Steve Smith has stepped back as Emeritus Rides co-ordinator and we did not elect a replacement. The responsibility for the paperwork and managing the risk around rides is being taken on by the Co-ordinators.
We are seeking to recruit group members who would be willing to act as ‘area reps,’ being a point of contact to understand what’s going on in the local community, building relationships with local politicians, and providing local expertise to consultation responses and stakeholder engagements. Whether this becomes a formal committee role remains to be seen—stay tuned for more details.
This annual report was approved at Newham Cyclists’ 2026 AGM on Monday 29th June, at Canning Town Library. For ease of reading and searching, we have copied the text of the annual report to this page; you can download the PDF original at the foot of this page.
State of Play for Cycling in Newham 2026
The 2025-2026 Committee period was a mixed bag for cycling in our borough. A flurry of delivery of very high quality cycling infrastructure projects in Newham was welcome—as was rocketing demand for our regular Fix Your Ride stall at Woodgrange Market. That said, the political upheaval in Newham Council from the recent election cycle has muddied the waters; mixed messages from our new Mayor, Forhad Hussain, mean it is unclear what the future of Newham’s healthy streets programme will look like.
Newham Cyclists is effective because of our volunteers. But advocating for safe cycling in our borough is a lot of work.
If you would like to get more involved with Newham Cyclists, and would like to stand for election to the committee, please email newham@lcc.org.uk. We can discuss what position might be right for you (or even create one.)
We elect our Management Committee every year at our Annual General Meeting, the next one of which will be on Monday 29th June. The Committee has three formal officer roles:
The Co-ordinator, who organises our campaigning in conjunction with LCC head office, and chairs meetings. Our group also typically has a Deputy Co-ordinator who shares these responsibilities.
The Treasurer manages our finances and bank account, keeping accounts and submitting these and the budget to the group and to LCC for every financial year.
The Secretary convenes meetings, organises communications to members and supporters, and keeps records. (This role is currently vacant and shared by the Co-ordinator and Deputy Co-ordinator.)
We also have non-officer roles on the Committee for people with a particular interest or responsibility for certain topics. For instance, we have, or have had, the following non-officer roles:
Infrastructure Representative, who has responded to consultations and monitored cycleway, LTN, and general cycling/streets schemes in progress
Rides Co-ordinator, who handles risk assessments and leads rides.
We have also had area representatives, for instance an Olympic Park representative where this area was undergoing substantial regeneration.
Not be serving in any elected office, nor a candidate for elected office, since this would create a conflict of interest. You also cannot be an officer for Newham Council because this would also create a conflict of interest.
LCC is organising aLondon-wide mass flyering day to dramatically increase LCC visibility and boost membership.
Date: Tuesday, 14 July 2026 (morning and evening)
Morning session: any 90 minutes between 7:30am and 9:45am
Evening session: any 90 minutes between 4:30pm and 6:45pm
Locations: up to 3 locations in Newham – we’d like to cover C3, C2 and the Greenway, but open to any suggestions
Task: Teams of two will distribute flyers for 90 minutes in the morning session or 90 minutes in the evening session at each chosen location. In total LCC hope to distribute 20,000 flyers across London in one day!
Could you spare 60-90 minutes on 14th July to help Newham Cyclists with flyering? If so please email newham@lcc.org.uk.
Don’t worry if you’ve never done flyering before, we’ll meet beforehand to discuss our approach, we’ll be out in groups, and you can stay as long or as little as you want.
Further to our previous committee update in April: As Karen Flanagan was not elected to the Council in last week’s election, she is able to serve again on our committee. We are delighted to say that she is hereby reinstated as our Deputy Co-ordinator for the rest of this committee term!
All committee roles will be up for election at our AGM, which will be on Monday 29th June at Canning Town Library. More details to follow.
Welcome to News from the Streets, where we review the many cycling infrastructure schemes being built in Newham. Since our last instalment in February, there has been good progress on a variety of projects to celebrate. We can only hope that, with a change of Mayor and a significant shift in the political landscape of Newham after the elections, this momentum is carried forward in the coming months and years to turn our borough into the cycling powerhouse it deserves to be.
Romford Road
Moving west to east:
Sections B South (Radlett Close to Tavistock Road) and D South (Green Street to Woodgrange junction) have received their blue surfacing at crossovers:
Section B (south side) at Dyson Road. Photo: Jonathan Rothwell
There is good progress on Junction 3 (Richmond Road/Green Street), which will lead directly into Section D. There’s even now an information board on the hoardings telling you what the finished scheme will look like!
Kerblines for Section F (Balmoral Road to Station Road via Woodgrange Park station) continues to make progress steadily eastwards on the north side only at this stage.
Section H (Rabbits Road to Little Ilford Lane) is now lined and open for use in both directions, and has also received its blue surfacing at side roads. We are pleased to see this significant and challenging section opened, including Romford Road’s first inline ‘sparrow’ type crossing. This offers benefits for all users:
When you are crossing as a pedestrian, you deal with cyclists and drivers separately, making the task of crossing the street easier to manage.
If you’re cycling, you don’t need to stop when the general traffic light is red—you just give way to people using or waiting for the zebra crossing as normal.
Shorter crossing distance for pedestrians means the pedestrian traffic light phase can be shorter, meaning less red time for buses and cars.
Section I (Little Ilford Lane to Lugg Approach) is still in progress, and as we understand is being bundled with the works for Junction 7 (Little Ilford Lane junction.) This will include 2 new parallel crossings and, most excitingly, a protected T-junction at Little Ilford Lane. When complete, these will mean a big chunk of the scheme is effectively complete from Rabbits Road all the way to Lugg Approach.
Looking ahead, we hope that work will also be able to start in the coming months on Woodgrange Junction (junction 2, again connecting to Section D) and that Rabbits Road junction (junction 7) can see get in the ground this year.
Finally, we are aware of the topic of vehicles being parked in the cycle track, both for loading (which they shouldn’t be doing) and antisocially. While things are improving, it’s still not uncommon to see people loading or even with their cars fully parked in the cycle track. Please report these issues to the Romford Road team using the email address STRomfordRoad@newham.gov.uk, it helps make the case for measures such as bollards and block boulders to keep the cycleways and footways clear.
Water Lane parallel crossing
Work has now moved to the Manbey Grove side of the crossing. The footway rebuild on the eastern side is complete, with only the cycle track due to receive its final surfacing (which we assume will happen at the same time as the new crossing is raised.)
We particularly like the multi-coloured block paving—a simple way to jazz up the built environment. This scheme will make a big difference to the Maryland Cycleway link.
Water Lane crossing as of 25 April. Photos: Jonathan Rothwell
The cycle track is still waiting for its top surface, but the kerb lines are now extant as far as the future Decapod Street/Henniker Road crossing, the realigned Cycleway 16 route. The lamp post has also been removed from the cycleway. We hope that there will be further progress on this route in the coming months—it would be nice for our next ride with Colegrave School to use the new protected cycleway all the way!
The future route of Cycleway 16 – getting closer. Photo: Jonathan Rothwell
Westfield Avenue
International Way and Olympic Park Avenue junctions are now both open for use. At time of writing, the Olympic Park Avenue cycleway received its markings in the last 72 hours—and the freshly-resurfaced bridge span is very smooth and a joy to cycle on (with the exception of short strips by the bridge’s expansion joints.) Work is still ongoing around the entrance to the construction site opposite Olympic Park Avenue—so be careful for the time being.
Work is now beginning in earnest on the new expanded footway on the last section to the Marshgate Lane junction—with a new footway on the eastern side of Westfield Avenue for the very first time.
The parallel crossing connecting to Anthems Way is also complete. There is still some outdated signage (including a battered and now incorrect ‘no cycling’ sign) to be removed.
Connection to Olympic Park Avenue from Westfield AvenueOlympic Park Avenue crossing of Westfield Avenue.Anthems Way crossing.Crossing from International Way.Around the freshly completed sections of Westfield Avenue. Photos: Jonathan Rothwell
Elsewhere in the Olympic Park
The main structure of the expanded Greenway ramp to Marshgate Lane is now visible, although there is still clearly a way to go until it gets its tarmac surfacing and the surrounding landscaping is complete. The end date of “Spring 2026” (already extended from Autumn 2025) seems very optimistic. Hint: if you’re in the area, be prepared to give visitors in sparkly garb directions to the ABBA Arena.
Photo: Jonathan Rothwell
The (somewhat stop-start) cycle track on Pool Street is largely complete, and is being connected to the extended Carpenters Road cycleway at one end, and Montfichet Road’s legacy cycle track on the other end.
Pool Street junction with Montfichet Road. Photos: Bluesky user MacLondonThe draft proposal from LLDC’s website. We are not aware of any changes to this design.
Beckton Corridor
The section of Jake Russell Walk (National Cycle Network 13) between Royal Albert Way bridge and Beckton Park has been resurfaced, to the same standard as the rest of the Beckton Corridor—the awful anti-cycling barriers are gone, and the surface is smooth asphalt. Some finishing work is still being done to the footway at the crossing to Beckton Park, which we feel should really be a parallel pedestrian and cycle crossing.
Photos: Jonathan Rothwell
Royal Docks Corridor—City Hall area
The extended section of the Royal Docks scheme along Western Gateway to the bike bus stop continues. The rain gardens for the medians are now almost fully planted, and the north-side cycle track connecting to the bike bus is awaiting its top surfacing and its connection to the existing cycle track on Tidal Basin Roundabout. The footway is in the process of being reconstructed. The cycle track on the City Hall/Kamal Chunchie Way/cable car side is still to be constructed.
Western Gateway, north side off Tidal Basin Roundabout and south side by City Hall. Photos: Jonathan Rothwell
Keeping track of the many ongoing projects in Newham is a lot of work for our volunteers. If you live or work near one of these sites, we’d really appreciate it if you would volunteer to tell us when things make progress. Email newham@lcc.org.uk or join our discussion group if you can help us, or want to get involved in our campaigning.
We are pleased to be joining this community hustings on Saturday 2nd May in conjunction with a number of other charities and campaign groups. We hope there will be representatives from the Labour Party, Green Party, and Newham Independents.
If you would like to join the hustings with our group, please email newham@lcc.org.uk.
Location: The Tate Institute 1 Wythes Rd, London E16 2DN When: Saturday 2nd of May 🕰️ Stalls and activities from 2pm 💬Hustings start 4pm ⌛ Finish 6:30pm 🥘Food and kids activities provided
In less than a week, Newham will vote for a new mayor and council.
✊On the 2nd May groups from across Newham are coming together. We will be holding a community hustings with candidates from Labour, Green Party and Newham Independents to put questions to those who want to run our borough .
Come to the hustings to learn more about the future of Newham, and to show your future mayor that they need to deliver on the issues that matter to us!
🤝Groups involved: London Renters Union, The Magpie Project, Respace, PEACH, The Women in Newham Network, Newham Muslim Forum, Newham Trades Council, Newham Votes Palestine, Focus E15, Clapton Community Football Club, Newham Stand up to Racism, Newham Cyclists, Friends of Queen’s Road Market, Newham Poetry Group, Save Newham Libraries and more tba
Our Deputy Co-ordinator, Karen Flanagan, has stepped down from this role because she is standing as a candidate in the upcoming elections. If she is elected, she will not return to our committee as long as she is a councillor.
Newham Cyclists, as part of a registered charity, is politically neutral in all elections. Elected officials and candidates in forthcoming elections cannot serve on our Committee, since this could create a conflict of interest. They are, of course, welcome to be members of our group and the LCC, to attend meetings and vote as an ordinary member, and to campaign on topics of interest to the group—as long as this is in a personal capacity and not combined with campaigning for votes in the election.
As such, Karen has stepped down from our committee with immediate effect and has recused herself from committee decisions. She will continue to volunteer with Newham Cyclists and campaign on cycling topics, although this will be in a personal capacity and not as a political candidate.
We are here this evening because two weeks ago, on Tuesday 10th March, Richard Wisken was cycling here, on Atlantis Avenue, when he was involved in a crash with a TfL 366 bus. Police were called at 5:51pm, and paramedics from London Ambulance Service and London’s Air Ambulance attended and took Rich to hospital.
Sadly, Richard Wisken died 4 days later, on Saturday 14th March. He was 43 years old.
Our deepest condolences go to his family, his friends, and everyone who knew and loved him. We are grateful and honoured that some of Rich’s family—his brother, Alex, and his father Ian, and his partner Mel—have chosen to be here with us tonight.
Rich’s family told us a little about him—including how much he loved living in the area and considered it is home, and how much it meant to them he donated his organs, benefiting five Londoners on the waiting list for a transplant.
While the investigation into this crash is ongoing, what we do know is that, despite advances in safety in some parts of London, people cycling and people walking keep being killed by drivers of vehicles. I say that not to apportion blame, but as a statement of fact.
Today is the 83rd day of 2026. And in those 83 days, we have seen four separate people killed after being hit while cycling.
Even in our borough of Newham, Rich is the third person to die after being hit while cycling in the past fifteen months.
It does not have to be like this, and it should not be like this. We should not be here today, because Rich should still be here today.
Every person who is killed on our streets had people who loved them. They had goals in their life. They had plans for what they were going to do at their destination.
TfL have committed to Vision Zero, to end traffic deaths on London’s roads in the next 15 years. But too much of the machinery of London views tragedies like this as personal failings. We treat cycling and walking as something inherently dangerous when they’re not. We expect people to armour up to protect themselves from danger they should never be exposed to in the first place.
Our streets and roads need to be safe, everywhere, and for everyone. And people should not have to die first to justify them being made safe.
The only acceptable number of deaths in traffic is zero.
Making this street, Atlantis Avenue, safe, won’t bring Richard back, but it will make sure that no other families have to suffer this heartbreak in future.
We will now take a moment to reflect, and observe a minute’s silence to pay our respects to Rich Wisken, who died after being hit here 2 weeks ago.
With elections less than six weeks away on 7 May, we’ve launched our Streets for Cycling campaign, asking the next Mayor of Newham—whoever they may be—to build a safe, connected cycle network in Newham.
Newham needs a safe, connected cycle network!
TfL has already identified four future routes in Newham that have the highest unrealised demand for cycling. Building these routes would allow thousands of local people to switch their journeys to cycling—and TfL will also provide the funding to build these routes to a very high standard.
The four key cycle routes would criss-cross Newham, connecting Stratford to Ilford; Leyton to Silvertown; Canning Town to Barking Road Rec; and Manor Park to Gallions Reach. This would connect Green Street and East Ham High Street to London’s cycle network for the first time; it would also give NHS staff at Newham Hospital back their safe route to work, after Thames Water closed an important part of the Greenway. A combination of protected cycleways on main roads, and low-traffic streets upgraded for cycling, would make cycling a viable transport option across Newham that’s safe everywhere, and fun for everyone!
