Repairs to the Woolwich Tunnel have been delayed amid disagreement between two councils

Repair work to a foot tunnel in south London has been delayed as two councils cannot agree on paying the bill for the project. Greenwich Council has claimed that repairs to the north lift of the Woolwich Tunnel, which has been out of service from August 2022, have been delayed due to a disagreement with Newham Council.

The tunnel is in the north of the borough and links Woolwich on the south bank of the River Thames with North Woolwich in Newham. Labor councilor Averil Lekau, cabinet member for transport, previously said he expected the tunnel’s north lift to be repaired in June this year. However, the cabinet member claimed at a Transport and Place Scrutiny meeting for Greenwich Council on July 25 that the repairs had been put on hold because of Newham Council’s delay in accepting funding for the work.

The councilor told the meeting that the borough shared 50% financial responsibility for the foot tunnel with its neighboring borough, she said the cabinet for Greenwich Council had agreed a contribution of £180,000 towards lift repairs and £65,000 to improve safety. Woolwich Foot Tunnel.

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Cllr Lekau said: “We need Newham to agree to come up with a similar amount which would be half of what is needed to set it up. While we are the authority that is responsible for carrying out the work, the financial responsibility lies with both authorities and we make statements. We’ve been working to try to improve this.”

She added: “It’s a dispute and it’s very frustrating for me because this is something that we’ve actually said we’re ready to put money up front and the cabinet has agreed to that money, but if we go ahead and start to do the work and Newham says no, we’re going to put ourselves in a really compromised financial position at a time when we’re really struggling.”

A spokesperson for Newham Council told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the authority was “disappointed” by Cllr Lekau’s comments and believed they did not fairly represent the situation. They added that Newham Council had consistently told Greenwich Council that it would honor the £126,000 annual maintenance costs required for the tunnel.

The spokesman said: “However, like many local authorities, Newham is being forced to look closely at any further capital investment due to its current financial situation. We have repeatedly requested an urgent meeting with Greenwich officials, which has just been granted, and is now scheduled for Wednesday, July 31, where we hope to find a mutual way forward.”

Greenwich also shares the Greenwich Foot Tunnel with Tower Hamlets, which links Cutty Sark to Island Gardens. Cllr Lekau said both tunnels presented a challenge for the council. She said in March that a meeting had been scheduled between the authority, Tower Hamlets and Newham councils to discuss the problems in the tunnels. However, the councilor said this discussion had been delayed due to the general election.

The Woolwich Foot Tunnel is used by 300,000 people a year. Greenwich Council claimed the lifts in the tunnel were vulnerable to unpredictable breakdowns due to their age, with the most common cause of failure being doors not closing due to objects in the way or people forcing them open.

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