Transport for London (TfL) will share the first insights about the impact on traffic of the new Silvertown Tunnel, as part of commissioner Andy Lord's report to the TfL Board on 11 June. Ahead of this our Leader, Councillor Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE, wrote to the Mayor of London setting out the London Borough of Bexley’s position.

Below we have published the letter sent:

Dear Sadiq

Blackwall and Silvertown Tunnels

We have had sight of a paper Andy Lord will be presenting to the TfL Board meeting on 11 June reporting on the first two months of operation of the new Silvertown Tunnel.

As previously raised, residents in Bexley are treated disadvantageously compared to residents in neighbouring boroughs. I am writing to you to set out these concerns in the hope they can be addressed by the TfL Board.

Given the location of Bexley and the total absence of any direct cross river-provision from this borough our concerns are:

• TfL offers discounts for use of the tunnels for small businesses based in the neighbouring boroughs of Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets. With no alternative method of crossing the river, except going out to the M25, businesses from Bexley have no option but to use the tunnels if they wish to serve customers north of the river. It is grossly unfair that these discounts do not apply to businesses based in Bexley.
• The uni-directional peak-hour surcharge on cross river journeys through the tunnel means that businesses and residents from Bexley travelling northbound in the morning peak and south in the evening will be paying hundreds of pounds more over the course of a year than someone who journey starts north of the river. This places a Bexley resident working north of the river at a significant financial disadvantage.
• None of the improved bus services, of which much is made in Andy Lord’s paper, offer direct services into Bexley.

I hope therefore that the TfL Board will recognise these concerns that the operational arrangements discriminate against the residents of Bexley who are particularly reliant on these crossings and that the TfL Board will ask the Commissioner to consider urgently:

• Extending the discounts available to small businesses based in Greenwich, Newham and Tower Hamlets to those in Bexley.
• Equalise the charges for changes for peak-hour river crossing to end the surcharge for those starting their journey from south of the river.
• Review the network of cross-river bus routes to offer residents of Bexley direct services to destinations north of the river.

I believe that these changes could be introduced relatively quickly. However, in the longer term there remains the need to provide improved cross river transport to and from Bexley. It remains my firm view that this needs to be addressed by further extending the DLR beyond the planned extension to Thamesmead into Bexley and by extending the Elizabeth Line east from Abbey Wood. In addition to offering more opportunities for existing residents, these improvements would enable much needed economic and housing development along the Thames in Bexley.

I look forward to hearing your response.

Yours sincerely

Cllr Baroness O’Neill of Bexley OBE

Leader, London Borough of Bexley