TfL funding extension secured until February 4th 2022 but long-term sustainable funding needed to avoid a managed decline in services thereafter

 Gary Nolan, Transport for London's Strategic Engagement Lead wrote to local councillors late last night to tell them that negotiations had produced a short-term extension of government funding.  This followed a major campaign by the London Mayor about the potential impact of a failure to agree funding that would include closing some underground lines and curtailing services.

We have today agreed a further short-term extension to our current funding agreement with the Government. The extension will continue to 4 February 2022 and will allow us to run services and meet all our contractual commitments until then. No new Government funding has been provided for borough funding and active travel during the extension period.

 

Funds already allocated from both the June settlement and the Government's Active Travel Fund are still available to continue the delivery of agreed projects, but we are unfortunately not able to allocate any new funding to boroughs during the extension period. I understand this is disappointing, however we are grateful for this support and, given the very short-term nature of this new funding extension, work must now continue to engage the Government in meaningful discussion on long-term sustained funding so that a hugely damaging period of managed decline can be avoided.

 

We are determined to play our full role in the next phase of pandemic and continue to support the capital as we have to date.

 

Do your bit to save London's public transport

 The current TfL funding settlement from Government expires in 6 days’ time on 11 December 2021.

 

To help to decarbonise the transport network, TfL would need an investment of £70m for the first three years, to support zero emission buses and £125m per year for healthy streets and active travel.

 

The London Assembly on December 2nd  called on the Government to provide a new long-term sustainable funding model and to include the £1-1.5bn of additional investment funding each year that TfL requires, as part of the next funding settlement.

 

Elly Baker AM, who proposed the motion, said:

 

London was largely glossed over in the Chancellor’s recent Budget. Transport for London was left out in the cold, despite the fact that it is hanging over a financial cliff-edge due to the pandemic.

 

Our transport system urgently needs proper investment from the Government to drive forward the whole country’s economic recovery and boost our efforts to meet legally binding commitments to reach net zero and clean up our air.

 

Cities should be empowered by Governments so they can be at the forefront of tackling the climate emergency.

 

The full text of the motion is:

 

This Assembly notes that the Government’s October 2021 Budget and Comprehensive Spending Review confirmed £7bn to level-up urban transport in cities around England, but there was no new funding announced for Transport for London (TfL). Furthermore, the current TfL funding settlement from Government expires in 11 days’ time on
11 December 2021.

 

The Assembly notes that the TfL submission to the Government’s spending review outlined plans to invest £2.5 - £3bn per year over the long term, to meet the Government’s climate change, levelling up and economic recovery ambitions. To help to decarbonise the transport network, this investment would include £70m for the first three years to support zero emission buses and £125m per year for healthy streets and active travel.

 

The Assembly believes that if the Government is serious about the UK’s legally binding decarbonisation and air quality commitments then funding must be provided to TfL.

 

This Assembly therefore calls on the Government to provide a new long-term sustainable funding model and to include the £1-1.5bn of additional investment funding each year that TfL requires, as part of the next funding settlement.

 The TfL Finance Committee listed these impacts if emergency funding was not forthcoming from the Government:

• 18 percent reduction in London bus services, with 100 routes to be axed (a seventh of the network) and reduced frequency across 200 more (about one third of all additional routes).
• 9 percent service reduction across the London Underground with possible scenarios including permanent closure of the 115-year-old Bakerloo line or the Jubilee, Metropolitan or Hammersmith & City lines.
• Non-replacement of ageing train fleet (for example 50-year-old Bakerloo trains) with rolling stock renewal contracts cancelled.
• Scrapping of bus electrification with existing bus vehicles to be kept in service longer to reduce costs.
• No progress towards Vision Zero (safety), decarbonisation, improving air quality or active travel to support a shift towards more sustainable modes of transport.
• End of capital expenditure on disability access for transport passengers, with non-renewal of “step free” assets resulting in “more frequent failures of lifts and escalators”.
• London’s road assets to “remain in current degraded condition” with a “high risk of unplanned bridge and tunnel closures”.
• ·Cancellation of TfL supply chain contracts impacting on 43,000 jobs in Derby, Falkirk, Bolton, Liverpool, Yorkshire, and Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
• The cuts are so deep that by TfL’s own admission they will push London’s transport system into a state of “Managed Decline”.

KEEP LONDON MOVING CAMPAIGN

 

London Travel Watch in a campaign called Keep London Moving to fight the the budget cut and is urging people to write to their MP, London Assembly members and councillors as part of the campaign. On their website you just have to fill in your postcode to automatically send a letter to all of them. LINK

 

London faces a transport funding crisis. 

Transport for London have been getting financial support from the Government because of the pandemic, but this funding deal is due to expire on the 11th of December. If London's transport doesn't get the money it needs after that date, we could see an 18% reduction in bus services and a 9% cut to Tube services as well as a complete end to all active travel funding. This could result in a million fewer public transport journeys a day and drive a significant number of Londoners back into their cars. 

Public transport and active travel enables the poorest and most excluded individuals to get to work and access education and services. Affordable, reliable and frequent public transport services are also essential if London is to reduce its carbon emissions and clean up the toxic air which shortens the lives of thousands. 

Time is running out but you can still make your voice heard. 

If we act now, we can remind politicians that public transport and active travel is vital to all Londoners and people travelling in to the city. Let your MP, London Assembly member and councillor know why we need to #keeplondonmoving.

Jenrick's concerns over Wembley Park station TfL/Barratt development - Planning Inquiry opens later this month

 

As reported by Wembley Matters in June LINK Robert Jenrick, Communities Secretary has called in the development on the TfL car park next to Wembley Park station and referred it to the Planning Inspectorate.

Yesterday the Architects Journal LINK published an article about the call-in writing:

Brent Council’s planning committee unanimously approved the scheme at the end of last year after planning officers backed the proposal.

But Jenrick has now called in the scheme, telling Brent Council he particularly wants to hear about whether the plans will: create a nice place; be consistent with national housing policy; conserve the historic environment; and accord with the local development plan.

 But adding:

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government declined to comment on Jenrick’s particular areas of concern, pointing out that its policy since 2019 has been not to comment on why applications are called-in.

Make of that what you will.

The Planning Inspector instructed by the Secretary of State is T Gilbert-Wooldridge MRTPI IHBC and the inquiry will open at 10.00am on 28 September 2021. Currently 6 sitting days have been scheduled  (provisionally 28 Sept – 1 Oct and 4-5 October). 

The joint developer with TfL is Barratt  London who have come in for some criticism on social media this morning:

 

 

Buses may be able to use the newly connected North End Road in Wembley

 In response to a question from Wembley Matters, reminding the council that early publicity on the joining up of North End Road stated it  might be used for re-routed buses, particularly on event days,  Brent Council have issued a statement and clarification  over the 7.5tonne limit on the road:

The recent 7.5 t restriction on North End Road prohibits HGVs exceeding this weight from entering the zone except for loading or unloading or visiting a place of business. There is also a general 17 tonne weight limit over the culvert.

 

We are liaising with Transport for London on improving bus services in the area and a potential future route along North End Road. The 7.5 t restriction applies to goods vehicles, it would not apply to buses operating a future service.

 

Brent Council responds to concerns over pedestrian safety at new North End Road,/Bridge Road junction in Wembley Park

Brent Council has responded to concerns that I expressed on behalf of residents over pedestrain safety at the new North End Road/Bridge Road junction opposite Wembley Park tube station.

I wrote:

There has been quite a lot of concern expressed on social media about the safety of the new junction at North End Road/Bridge Road and particularly the problems facing wheelchair users and parents with large buggies when crossing.  The tactile paving on the Olympic Way side is blocked and the several gaps between the blocks cause pedestrians to move in several directions and children sometimes separate from their parents. There are no lights or other controls. It is particularly difficult for those who are partially sighted or blind.

Could you clarify, so that I can pass the message on, whether the council or TfL will be adding any lights etc to the crossing/junction and whether the blocks are temporary or a permanent hostile vehicle prevention measure.

I attach a link to a video taken today (July 29th) around 3pm - not a busy time.

 

This is the Council's response received yesterday:

Thank you for your email and video link relating to safety concerns that have been raised about the new junction, particularly with access for wheelchair users and parents or carers with pushchairs and buggies.

 

The concrete barriers are temporary security measures and they will be replaced by bollards. Unfortunately, there was a delay in delivery from our supplier, but I am pleased to inform you that work has now been programmed for 23^rd August. In the meantime, our contractor has moved the Give Way sign post from between the concrete barriers so that it no longer impedes pedestrian access.

 

As this is a new junction, we will of course be monitoring its performance and will consider whether any further improvements are necessary.

 

We are currently liaising with Transport for London on signalising the junction in the future, this will improve amenities for pedestrians.

 I have not yet had a reply from Brent Highways or TfL on whether buses will be able to use North End Road on event days as planned. It has a weight limit of 7.5tonnes.

 

Brent Trades Council urges support for bus drivers over remote sign on - please sign open letter to Sadiq Khan here

 

Brent Trades  Council is urging local residents and trade unionists to sign an open letter to Sadiq Khan urging him to stop  attempts to change the working conditions of London bus drivers.

The change, called 'remote sign on', would mean drivers instead of going to a garage to begin their working day going to a bus stop or other venue and joining a bus. Their working time would begin at that point and pay would be reduced if the bus was late. Drivers would only be paid for the time they are behind the wheel. The bus stop would of course lack the facilities of toilets and canteens available at a garage and limit interaction with other bus workers.  It is believed that the change would equate to a 7% fall in earnings.

SIGN THE OPEN LETTER  HERE

We urge you as Mayor of London to stop remote sign on which bus operators are proposing to introduce on some bus routes. You have already instructed the Board of Transport of London (TfL) to order a moratorium on remote sign on in London which is conditional on “research” being done on its impact.

Why is this important?

Research shows that remote sign on is bad news for drivers, detrimental to passengers and risks the safety of all road users. If a bus is delayed the driver is left, unpaid and in the open, for considerable lengths of time in all weathers, increasing issues of tiredness and fatigue. Driver fatigue is a health concern and a tired driver places passenger safety at risk. Also Unite the Union, of which you are a member, calculated that remote sign on would equate to an immediate seven per cent cut in wages on average for affected workers.

Terms and conditions of London bus drivers are under attack by bus operators. The outsourcing of routes to 16 different operators means bus drivers have different rates of pay, different contracts and different sets of terms and conditions depending on the company they work for.

Drivers working for RATP London United are already taking industrial action across 7 bus depots for improved pay and in defence of their terms and conditions. Metroline and Metroline West bus depots have now won their ballot for industrial action opposing the introduction of remote sign on and in defence of their terms and conditions.

Only bus operators benefit from this scheme as they cut costs by reducing wages. This is why despite your moratorium Unite’s 4,000 members have vowed to fight remote sign on with everything they have as they are concerned your moratorium will not achieve a suitable outcome. 

They have given overwhelming support to taking industrial action in defence of their terms and conditions.

Please ensure that as Mayor of London, you give bus drivers a cast iron guarantee that bus companies are not allowed to compete on pay and conditions for staff, please set a minimum and equal standard of employment for all bus drivers and re-assure bus drivers, who are essential workers, that both their pay and their terms and conditions are in safe hands whilst you are Mayor of London? And please keep to your pledge if re-elected Mayor on 6th May.

The ecological damage caused by TfL's obliteration of green corridors - a presentation by Emma Wallace

 

 

This presentation was made at a recent meeting of concerned residents who have witnessed the removal of much of the vegetation on railway embankments. TfL's contractors have removed shrubs and scrub as well as mature trees, even when they appeared not to impinge on railway tracks and were healthy. In the process, they have removed habitats of birds, mammals including badger setts and bat roosts. No proper ecological damage assessments appear to have been made. The presentation was compiled by Emma Wallace, Green Party GLA candidate for Brent and Harrow who set up the Facebook Group publicising the issue. 

The Facebook Group has more than 100 members who share information about the damage being done in their area and are planning future action. LINK

A petition on the issue was recently presented to Mayor Sadiq Khan by Green Assembly Member Caroline Russell:

We call on TFL and the Mayor of London to commit to the following:

1. Immediately stop the excessive removal of vegetation from trackside TFL embankments.

2. Ensure that TFL carries out biodiversity surveys before trackside work begins and that these are made easily accessible to the public.

3. Ensure that local residents are informed in good time before trackside work begins and given time to feedback questions and concerns to TFL.

4. Ensure that TFL contractors are trained in effective vegetation management and biodiversity preservation.

Please sign if you haven't already: https://actionnetwork.org/.../stop-the-removal-of-green...

Action meeting: TFL/Network Rail's destruction of habitat 7.30pm tonight

 

We are holding an open meeting for people to share their experiences of TFL and Network Rail's destruction of habitat in their local area.

 

We will then discuss ideas for action to change their behaviours and policies. 

 

REGISTRATION 

TFL must follow Network Rail's lead and rethink their Biodiversity Action Plan for London Underground

Guest post by Emma Wallace of Harrow Green Party and the Green Party candidate for the Brent and Harrow GLA Constituency seat

 

Just over a week since its launch, the petition calling on Sadiq Khan and the TFL to ‘Stop the Removal of Green Habitat’ has garnered over 500 signatures LINK . 

 

This response shows that the wholesale destruction of habitat along our London Underground embankments is strongly opposed by many people from across London and the rest of the country.   We have heard numerous similar stories to the one most recently reported on along the Metropolitan line near Pinner LINK, from Wimbledon Park on the District Line LINK , to Hackney Downs and stations along the Overground Line LINK  and along the West and North of the Central and Piccadilly Lines.  These reports reveal a similar lack of public consultation with local residents and the resulting distress caused by the destruction and removal of sound and visual barriers that had been provided by the lineside foliage.  There has also been an absence of ecological surveys carried out by TFL before work commences, with contractors obliterating everything in their paths and showing little awareness of the biodiversity or wildlife they are displacing, including nesting birds or badger sets.

 

Network Rail has also been accused of devastating much of its lineside embankment greenery over recent years, carrying out a “secretive nationwide felling operation”, as reported in The Guardian 2018 LINK .   

 

This has caused much upset with both residents and train passengers, who have repeatedly decried the raising to the ground of the once verdant banks running along the hundreds of miles of our national train network.  The destruction along Lincolnshire railways in 2019 even led Tory MP, Sir John Hayes to state that the trackside vegetation removal looked like “a scene from Hiroshima” and to call for an urgent meeting with the then Environmental Secretary, Michael Gove LINK.   

 

In response to public pressure, Network Rail published a new environmental sustainability strategy in December 2020, including a ‘Biodiversity Action Plan’ LINK .  This plan contains a bold vision to improve the biodiversity of plants and wildlife lineside, committing “to the key goal of no net loss in biodiversity on our lineside estate by 2024, moving to biodiversity net gain by 2035”.  This culture change within Network Rail, viewing lineside vegetation as an asset, not a liability, must urgently be adopted by TFL and the Mayor of London when managing London Underground lineside vegetation. The last London Underground Biodiversity Action Plan (LU’s BAP) was published in 2010 LINK  and consequently urgently needs to be addressed and updated.  TFL must use the recent Network Rail example to rethink its biodiversity management policies to meet their commitment to protecting and enhancing London’s wildlife and green spaces.  

 

Darren Johnson, Green Party Assembly Member 2000 and 2016 and Deputy Chair of the Environment Committee, overseeing the 2012 ‘On the Right Lines?’ report  LINK , has backed our campaign, commenting on the petition: “Very happy to support this. Something I worked on when I was a London Assembly Member. Of course, vegetation removal is vital for rail safety, but the scorched earth approach is not the way.”  We have been overwhelmed by the support for the petition and many comments left, revealing how strongly people feel about this issue and their desire for TFL to change their policy on excessive vegetation embankment clearing and the need to replace it with a more nuanced and sustainably managed policy, which recognises and values these precious green corridors.  

 

See below a selection of people’s comment on the petition:

 

·      “The opportunities for ecological enhancement and support of biodiversity along rail lines are huge and cannot be overlooked! Partner with those who know, care and have the energy and resources to support projects.” Lisa Shell       

 

·      “We’re in the midst of a climate and environmental emergency and losing wildlife and biodiversity at an alarming rate. This type of habitat loss in totally unacceptable and must be stopped.”  Jean Gerrard

 

·      “Dreadful situation! I live right next to the train lines. The noise is really bad now and I can see all the passengers on the train from my kitchen window.  Such a sad loss of greenery. The birds have been going crazy too. What is TFL doing about rectifying this? I'm heart broken.” Pauline D’Jemil

 

·      “Please stop this unnecessary assault on what is left of our green spaces.” Ann Wilson

 

·      “Green corridors whether railways, canals or rivers are vital to wildlife and mature trees reduce noise nuisance from railways and air pollution.”  Martin Francis

 

·      “You're trashing animal habitat, increasing pollution and noise nuisance. Stop it.”  Anne Heritage   

 

·      “Stop making the world into a concrete jungle!” Asha Osman

 

·      “So depressing to see. Is there any one in authority who cares about our environment?” Jean Pannell

 

·      “Please try and think more creatively. Safety is a priority but there are surely alternatives that could be adopted. Shrubs and under planting wild grasses and low growing flowers etc.” Julie Curtis

 

·      “This has to stop; the railways are a natural wildlife corridor and should be protected from excessive and unnecessary cutbacks.”  Paula Hermes

 

·      “Vital for so many reasons. We all know what they are. Please stop cutting down the beautiful vegetation. It’s always such a joy to see.” Sarah Holford

 

·      “Stop destroying everything. Everywhere I look I see deforestation, destruction, the silent absence of life. Rail verges are one of nature’s last remaining lifelines. It costs nothing just to let it live. For our children and for the climate, please just stop this mindless destruction.” Anna Scrivenger

 

·      “We need these green corridors to cut pollution, keep noise down and a respite for nature.” Linda Quin

 

·      “These are critically important wildlife corridors.” Paul Allan-Smith

 

·      “Why on earth?? Railway embankments are some of the few untampered wildflower habitats left - leave them alone!!” Kate Hopkins

 

·      “I should like to see evidence of 'problem' trees and certainly do not want ANY vegetation removed in future without a previously approved assessment.” Keith Gissing

 

·      “We are losing trees and green spaces at an ever-increasing rate. Please don’t make things even worse.” Linda McKeller

 

·      “Trees and natural vegetation provide a vital transport corridor for animals and absorb excess rainwater.” Marc Sheimann

 

·      “Yes, stop cutting our trees down HS2 is doing enough damage to our nature.” Erica Locke

 

·      “We are currently seeing an unprecedented number of wildlife habitats decimated. Clearing TfL railway corridors of trees and hedges just adds to that and our climate crisis. Please consider planting more vegetation and maintaining what you have.” Elaine Persell

 

·      “I realise that trackside trees shouldn’t be a safety’ threat, but recently the decimation of lineside vegetation has been completely over the top.” Terry Hooper        

 

·      “This is criminal. I know safety is paramount, but this is more than that. Losing pollution soaking trees, habitats, shade, aesthetic enhancement is wrong.”  Polly Mortimer

 

·      “We need every INCH of green in this supposed green and pleasant land, especially in London which would choke on its own effluent if not for the green spaces as yet untouched by speculators. In a world where homeowners are ripping up their gardens to put down gravel, we need green that produces fresh air more than ever.”  John Mangan

 

·      We desperately need more biodiversity in our cities! Please use your brains and think of what you'll be leaving for future generations.” Julie Barber

 

·      “It's very important that Sadiq Khan shows us that he will stop the degradation of our precious environment, otherwise he'll not be voted for again!” Miranda James

 

·      “Every tree possible is needed for reducing pollution and climate change and for wildlife habitat. Please stop cutting them down.” Lisa Penney

 

Thank you to everyone who has signed the petition so far.  Please sign if you haven’t yet already done so. Thank you, Emma Wallace