A row between Greenwich and Newham councils is holding up much-needed works to fix the Woolwich Foot Tunnel, where one of the lifts has been out of action for nearly two years.
Both the Woolwich tunnel and its sister crossing at Greenwich have been plagued by lift breakdowns since a botched refurbishment more than a decade ago.
The northern lift has been out of action since August 2022, rendering it unusable for disabled travellers or those with buggies. Greenwich had planned to have them fixed last month.
But hopes of repairing the lift have been dashed by a disagreement between the two Labour councils about paying for the work, it emerged at a Greenwich Council meeting on Thursday.
Greenwich, which maintains the tunnel, has said it is happy to pay half the cost. But Newham says it is having to review additional spending beyond basic maintenance costs.
Greenwich’s deputy leader Averil Lekau said she was “frustrated” that works could not go ahead, but Newham said it was “disappointed” in her remarks.
Lekau told the borough’s transport scrutiny panel that spending £180,000 on lift repairs and £65,000 on safety improvements had been approved by the council’s cabinet, but she was waiting for Newham to agree the same.
“We need Newham to agree to cough up a similar amount – that would be half of what is needed,” she said. “Whilst we’re responsible for doing the work, the financial responsibility lies with both authorities, and we have been working to try to improve that.
“This is a bone of contention and very frustrating for me, because we’ve actually said we’re ready to put the money up front. But if we go ahead and start to do the works and Newham says no, then we’ll put ourselves in a compromised financial position at a time when we’re really struggling.”
A Newham spokesperson told The Greenwich Wire on Friday: “We are disappointed by these remarks which we do not feel fairly represent the situation.
“We have always made it clear to officials from the Royal Borough of Greenwich that Newham Council will honour its commitment to the £126,000 yearly maintenance costs of the tunnel – this money is not in doubt.
“However, like many local authorities, Newham is being forced to closely review any additional capital investments, due to its current financial situation.
“We have repeatedly requested an urgent meeting with officials from Greenwich, which has only just been accepted, and is now scheduled for Wednesday 31 July, where we hope to find a mutual way forward.”
On Friday evening, a sign was placed next to the south lift of the tunnel declaring it out of service, when it was actually working. Once inside the tunnel, there was no warning for passengers that the north lift was out of service, except for an abandoned buggy next to the lift doors.
The Greenwich tunnel was built by the London County Council in 1902 to cater for dock workers, and the Woolwich tunnel followed ten years later. When the Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 the crossings were given to Greenwich, Tower Hamlets and Newham councils, with Greenwich taking responsibility for maintaining them.
While Transport for London took over London’s road tunnels in 2000, the boroughs were left with the foot tunnels, which have remained a source of friction between them. A users’ group for both tunnels disbanded in frustration in 2021 while last year, a Labour councillor in Tower Hamlets, Abdal Ullah, called for the east London borough to place anti-cyclist barriers at its end of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel.
While the Woolwich tunnel is much more lightly used than its neighbour, and is paralleled by the free ferry, it is open 24 hours a day. Hundreds of new homes are being built around the northern exit, which is just a few steps away from the new SL2 Superloop fast bus to Walthamstow.
Earlier this year, Lekau said the three councils and TfL, together with Seb Dance, the deputy mayor for transport, were planning to meet and discuss the future of the two tunnels, which both need new lifts at a combined cost of £3.4 million.
Asked about the issue by Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, a Creekside councillor, Lekau said that meeting had been put on hold because of the general election. “I’m hoping to get this very soon,” she said.
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