Woolwich Foot Tunnel’s broken lift ‘could be finally fixed by December’

The Woolwich Foot Tunnel’s broken north lift could finally be fixed by December after four years out of action, according to Greenwich Council.

Pedestrians and cyclists have had to use the stairs at the North Woolwich side of the tunnel since August 2022.

Talks between Greenwich and Newham councils, which jointly own the tunnel, have been hampered by costs and difficulties finding parts, which have delayed repairs.

Zulfiqar Ali, the Newham cabinet member for finance, had suggested that the lift could be open “by the end of the summer”. But Greenwich Council, which is responsible for managing the tunnel, indicated work could take longer and expects repairs to take place between now and December.

Nearly two years ago, it was expected that the work would be finished by January last year. Then a year ago, Greenwich said that it hoped the work would be done by this summer.

Calum O’Byrne Mulligan, Greenwich’s cabinet member for transport, said the age of the tunnel had led to the delay. The tunnel opened in 1912 so dock workers from Woolwich could walk to their jobs north of the river.

O’Byrne Mulligan said: “The structure is well over 100 years old, so it requires bespoke parts which have taken some time to manufacture.

“That has meant it has taken longer for the works to start than we, Newham, and our residents had hoped would be the case.”

O’Byrne Mulligan added Greenwich had “worked productively with Newham on the joint agreement needed for these works and to ensure the good maintenance of the lifts going forward”.

Greenwich Council said the repairs would cost a total of £217,000.

Ali said that Newham had been “advised of a requirement to fund part replacements late in 2024, and in 2025 secured funding for improvements to get the lifts, fire systems, CCTV and lighting upgrades completed”.

Papers presented to Newham Council’s cabinet committee this month suggested it contributed £120,000 towards “replacement parts for the fire system, the lift control, lighting and CCTV works”. This was on top of a yearly contribution of £125,000 towards inspections, maintenance, cleaning and power.

Ali said: “Improvements to the lifts are the responsibility of Greenwich Council and installation of new parts is due to take place over the next few weeks with a possible reopening of both north and south lifts by the end of summer.”

Nathan Budden, of the Lifts Now campaign, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service that the broken lift had made the trip across the river longer and less accessible for people unable to use the stairs.

He said: “It stops me from cycling to a lot of places because I’ve got a longstanding shoulder injury, so I can’t carry my bike up the stairs on the other side.

“I can’t always rely on the Woolwich Ferry either because of the time of day or the weather, and it more than triples the amount of time.

“Getting a bike on the Docklands Light Railway is not allowed at peak times, so it means I just don’t bother”.

Budden also said that when Lifts Now campaigners leafleted the Tate and Lyle factory at Silvertown, close to the tunnel’s northern exit, “half of the people we spoke to were all commuting to work via the tunnel”.

He said: “They’ve all been frustrated by the lack of action on it.”

Lifts Now has called on Transport for London (TfL) to take responsibility for the tunnel, as well as its sister crossing at Greenwich, which is shared with Tower Hamlets. 

Both tunnels were run by London-wide local government until the Greater London Council was abolished 40 years ago. Greenwich now manages both tunnels, but each crossing is jointly owned with its northern neighbour.

O’Byrne Mulligan said last year that TfL did not want to take over. He now says that Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets have formed “a joint working group” to work on a “full regeneration of the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels, which we hope will ensure reliable step-free access through both tunnels for generations to come”.

Nick Clark is the local democracy reporter for Tower Hamlets, based at Social Spider CIC. The Greenwich Wire is a partner in the Local Democracy Reporting Service, which is a BBC-funded initiative to ensure councils are covered properly in local media. Additional reporting by Darryl Chamberlain.

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