Streetworks is a community-led project to improve Norwood and Tulse Hill. The project received funding from Transport for London and is supported by officers at Lambeth Council.
The Norwood Forum, Tulse Hill Forum, local councillors and community groups were working together with residents, businesses, schools and road users to design a better public space along Norwood Road, remove the one-way system at Tulse Hill and provide training and support for future local projects.
From 2015 steady progress was achieved through:
- Co-design workshops (local people, officers and councillors) on the Norwood Road phase. Major components were designed and implemented, especially the widening of pavements, relocation of car parking spaces and improvements to Station Rise.
- Co-design workshops (local people, officers and councillors) on the developing vision for the removal of the Tulse Hill gyratory.
- Regular Steering Group and Project Board meetings; a list of other measures awaited implementation.
A number of aspirations from the community had not proved possible to implement, including:
- A northbound cycle lane along Norwood Road and other cyclist protection measures
- Greening the road in areas with no street trees
By the summer of 2019 the supporting resources available to the Steering Group had been reduced by the Council and TfL, and works to complete the Norwood Road phase were facing the challenge of long term disruption through extensive water main works by Thames Water.
Outstanding work by TfL on the removal of the Tulse Hill gyratory project included preparatory drawings, concept design and detailed modelling in advance of the finalised business case for the TfL funding bidding process. Following a fatal accident, on Christchurch Road at the junction with Norwood Road on 11 December 2017, there were two pieces of safety work that TfL agreed to undertake.
In June 2019 the Steering Group placed the outstanding Norwood Road works into three categories in an attempt to maintain momentum and ensure the more minor works were implemented around the water mains works. In the event the Council did not progress these outstanding works. The Thames Water mains works were completed in July 2020. An impasse ensued, with no progress on completing the project to the degree possible in the light of a much changed funding position (see below).
Norwood Forum have now succeeded in restarting the project, in establishing the position on the gyratory, and working with Council officers to complete the various outstanding pieces of work along Norwood Road. We have established the position on the Tulse Hill gyratory and below you will find the Council statement. We will report separately on Norwood Road.
“Lambeth Council remain committed to working with Transport for London and the local community to replace the Tulse Hill gyratory. Councillor Jack Hopkins (former Leader of Lambeth Council) and Councillor Claire Holland (then Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Sustainable Transport, Environment & Clean Air and now Leader of the Council ) met with the TfL commissioner Andy Byford in February 2021 and reiterated Lambeth's request for TfL to continue progressing the Tulse Hill gyratory project towards completion of the feasibility stage and then onwards towards scheme implementation when funding becomes available.
TfL's funding situation remains precarious however, exemplified once again by the recent announcement {as of May} of a 10-day extension to their funding agreement with central government. Without a long-term funding settlement, TfL are very limited in their ability to give a firm timescale for taking the project forward and it means they, and boroughs like Lambeth, are left struggling to plan into the future.
Our view is that the Tulse Hill gyratory system is a prime example of a time when the highway network was designed to privilege motor vehicle use over local environmental and sustainability needs and remains a significant safety concern, a barrier to more walking and cycling and to a more sustainable town centre. It sits alongside the Vauxhall gyratory and Waterloo city hub project as a priority scheme which is necessary to deliver the aforementioned benefits for our residents.
We will continue making the case to TfL that we consider the gyratory project a priority and in the meantime, look to work with the community on other environmental projects and initiatives where possible. "
There is therefore little prospect of the removal of the gyratory being progressed for some years. When and if funding becomes available for this major capital project, the Council will need to consider when to bid for resources and what governance model to suggest for managing the project.
We have been exploring cheap, but effective, options to improve the streetscape and air quality around the gyratory and any success in taking these ideas forward will be consulted upon with local residents and businesses.
We are reporting separately on the Norwood Road works.
