses that will benefit from the successful completion of this project that you may find the time to make a representation also, in any way you are comfortable with.
Representation on the Draft London Plan: Diamond Jubilee Bridge – Battersea to Fulham pedestrian and cycle crossing
Policies principally concerned:
MBUL5 – Sustainable transport to enable London’s growth
Also relevant: MBUL1 – Spatial Strategy; MBUL9 – Healthy Streets and Public Realm; GHR10 – Air Quality, together with the relevant place-based policies and infrastructure planning for Wandsworth and Hammersmith & Fulham.
Summary
I strongly support the Draft London Plan’s emphasis on sustainable transport, walking, cycling, public transport connectivity and the creation of healthier, better-connected neighbourhoods. However, I consider that the final London Plan should explicitly identify, safeguard and support the delivery of the Diamond Jubilee Bridge (also known as the Cremorne Bridge): the consented pedestrian and cycle crossing of the Thames between Battersea and Fulham, adjacent to the Cremorne Railway Bridge.
This is not an aspirational concept or an early-stage proposal. It is an established infrastructure project with a longstanding planning and transport case, planning consent, technical work undertaken, initial construction works completed, previous provision for substantial public funding and support from the London Assembly, the two adjoining boroughs and TfL. If London is serious about enabling growth through walking, cycling and public transport, this is precisely the type of comparatively modest, deliverable infrastructure that the London Plan should protect and help bring forward.
Why the bridge is strategically important
The Thames remains a major physical barrier to movement within London. While significant investment has been made in rail and road crossings, comparatively few new pedestrian and cycle bridges have been delivered.
The Diamond Jubilee Bridge would create a direct walking and cycling connection between the established and growing communities of Battersea and Fulham, linking south-west London directly to Imperial Wharf station and the Overground network.
It would:
• connect communities, schools, businesses and employment on opposite sides of the river;
• substantially improve access to Imperial Wharf station and the wider public transport network;
• provide an alternative route towards the rail network which can help relieve pressure on Clapham Junction;
• reduce dependence on private cars and short bus journeys;
• reduce pressure on existing cross-river bus services;
• encourage walking and cycling for everyday, commuter and business journeys;
• shorten many local journeys which are currently disproportionately long because of the absence of a crossing;
• extend the effective catchment of existing rail, bus and river transport infrastructure;
• improve access to employment and services on both sides of the Thames; and
• contribute directly to London's Healthy Streets, air-quality, carbon-reduction and public-health objectives.
The independent business case undertaken by SKM Colin Buchanan for Wandsworth Council in 2012 forecast more than 1.4 million users per year and calculated a Benefit Cost Ratio of approximately 2.0:1, categorising the project as high value for money. The strategic arguments for the crossing have arguably strengthened since that work was undertaken as population, development, active travel and demand for sustainable transport have increased on both sides of the river.
An unusually deliverable infrastructure project
The importance of the Diamond Jubilee Bridge is not simply its potential benefits but its advanced state of development.
The project has a substantial planning and policy history:
• the need for a pedestrian crossing in this part of the Thames was being formally raised as long ago as 1924;
• a business case for a crossing was produced for the two boroughs in 2003 and updated in 2012;
• the location has been safeguarded through successive planning and regeneration policies;
• Hammersmith & Fulham's South Fulham Riverside planning framework has supported its delivery;
• Wandsworth's riverside planning policy has safeguarded the crossing and previously made provision for funding contributions;
• it was included within TfL's Connecting the Capital work;
• it subsequently appeared within the Mayor's Transport Strategy and previous strategic transport planning;
• the London Assembly passed a cross-party motion supporting the bridge in 2016;
• planning permission and Mayoral consent have been granted;
• TfL commissioned Mott MacDonald to review the scheme and its costs;
• the pile design pre-commencement condition was discharged; and
• piles associated with the southern landing have already been installed through development obligations.
The London Assembly itself recognised that the crossing could encourage walking and cycling, reduce pressure on cross-river buses and, through the connection to Imperial Wharf, reduce pressure on Clapham Junction.
This history is important. London is not being asked to identify a speculative new crossing and then begin a lengthy process of feasibility studies, site selection, land assembly and planning.
Much of that work has already been done.
A genuinely cross-boundary issue
There is a further reason why the London Plan should explicitly support the bridge.
Neither Wandsworth nor Hammersmith & Fulham can deliver the strategic benefits of this crossing in isolation. Its very purpose is to connect two boroughs, two transport networks and communities on opposite banks of the Thames.
This is therefore precisely the type of infrastructure for which strategic London-wide planning and coordination is necessary.
The London Plan should not simply encourage walking and cycling in general terms. It should identify the strategic interventions necessary to make those policies achievable.
Soundness of Policy MBUL5
I support the overall intention of MBUL5. The policy correctly recognises that London's growth can only be accommodated sustainably if a greater proportion of journeys are made by public transport, walking and cycling.
However, the effectiveness of that policy depends upon the infrastructure required to make those journeys possible.
A strategic plan looking forward to 2046/47 should therefore identify and safeguard realistic opportunities to remove major gaps in London's walking and cycling network, particularly where projects are already advanced, consented and demonstrably capable of delivery.
Failure to recognise such schemes risks creating a disconnect between the Plan's strategic objectives and the infrastructure necessary to achieve them.
Requested modification
I therefore request that the final London Plan explicitly identify the Diamond Jubilee Bridge/Cremorne pedestrian and cycle crossing between Battersea and Fulham as safeguarded strategic active-travel infrastructure.
I suggest wording along the following lines:
"The Diamond Jubilee Bridge pedestrian and cycle crossing between Battersea and Fulham shall be safeguarded and supported. The Mayor, Transport for London, the London Borough of Wandsworth and the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham should work collaboratively to secure the funding and delivery of the crossing and its connections to the surrounding walking, cycling and public transport networks."
The crossing should also be shown on any relevant strategic transport, active-travel or place-based infrastructure diagrams within the final London Plan.
Conclusion
London has ambitious objectives for sustainable growth, healthier streets, cleaner air and increased walking and cycling. Those ambitions ultimately depend upon physical infrastructure. The Diamond Jubilee Bridge represents a rare opportunity: a strategically useful piece of sustainable transport infrastructure for which the location has been established, the business case demonstrated, planning consent obtained, substantial technical work completed and construction actually commenced through installation of the initial piles. It would connect two densely populated parts of inner London, dramatically shorten many local journeys, connect communities to existing public transport and make walking and cycling a realistic option for journeys which are presently made difficult simply because the Thames is in the way. It should not be allowed to disappear from London's long-term strategic planning while it waits for the final funding required to complete it. The final London Plan should explicitly safeguard the Diamond Jubilee Bridge and commit the Mayor, TfL and the adjoining boroughs to working together to secure its delivery within the Plan period.
Many thanks
Chris
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