Today marks 700 days since Thames Water closed the Greenway, Newham’s only safe north-south cycle route, with no safe alternative. This has severed Newham’s cycle network in two, leaving no safe route between Plaistow, West Ham, Canning Town, East Ham, and Stratford—affecting thousands of families, shift workers at Newham Hospital, and children travelling to school.

We have now learned that this closure may extend as late as August 2030, or even later. This makes a safe, high-quality diversion route via West Ham Lane even more urgent.

Three representatives of Newham Cyclists—Karen, Hugo, and Jonathan—met on-site with representatives from Thames Water and their contractor Barhale on Friday 7th August for an update. Representatives of Newham Council’s network management team were also in attendance. We were shown an update on the construction process which is similar to the one being given to all politicians (e.g. the Mayor of Newham.)

Timelines

The previously advertised date for reopening of “Autumn 2028” (likely to be November or December 2028) is in fact a date at which the Greenway closure will be ‘reviewed’. It will only be reopened if there is sufficient width available on the Manor Road bridge to allow people to walk and cycle past the remaining construction activities. While Thames Water continues to advertise this as the date at which the Greenway will be re-opened, we are not confident (particularly given TW’s track record) there will not be a further delay.

The full programme of construction is currently scheduled to complete in August 2030. TW do feel more confident about their current projections due to improved surveying techniques, but admitted that construction timelines are wont to slip.

Our current understanding of the timelines is as follows:

• Late 2027: Greenway closure to be reviewed at the request of the Mayor of Newham. Thames Water indicated they are not especially confident about there being adequate width at this stage. If this does result in re-opening: the Greenway will have been closed in some form for three years.
• Late 2028: Greenway closure to be reviewed. TW feel more confident about there being available width at this stage. If re-opened, the Greenway will have been closed in some form for four years.
• Late Summer 2030: Programme due for completion. If all runs to plan and the Greenway only re-opens at this stage, it will have been closed in some form for six years.

Diversion

Thames Water’s representatives admitted to us that they have not ridden the diversion routes themselves.

We got a commitment from TW to review the current diversion signage.

We highlighted issues with:

• discrepancies between diversion routes advertised at different entry points to the Greenway
• discrepancies between dates on different signs
• poor quality diversion signage, in some case simply laminated sheets of A4 attached to a bollard
• messaging claiming that diversion routes are ‘suitable for cyclists’ when they are not

What is clear is that the only solution to the Greenway situation is rapid delivery of Cycle Future Route 7 via West Ham Lane and Plaistow New Road. This will re-connect the remaining section of the Greenway to the Cycleway network.

Transparency, honesty, and respect

We used the opportunity to share our views very frankly about the (lacking) level of transparency from Thames Water throughout the process. This is not only with us and other community groups, but also the fact that Thames have been very late in updating Newham Council officers and politicians on their extensions to the closure—thereby putting them on the back foot with organising diversions. This has contributed to the disgraceful situation where thousands of Greenway users have been left paying for public transport, with some people feeling forced into buying a car or having to give up taking their children to extracurricular events.

We did get a commitment from Thames Water and Barhale that we could have a regular meeting—in the region of every 4-6 months—to hear an update on progress, and hope to have this in the calendar soon.

Unfortunately it is clear to us that Thames Water still does not truly consider the closure of the Greenway to be “their problem.” They consider the Greenway to be an amenity, rather than infrastructure, and not in line with their core service of fresh- and wastewater provision.

They also did not commit to, and said it was unlikely they would be able to, provide any funding for Newham Council’s costs in providing a safe alternative to the Greenway. We admit we find it difficult to believe this is impossible—Thames Water, while in a financially perilous situation, is returning a substantial post-tax profit. Meanwhile Newham Council is also strapped for cash, and is dependent on other bodies (such as TfL) for capital funding to deliver a safe diversion.

What is clear to us is that Thames Water is not, and in its current form can never be, a reliable partner for building a safe, connected cycle network. A dense network of safe cycle routes on the public highway is what’s necessary to build resilience into the cycle network and make cycling safe for everyone.