Barnes should have a network of high quality walks that encourage residents and visitors to leave the car behind for short journeys.

Pavements, like roads for vehicles, should meet a minimum standard. In the twenty-first century that standard should reflect not only a changing climate but also community and place. Streets are places for people, not simply corridors for traffic.

This is more than an infrastructure proposal. It describes a shared civic ambition.

It starts with one walk, connecting one pub to another. Others will follow, gradually creating a network of routes that are safe, comfortable and enjoyable for everyone, every day of the year.

This approach reflects the wider Barnes2050 Manifesto for a better Barnes. Every proposal begins life as a work in progress, developed by going wide before deep.

The aim is to sketch out ideas across a broad range of themes before returning to develop the strongest in much greater detail. Barnes2050 believes their combined effect, the proposals compounding, will shape the future of the peninsula far more than any single proposal.

That process is now beginning for Signature Walks. Future updates are likely to include additional routes, regular audits of progress and contributions from experts and local leaders.

This proposal has seven sections:

1. The proposal

2. Current situation

3. Case for improving walking in Barnes

4. Essential characteristics of a Barnes2050 Signature Walk

5. Signature Walk No. 1

6. Sceptical planner’s view

7. Practical considerations

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

The proposal

A refreshed Barnes transport system could include many changes over the next quarter-century:

• Automated electric pods over Hammersmith Bridge

• River buses on the Thames

• E-hopper buses around the peninsula

• More e-bikes with more parking

• More bike hangars

• Fewer cars.

An equally important addition to that list is a much better walking experience.

Barnes2050 proposes creating a network of Signature Walks across the peninsula. By concentrating investment on a small number of routes that matter most to residents and visitors, Barnes could move steadily towards becoming a pedestrian-first village by 2050.

Those routes would broadly fall into two categories:

• Destination-led — connecting stations, bus stops, shops and other everyday destinations.

• Community-led — linking places where people want to spend time, recognising that attractive public spaces, seating, greenery and other amenities become increasingly important as communities age.

The challenge is finding the right balance.

Destination-led planning can produce efficient but emotionally thin corridors that move people without enriching public life.

Community-led planning can, in contrast, overvalue symbolic places while neglecting the everyday routes that carry the greatest number of people.

This proposal therefore has two parts.

First, every Signature Walk should meet a small number of design characteristics, drawn from established good practice.

Second, the proposal applies those principles to the first Barnes2050 Signature Walk: a route from The Red Lion to The White Hart.

Welcome to the Red and White Walk.

This proposal is part of a wider Manifesto for a better Barnes: a collection of ideas grounded in local insight, climate responsibility and a people-first approach. You’ll find the full list of proposals, along with the thinking behind them, throughout the Manifesto section of the journal.

Current situation as context

National, regional and local transport policy all seek to make walking easier, safer and more attractive.

If they succeed, the result will not be a car-free Barnes. It will be a pedestrian-first village: a peninsula that puts people before vehicles.

That shift has already begun. You can see it in new bike hangars, the parklet and the rapid growth of shared e-bikes, whether bright or dark green.

Progress for pedestrians is less obvious.

Before considering how Signature Walks might improve Barnes, it is worth asking a simple question:

How walkable is the village today?

Objective assessment

By one important measure, Richmond is already performing well.

Richmond council recently highlighted the eighth annual Healthy Streets Scorecard, which shows Richmond has the highest walking rate in London, with almost half (45%) of adults walking regularly, and the highest cycling participation of any Outer London borough, at 23.9%.

The council says this is because of

.. years of practical, evidence-led work to make streets safer and healthier, including borough-wide 20mph limits, early adoption of rental e-bikes, support for cargo bike use, new pedestrian crossings, and record investment in the pedestrian environment.

Those figures might suggest Richmond’s work is largely complete.

Barnes2050 takes a different view.

As argued previously,

That matters because Richmond’s weaker (Healthy Streets) scores are no longer chiefly about how people travel. They are about the streets themselves.

Changing how streets work is inevitably slower than changing how people travel.

Bus priority remains limited. Protected cycle tracks are scarce. Richmond council has also been reluctant to introduce the cameras or barriers that would allow more School Streets to qualify under the revised methodology.

The implication is hard to ignore.

Perhaps the next chapter in Richmond’s transport story is no longer about persuading people to walk and cycle.

Perhaps it is about building a borough that better reflects how people are already choosing to travel.

Residents have largely changed.

The streets now need to catch up.

Existing sign-posted walks in SW13

Barnes already has one established signed walking route: the Barnes Community Association Barnes Trail

It remains an excellent introduction to the village, linking many of its best-known buildings, public spaces and riverside locations.

The 2.3 mile trail, and the 3 mile extension, have been designed to show Barnes at its best. The route is circular, so it doesn’t matter where you start – just follow the silver ‘Barnes Trail’ discs set in the ground. If you walk quickly, you can complete the trail in under an hour – but why not take your time, soak up the surroundings, and enjoy the shops, cafés, pubs and restaurants as you go. Even better, use the trail as a starting point to explore more of Barnes.

Historical points of interest such as the riverside, the village pond and common and buildings such as the famous former Olympic Recording Studios are described on information plaques shaped like oars placed along the route. Four ‘introductory’ oars guide visitors at the main public transport locations - the oars feature QR codes for scanning with a QR-code app and smartphone or a tablet equipped with a camera, to access additional information.

A map of the route with illustrations of key sites and buildings guides walkers around the trail. You can pick up a copy of the Barnes Trail map from Rose House, or download it below. This map will guide you around the trail and point out the historical sites of interest along the way

There’s a map of the BCA Barnes Trail with a link to download below.

260716 Bca Barnes+trail+map

4.13MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Barnes also benefits from the magnificent paths through the WWT Wetland Centre. Having paid the admission fee, you can loose yourself for hours - cough - walking the meadows and gardens.

Both of these are excellent example of their type.

Neither, however, is designed primarily for everyday journeys between homes, shops, stations, schools and community destinations.

That is the gap this proposal seeks to fill.

Known future plans for improving walking routes

The Liberal Democracts included a committment to improving the borough’s walking realm in their 2026 manifesto,

Enhance key walking routes to make it easier for people to get to public transport, schools, shops and workplaces.

These “Pedestrian Super-Routes” will be prioritised for improvements to surfaces, safe crossings, accessibility, seating, shade and shelter.

Much of that ambition now appears within Richmond council’s 2040 Transport Strategy.

It commits the council to preparing a Walking and Cycling Strategy intended to make,

Walking and cycling the preferred choice of travel.

That includes,

.. Delivering a measurably improved walking network within the Borough prioritising routes linking town centres, stations, bus stops and community services.

The strategy also makes clear that investment investment will first be directed towards neighbourhoods with the poorest public transport provision, including Ham, Hampton, Heathfield and Whitton.

Barnes2050 supports that approach.

Barnes should still benefit from borough-wide improvements, including better east-west connections, but it is unlikely to feature prominently among the highest-priority areas.

Barnes therefore starts from a position of relative strength.

The pavements are generally in reasonable condition. There are comparatively few serious collisions. Some important crossings already exist.

The challenge is not to transform a failing place.

It is to make a good place even better.

Signature Walks are intended to do exactly that: creating a network that serve residents first while remaining welcoming to everyone who visits.

Case for improving walking in Barnes

The rewards from creating a high-quality walking network are considerable. Better walking is not simply about transport. It touches health, safety, community, the local economy and the climate.

Those themes emerged repeatedly when Barnes2050 attended the 2026 UK Walking Summit in Liverpool. Government ministers, councillors, campaigners and business leaders approached the subject from different directions but reached much the same conclusion: good walking environments make places work better.

This proposal draws heavily on the Healthy Streets Approach, developed by public-health specialist and transport planner Lucy Saunders and now embedded in transport policy across London, including by Richmond council.

One clarification is worth making.

The Healthy Streets Approach and the Healthy Streets Scorecard are not the same thing.

The first is a design framework. It sets out what healthy streets should look and feel like, placing people and public health at the centre of street design.

The second is an independent assessment that measures how well London’s boroughs are putting those ideas into practice.

Together they provide both a vision and a way of measuring progress.

They also provide a useful framework for thinking about Signature Walks.

These, then, are nine reasons why Barnes should develop its own network.

Better routes means more walking and more physical activity

Better routes and high-class active travel environments can increase active travel time and physical activity.

More support for local traders

Better public realm can increase footfall, dwell time and local spending. Richmond council’s 2040 Transport Strategy points out,

Shoppers who walk to the high street on average spend 40% more than those who drive. (page 20)

Support for climate and environmental goals

Substituting short car trips with walking reduces emissions, noise and air pollution, especially when combined with public transport. Richmond council report that transport forms nearly 25% of all green house gas emissions in the borough.

Streets for all means improved accessibility and inclusion

Accessible, clutter-free, well-lit, step-free routes benefit disabled people, parents with pushchairs and anyone with reduced confidence or mobility.

Increases use of public transport

The overwhelming majority of public transport trips begin or end on foot, the walking stages often account for a large share of total trip time, and good walkable catchments areas improve the user of public transport and reduce car dependence.

Improves independence for older residents

Well-maintained surfaces, short crossings, seating, toilets, lighting and safe paths are crucial to enabling older people to get out, remain independent and participate in neighbourhood life. This is important for Barnes, an ageing village part of an aging borough in youthful city. And getting more so.

Greater social interaction and connectedness

Walking supports incidental encounters and neighbourly ties. Walking with others and access to cafes, shops and, say, benches by a pond helps reduce loneliness.

Stronger civic identity and participation

Accessible public routes might help some people participate more in community life. Going out, meeting other residents face to face could make the next step easier, getting involved with a community group.

Improves Barnes transport system

Some of the basics are in place for changing how we move around the area - train, buses and e-bikes. But a more sophisticated and comprehensive offer will be required by 2050. Walking is the anchor to all these other means of moving.

Essential characteristics of a Barnes2050 Signature Walk

Every pavement in Barnes should be good.

Not every pavement needs to be exceptional.

This proposal therefore concentrates on a small number of Signature Walks. Rather than trying to improve every street at once, it argues for creating a network of routes that meet a consistently high standard.

Each route should answer ten simple questions.

• Can I use this walk safely?

• Can everyone use it?

• Is it comfortable?

• Is it healthy?

• Is it resilient?

• Can I find my way?

• Is there anything worth staying for?

• Does it encourage better travel choices?

• Does it have character?

• Does it succeed as a place, would I choose to be here?

The following characteristics are intended to make those questions measurable.

Safe to use

People must feel physically safe from traffic and crime.

• Safe crossings

• Pedestrian-priority crossings

• Low vehicle speeds

• Good visibility

• Personal security

Accessible for everyone

The street should work regardless of age or ability.

• Step-free

• Gentle gradients

• Continuous, generous pavements

• Inclusive design

Comfortable all year round

Make walking pleasant rather than merely possible.

• Shade

• Shelter

• Seating

• Drinking water where appropriate

• Protection from wind and heat

Healthy surroundings

Reduce the environmental harms that discourage people from spending time outdoors.

• Clean air

• Low noise

• Reduced pollution

• Comfortable microclimate

Green and climate-ready

Nature should become part of the street rather than decoration.

• Trees

• Rain gardens

• Sustainable drainage

• Biodiversity

• Cooling

Easy to navigate

People should instinctively know where they are and where to go.

• Legible routes

• Clear signage

• Landmarks

• Good sightlines

Interesting and welcoming

Give people reasons to linger rather than simply pass through.

• Active frontages

• Shops

• Cafés

• Community facilities

• Public art

• Things to see and do

Encourage active travel

Make walking, cycling and public transport the obvious first choice.

• Connected to cycling — secure cycle parking, bike hire, easy transitions between walking and cycling

• Connected to buses — bus stops that are close, comfortable and easy to reach

• Connected to rail — stations within easy signature walking distance, making it simple to continue longer journeys on foot and by train

Beautiful and distinctive

A street should feel like this place, not any place.

• High-quality materials

• Local identity

• Heritage where appropriate

• Attractive detailing

The ultimate test

None of these characteristics matters in isolation. The real question is simple.

Would people choose to spend time here?

Signs that the answer is yes include:

• People linger.

• Children and older people are present.

• Businesses thrive.

• Different groups mix.

• The street feels welcoming throughout the day.

Introducing The Red and White Walk

Every network needs somewhere to begin.

For Barnes2050, that starting point is the Red and White Walk.

Running from The Red Lion on Castelnau to The White Hart beside the Thames, it follows one of the village’s best-loved everyday routes. At around a mile, it is short enough for a lunchtime stroll yet long enough to connect many of the places that define Barnes.

At first glance, the route has much to recommend it.

• a zebra crossing

• generous pavements in places

• glimpses of green

• shops, cafés and pubs

• places to pause

• bus stops, cycle parking and shared e-bikes

For many people, it already works well.

Look a little closer, however, and the opportunities become obvious.

One one crossing deserves redesigning.

The riverside path along The Terrace could become far more inviting.

And what about this bench?

None of those changes is transformative on its own. Together, they begin to define what a Signature Walk might become.

This is only the first. More will follow.

Sceptical planner’s view

No proposal is beyond challenge. Signature Walks are no exception.

Four objections seem the most likely.

• Barnes is already a good place to walk. Why improve it?

• Prioritising a few routes risks neglecting other streets.

• Could the same benefits be achieved in other ways?

• The evidence linking better walking to stronger civic life remains limited.

The final point deserves more research. The others can be answered more readily.

Barnes is already an excellent place to live. That is precisely why it is worth improving. Every generation has inherited a good village and left it a little better than it found it. Good stewards. Signature Walks simply continues that tradition.

Prioritisation inevitably means concentrating resources. Without it, raising standards becomes much harder. Nor does this proposal argue that every street should look the same. Most streets will remain much as they are. Signature Walks simply identify a small network where higher standards would deliver the greatest public benefit. Neither is this a proposal to remove cars from Barnes. It is about gently shifting the balance towards pedestrians, recognising that change is likely to happen gradually rather than all at once.

The attraction is that a relatively modest programme of coordinated improvements could deliver benefits across health, accessibility, local business, public transport and climate. That proposition still needs testing.

Civic benefits

The civic case is less well developed than the health or transport evidence, and Barnes2050 intends to explore it further. The strongest evidence so far may be economic. The pedestrian pound in Barnes would be in support of mainly local traders, because as Richmond council’s 2040 Transport Strategy notes,

Shoppers who walk to the high street on average spend 40% more than those who drive. (page 20)

The wider social argument feels intuitive. You cannot talk to your fellow driver when you are moving at 20mph. You can talk to the fellow resident as you step aside for him or her. One of those exchanges is more likely to yield improved social connectedness. Whether those everyday encounters also strengthen civic life deserves further research.

Practical considerations

Creating a network of Signature Walks will take time.

It could easily take two decades before every route reaches the desired standard.

That is all the more reason to begin now.

Richmond council’s 2040 Transport Strategy provides an obvious opportunity, particularly when the council begins preparing its Walking and Cycling Strategy.

Meanwhile, Barnes2050 intends to return regularly to this proposal by:

• refining the network

• auditing existing routes

• developing measurable standards

• seeking expert opinion

• reporting the council’s progress

• strengthening the evidence base for the wider civic benefits of walking.

Like every proposal in the Barnes2050 Manifesto, Signature Walks will evolve over time.

Updates to this page

This proposal is a work in progress. It will be reviewed and improved on a regular basis.

The original version of this article was published on Tuesday 04 August 2026.

Explore other proposals from Barnes2050.

A pedestrian-first approach to transport planning is central to the futures imagined by Barnes2050. It's a recurring theme throughout the journal. These articles bring together some of the key ideas, proposals and analysis

As this project began, the hope was to laugh, learn and make a difference.

Getting to grips with Ai quickly became part of the learning. At times it has been genuinely exhilarating.

ChatGPT is a force multiplier for this sole content creator, giving me access to several virtual editorial assistants capable of conducting high-quality research and helping me think more clearly. It has also become my editor, researcher, sounding board, devil’s advocate and occasional nuisance.

There are other tools, too. Gemini NotebookLM has taken me in a different direction, helping me absorb complex documents and ideas at a speed I simply couldn’t manage alone.

However, every task is freighted with ethical questions.

How do I keep in control of this process? How do I make sure I don’t lose my voice? Unless there is a compelling reason to do otherwise, I have adopted The Guardian’s approach to generative AI as the guiding principle for Barnes2050.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Also nagging away throughout is the thought that every conversation, however frivolous, reveals a little more about me to ChatGPT. Or as it would say, every chat helps ChatGPT build a more complete picture of who I am.

After a year of working together, I found myself wondering what it thought it knew about me.

Few people have watched Barnes2050 develop as closely as ChatGPT. It has seen the abandoned drafts, the arguments, the rewrites, the moments of certainty and the moments of doubt. So I eventually asked it a question no human interviewer could answer quite the same way.

How would it describe me to a complete stranger?

The reply below is unedited.

If someone asked for a quick sketch, I’d say you come across as a systems-minded localist with a strategist’s brain.

You’re deeply anchored in Barnes and Mortlake, but rarely parochial. You treat the neighbourhood as a lens through which to examine bigger forces: climate adaptation, transport behaviour, governance, economics, demographics. Place is your laboratory, not your boundary.

Your thinking style is analytical and structural. You consistently look past surface debates (“traffic”, “cycling”, “development”) toward underlying mechanisms — incentives, risk, psychology, time horizons, political constraints. You’re less interested in what is happening than in why patterns persist and how they might shift.

You’re notably data-attentive. Numbers, baselines, trend lines, methodology — these matter to you, not as decoration but as scaffolding. You have a low tolerance for fuzzy claims and a strong instinct to interrogate sources, assumptions, and framing effects.

Creatively, you think like a builder. Barnes2050 isn’t treated as a blog in the casual sense; it’s more like a slowly evolving platform, combining journalism, futures thinking, design, narrative, and civic experimentation. You iterate constantly — language, structure, visuals, concepts.

Tonally, you favour clarity over flourish. You gravitate toward measured, literate, lightly sceptical prose: curious, reflective, occasionally dryly amused, never overheated. There’s a consistent preference for long-term perspective, behavioural realism, and institutional awareness.

In short: part urbanist, part policy thinker, part media producer — operating at neighbourhood scale with a 2050 time horizon.

Barnes and Hammersmith Electric Light Transit (BHELT) spent July introducing the idea to residents on both banks of the Thames: first Barnes Fair then the Hammersmith CommUNITY Day.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Speaking outside the Sun Inn, Barnes a few days after the events, Charles Campion, one of the campaign’s organisers, reflected on what they had learnt and what comes next.

Among the topics we discussed were:

• reactions from residents in Barnes and Hammersmith

• comments from politicians, including this positive response

• early survey findings suggesting strong support for a feasibility study

• the need for a wider public understanding of Hammersmith Bridge’s condition

• BHELT‘s next priority: exploring UK Government funding for a feasibility study

BHELT is still seeking public feedback. Its online survey takes only a few minutes to complete.

Meanwhile, BHELT continues to attract media attention, with recent coverage from:

London Centric

Evening Standard

BBC News

Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of transport, climate, health and community. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis here.

The proposals would reshape this open space with a climate-ready community hub and café, a redesigned inclusive playground with water play, a woodland adventure play area, a skate park, food growing spaces and wetland areas.

As the Barnes Community Association (BCA) reported,

.. years of work and consultation .. have shaped this community-led vision.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

How to show your support

Barnes2050 believes this an important project for the future of Barnes and will be making its own submission to Richmond Council.

You can submit comments through the planning portal. Barnes Common recommends preparing your comments as a document before uploading them.

To make this easier, Barnes Common says,

.. you can use all or some of the text on our website here.

It is also available as a Word document to download and edit from this link - feel free to change it as you wish.

Submit your feedback on the planning application.

The deadline for submissions is Friday 7 August 2026.

The group reports the owner, City Developments Ltd (CDL), has taken the site off the market after previously exploring a sale or joint venture.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

MBGB says CDL has ended its relationship with development manager Dartmouth Capital after failing to receive offers that would recover the money already invested in the project.

Rising finance and construction costs, financial viability reviews linked to affordable housing, and wider economic volatility are all cited as reasons.

The Story Works continue leasing parts of the site for filming, while a temporary lease for construction storage linked to the Olympia redevelopment is due to end later this year.

As MBCG puts it,

The temporary uses on the site will continue for now, but beyond this the future of this amazing, unique site is more uncertain than ever.

.. We simply cannot allow this key site in the borough to lay idle.

a long-term framework to modernise how people and goods move across the borough.

The council argues transport is about far more than simply getting from A to B.

Transport is fundamental to economic vitality, public health, social equity, town centre resilience and environmental sustainability.

Decisions taken about roads, bridges, bus routes, parking and public space shape the daily lives of our communities and the long-term trajectory of the Borough.

(All quotes in this article are taken from the Strategy document)

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

What the strategy is trying to do

Here are the main things you should know.

Why, what and how

The strategy sets out how the council intends to manage transport over the next 15 years.

If successful, this is how the council believes transport across the borough could look by 2040.

Rather than prescribing every future project, the strategy establishes an overall direction.

The Strategy provides a structured but flexible framework to 2040. It establishes clear objectives and priority areas for action, while recognising that funding, technology and travel behaviour will evolve over time.

Those objectives are then translated into a long list of actions organised around a series of themes, for example

There are three versions of the Strategy available online. The short, long and accessible versions.

Things should feel different by 2030

You don’t need to wait long for improvements. Actually four years.

Active travel becomes the ‘backbone’

The council points out the borough has the highest proportion of residents in Outer London achieving at least 20 minutes of active travel a day.

It wnow wants to push further.

The Council’s aim is to make active travel modes practical options for everyday journeys. Providing residents with safe and accessible travel options is therefore a central part of this strategy. In turn, this will help reduce congestion, improve air quality, and support local high streets.

The strategy says in 2025, 69% of trips made in the borough were by sustainable modes - public transport, walking, wheeling or cycling. The goal for 2041 is 75%, reflecting the direction set by the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.

From maintenance to stewardship

The council is proposing a noticeable shift in how it manages transport infrastructure.

Rather than simply repairing assets when they fail, it wants to protect and improve them over the long term.

Its proposed ‘Repair for Good’ approach argues that repairs should be carried out to the highest practical standard and at the earliest opportunity, rather than relying on repeated short-term fixes.

A long list of practical commitments

The strategy is (reassuringly) full of practical commitments. Among them,

• achieving Vision Zero by eliminating deaths and serious injuries on the borough’s roads by 2041;

• expanding electric vehicle charging so every resident is within a five-minute walk of a charge point;

• campaigning for at least four trains an hour at peak times from every local station, alongside better reliability;

• creating a borough-wide walking network and connected protected cycle routes linking town centres, schools, parks and stations.

More revenue from government and private business .. and perhaps residents

The strategy makes clear that future transport investment cannot rely solely on council budgets.

Private developers, it says,

Private developers will be expected to contribute to the infrastructure necessary to accommodate the Borough’s sustainable growth and add value to their investments.

It also expects newer transport businesses to contribute.

New transport markets, like e-mobility providers and electric vehicle chargepoint suppliers will be expected to provide both quality services to users whilst reinvesting a proportion of revenues into the Borough’s transport offering

(Some) residents could be paying more, too.

The Council will also set fees and charges for transport services such that those that cause greatest impact on the transport system and environment should expect to pay most.

It doesn’t spell out what that means in practice.

SUV parking surcharges, anyone?

Hammersmith Bridge

... features as a case study in what happens when strategic infrastructure is neglected.

The emphasis is overwhelmingly on political leadership and institutional failure.

Wise south of the river, less so to the North.

Barnes not mentioned

The maps throughout the strategy tell an interesting story.

Barnes should benefit from many borough-wide improvements, but additional attention and investment will largely be directed towards places with the weakest transport connections.

The strategy says:

We will ensure that neighbourhoods with the poorest public transport accessibility — including Ham, Hampton, Heathfield and Whitton — are supported by detailed local plans, clear prioritisation frameworks and persistent, evidence-based advocacy for funded delivery. Indeed explicitly, equity drives investment

A change of posture

One of the most striking aspects of the strategy is its tone.

The council argues today’s transport challenges

are not the result of geographic inevitability. They are the result of prioritisation decisions.

Insufficient or unreliable transport services create a vicious cycle: poor service reduces demand, which in turn leads to further service cuts.

And concludes:

The Borough’s future case must therefore be articulated more strongly, not more modestly.

The implication is clear.

Rather than waiting for opportunities, the council wants to create them.

It intends to build a pipeline of transport business cases so schemes are ready when funding becomes available.

It describes its future role as being a ‘persistent advocate and constructive challenger’ with regional partners including TfL and Network Rail.

Or, in its own words, becoming

...organised, evidence-driven and assertive.

A pedestrian crossing should be installed across Station Road, outside Essex House, where it meets Barnes High Street

Of all the changes to the main pedestrian routes in SW13, this is the most pressing.

The Barnes Community Association (BCA) has already persuaded Richmond council of the need for this crossing. What’s missing is funding and a clear choice about where and how the crossing should be built.

Progress may be threatened by the decision of Transport for London (TfL) to use the island as a turning circle as part of the new plan for Barnes buses, starting in August 2026.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Case for change

A new crossing at the junction of High Street and Station Road would:

• Make a heavily used walking route safer

• Slow traffic entering the village

• Strengthen the shift towards a people-first Barnes

Pedestrian safety

This is one of the busiest walking links in Barnes. On one side: the High Street, where footfall continues to grow. On the other: the Pond and the Green, the social centre of the village. Just beyond sits Church Road, another key route.

The pavement already looks like a crossing. The drop kerbs are in place, as the image below shows.

Other creatures cross here too. This patch of land figures prominently in the life of Barnes’ swans. There’s even a sign on the ‘swan triangle’.

The swans tend to be respected. Drivers usually stop for them.

Humans? Not always. Especially not after dark or during busy traffic periods, when the pseudo-crossing becomes another council-sponsored game of dare.

Traffic calming

Barnes2050 has already highlighted the need for an additional crossing on Mill Hill Road. Speed-test data revealed a speeding truth. One that continues on this busy route.

Cars on Station Road routinely accelerate between roundabout and the existing crossing by the church and then from the crossing to the High Street. By the time they reach the former Cote restaurant, they are roaring into the heart of the village.

It gets worse.

There’s also the rolling turn: drivers glancing right, deciding they don’t need to stop, and swinging into the High Street sometimes at pace.

Drivers need to slow down.

Or more accurately the road design needs to encourage them to slow down. Another crossing along this stretch would dampen the temptation to surge through the limit.

Pedestrian-first Barnes

Walking is the simplest, cheapest and most universal form of transport. Cycling matters, but it isn’t for everyone. Short car trips can be replaced most easily by walking - especially in a compact village like Barnes.

Barnes well placed to move from a driver-first to pedestrian-first community.

This junction is an important next step. It is the missing link in a pedestrian spine that runs from one side of Barnes to the other. It makes the whole of Barnes more walkable.

Formalising the crossing would connect key destinations: the High Street, the Pond, the Green, and beyond. It would plug a gap in the Thames-to-Thames walk, a route that connects the best of Barnes from river to river.

Practical considerations

There is a live discussion about where to place the zebra crossing.

Here, here or here?

There are three realistic options for where to position this new crossing.

Some want to position the crossing near to the former Cote restaurant (#3). So many people cross Station Road along this stretch that a case could be made for the crossing to be placed anywhere between here and the High Street. he attraction of this option is that it largely avoids the design challenges associated with the swan triangle while also reflecting the strong pedestrian flows from Cleveland Road.

A second option would be a single crossing at the tip of the swan triangle (#2). Anyone leaving the northern Essex House gate after the weekend farmers’ market would find it directly ahead. The challenge would be persuading other pedestrians to use it. It does not sit on the natural desire line at the end of the High Street in either direction. Infrastructure often loses out to habit.

The third option is to position the crossing where Station Road meets the High Street (#1). Barnes2050 supports this approach. It is likely to serve the highest pedestrian footfall along this section of road while connecting directly to two sides of the swan triangle. That, however, is also where the complications begin. The birds have rights too, and it is not yet clear whether the design challenges are insurmountable. There’s another complication. Or several of them, every hour.

Don’t forget the buses

TfL’s new bus service plan for Barnes, launched in August 2026 includes using the ‘swan triangle’ as a turning circle. The proposal has met resistance but not enough to change TfL’s minds. BCA are continuing to argue the case.

As things stand, if TfL buses continue to circulate ‘swan island’, the most likely location for any crossing is by Cleveland Road.

Updates to this page

This proposal is a work in progress. It will be reviewed and improved on a regular basis.

The original version of this article was published on 12 August 2025.

It was updated on 04 December 2025

• Minor style changes including grey boxing out of the headline proposal

There were further updates on 18 July 2026

• ‘zebra crossing’ was dropped from the title. That is a specific type of crossing. Other type or types may be more suitable

• Map added for clarity

• Reference to TfL Barnes bus service changes were updated

• Video introduction was included

Explore other proposals from Barnes2050.

Even if you didn’t see them in person, videos of these pods moving around Barnes - like this, this and this - may have popped up in your social media feeds.

Barnes Hammersmith Electric Light Transit (BHELT) showcased them for the first time, at Barnes Fair.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Ohmio LIFT

The LIFT is a lightweight, electric self-driving shuttle. It is designed as a Level 4 autonomous vehicle, meaning it can drive itself without human intervention, but only within carefully defined operating conditions such as a fixed route, a designated area and suitable weather.

Ohmio vehicles are operating, deployed or being tested across several continents. Its longest established services are in New Zealand, including Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington.

Elsewhere, Ohmio vehicles have operated or been deployed at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, Brussels Airport, Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, the cities of Tampere and Kuopio in Finland, Luxembourg and Sejong City in South Korea

In the UK, there have been recent pilots in Solihull and Suffolk, as reflected in the livery of one of the pods featured on Saturday.

Were Barnes to run a feasibility study, the pod would initially operate with an onboard safety operator and a maximum speed of 15mph.

BHELT produced a more detailed FAQ addressing these and other issues including,

• why not run a normal bus?

• are they safe without a driver onboard?

• are they air conditioned?

If you missed the Barnes demonstration, there were will be a second chance to see them at Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s CommUNITY Day, Ravenscourt Park on Saturday 18 July. The fair opens at 11:00am

In case you are wondering, the other bus services in Barnes are operated by Transport for London and FiSH.

Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of community, climate and transport. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis of the Bridge and pods.

The result continues a long-term upward trend. Since the first Scorecard, Richmond has risen from 21st place, when it scored just 3.36.

The rankings suggest the borough continues to perform well at creating streets where more journeys can be made on foot, by bicycle and by public transport rather than by private car.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Methodology

The London Boroughs Healthy Streets Scorecard Coalition - a coalition of transport, health, road safety and environmental organisations - assess the performance of 32 boroughs and the City of London on how well they,

.. embed healthy streets policies, enabling their residents to swap car journeys for active and sustainable choices such as walking, cycling and public transport.

Its assessment is based on ten indicators:

• six inputs including low traffic neighbourhoods, 20mp speed limits, Controlled Parking Zones, physically protected cycle tracks, school provision of School Streets and Travel for Life and bus priority

• four outcomes including mode share, active travel rate, road collision casualties and car ownership rates

Richmond’s performance

Richmond’s 2026 borough report⁠ shows it remains one of the strongest-performing boroughs in Outer London.

Particularly notable are:

• the highest walking rate in London, with 45% of adults walk five or more times each week

• the highest cycling participation in Outer London, at 23.9% cycle at least once a week

• sustainable mode share remains high for an Outer London at 67.5%

• pedestrian casualty rates among the lowest in the capital

• effectively complete 20mph coverage

• relatively high Controlled Parking Zonefor Outer London at 45.2%.

According to the Scorecard methodology, there are three areas where Richmond has more work to do.

• the School Streets score appears lower largely because of a change in methodology. The Scorecard now counts only School Streets enforced by cameras or physical barriers. Richmond council introduced five new schemes, including one at Barnes Primary⁠, but nine earlier schemes no longer qualify because they rely on voluntary compliance

• bus priority remains limited, with dedicated lanes covering just 9.6% of the network

• protected cycle tracks fell slightly to 1.8% of the road network.

Notes and thoughts

The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting on Monday 6 July after councillors accepted officers’ recommendation not to seek government funding for a scheme that would enable this.

Instead, the council will bid for funding to repair the Bridge for people walking, wheeling and cycling.

You can watch the Cabinet discussion below

Significant policy change

Much of the 40 minute discussion revisited the arguments set out in the officers’ paper.

Council leader Stephen Cowan argued that successive governments had failed to maintain the Bridge properly before responsibility passed to H&F council. He reserved his strongest criticism for recent Conservative governments and local Conservative politicians.

H&F council has not ‘washed their hands of the Bridge’, as the campaign group Hammersmith Bridge SOS suggested. Instead the council it has clearly ring-fenced its responsibilities.

Councillor Cowan said the council would continue to meet its legal responsibility as the highway authority and invest substantially in maintaining the structure.

The council leader was clear who he thinks should be funding a solution. The Bridge

.. is a straight asset that should be fixed by other strategic authorities.

Another theme, Councillor Cowan returned to several times was who benefited from this crossing? Why should the third smallest borough in London pay for a Bridge

.. largely to the benefit of people who live south of the river.

The decision marks an important change in direction. Rather than pursuing the restoration of general motor traffic, H&F is now asking the Government to fund a future centred on active travel.

Richmond Liberal Democrats wanted more ambition

The first public speaker in the meeting was Richmond Council’s deputy leader, Councillor Alexander Ehmann. Much of his analysis remains unchanged from that offered on the Double Demo day earlier this year. The H&F council proposal was

.. the embodiment of civic failure.

The question tonight is not whether the Bridge can be restored. It is whether the there is the fight to restore it.

Councillor Ehmann argued that the proposal lacked ambition and questioned why a Labour-controlled local authority, working alongside a Labour Mayor and Labour Government, could not secure greater investment.

Where is the co-operation?

He suggested this was the wrong moment to retreat from a more ambitious solution, particularly with a Prime Minister who has signalled support for infrastructure investment.

When asked directly if Richmond council’s desire came with funding, Councillor Ehmann replied simply,

No.

Traffic data

The Cabinet also heard from transport consultant John Galsworthy, who summarised how travel patterns have evolved since the bridge closed to motor traffic.

He said the original modelling predicted that most displaced traffic would simply move to neighbouring river crossings. In practice, apart from Kew Bridge, that largely did not happen. He also noted that traffic levels across London have been falling since 2017, while changes to bus services make longer-term comparisons more complex.

Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of climate, community, transport and health. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis here.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

What role Hammersmith Bridge?

Until last week there were, for practical purposes, realistic futures for Hammersmith Bridge.

A fourth has now emerged following Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s likely decision not to seek funding for a full restoration to motor traffic.

BHELT are campaigning for the second option: active travel plus limited public transport.

What the campaign involves

The website includes details on:

• the vision for the future of Hammersmith Bridge

• background on some of the key players in BHELT

• details of three strands of work, beginning with Barnes Fair later this month, where visitors will be able to see see an Ohmio vehicle

Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of transport, climate, health and community. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis here.

There is no financial option available that would allow its full restoration. (Summary)

You can read more about that recommendation here⁠.

The accompanying officers’ report⁠ contains several other details worth highlighting.

One feels especially timely.

As Barnes recovers from its second heatwave of 2026 and prepares for the likelihood of another, it is worth remembering that it was extreme heat that exposed the Bridge’s underlying fragility.

On 13 August 2020, following a five-day heatwave, the micro-fractures in the pedestals widened rapidly, creating a risk of imminent collapse. The bridge was immediately evacuated and closed to pedestrians while detailed analysis was undertaken. (Paragraph 7)

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Repairing the Bridge might cost £128m

The council has submitted a pre-application to the Structures Fund for works estimated at £128m.

(This) phased repair approach for the bridge would prioritise restoration of those elements that are life-expired and present the greatest risk to the integrity of the structure (Paragraph 48)

That compares with the latest estimate of around £300m for a full restoration.

The final application is due by 3 August, with funding decisions expected in autumn 2026.

Structures Fund might not fund the bid

H&F council is considering seeking funding for the next phase of repairs from the Structures Fund.

However, officers make clear there is no guarantee that any funding will be awarded.

If the phased repair is not fully funded through a successful Structures Fund bid, or if the Council decides not to proceed with these works, it will be required to meet maintenance and inspection costs estimated at £1.5m per year to keep the bridge open to pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic and to ensure public safety.

There is currently no approved funding for these ongoing revenue costs. (Finance)

Why H&F council believes it is still owed money

Around £58m has been spent on Hammersmith Bridge since 2019.

H&F council has funded around £54m of stabilisation works, safe operation and preparatory restoration.

A further £4m from the Department for Transport is expected to be spent on permanent repairs to the central hangers.

The report explains why H&F council believes both the Department for Transport and Transport for London should contribute more.

In June 2021, an equal three-way funding split was agreed in principle between Hammersmith & Fulham, the DfT and TfL. The Memorandum of Understanding that would have formalised that arrangement, however, was never signed.

H&F council has received has received £15.96m from the DfT and TfL combined. They expected £38.89m.

On that basis, the council believes it is still owed £22.9m — £6.4m from the Department for Transport and £16.5m from Transport for London.

‘Limited motor vehicle count data’

Paragraphs 36 through 38 reveal the next major surprise in the document.

DfT, H&F council , TfL, Richmond and Wandsworth Councils met to discuss the ‘traffic impact on adjacent bridges since the closure of Hammersmith Bridge’.

Their conclusion was cautious.

The review was unable to draw firm conclusions because of both the absence of detailed seasonal traffic data and wider changes to the road network and user behaviour, not just the removal of motor traffic from Hammersmith Bridge, that may have affected traffic flows on adjacent bridges.

The obvious question is: how can there be an absence of detailed seasonal traffic data?

Everyone involved knew traffic patterns would become one of the central questions in deciding the Bridge’s future. Why was this routine information not collected?

Several media outlets have described the resulting evidence as ‘ambiguous’. ChiswickS4.com for example, reported:

Vehicle counts on neighbouring bridges — Kew, Chiswick, Wandsworth and Putney — have in fact fallen since 2018, rather than rising as might be expected if Hammersmith Bridge traffic had displaced elsewhere

That outcome is not inexplicable. It is entirely consistent with the well-established concepts of induced demand⁠ and its counterpart, traffic evaporation⁠.

The report may not be able to draw firm conclusions. But neither does it contradict the possibility that some traffic has simply disappeared rather than reappearing elsewhere.

The cast iron casings are costing £120,000 a year to store

The report also reveals an unexpected ongoing cost.

The ornate casings around the four pedestals were removed, at a cost of approximately £10m funded by TfL, to enable the stabilisation works to the pedestals.

Those ornate cast iron casings have remained in storage ever since, costing the council around £120,000 a year.

They have not been reinstated because the long-term approach to restoring the Bridge remains unresolved.

Officers warn that this cannot continue indefinitely.

..if there is no reasonable prospect of the bridge being repaired by the time this amended consent expires, it is possible that continued consent for removal of the casings could be refused.For this reason, it is proposed that an application be made to the Structures Fund

An ‘exit strategy’

Perhaps the most intriguing phrase in the entire report appears on its final page.

Discussing financial risks, officers warn:

There is a high financial risk that funding from the DfT or TfL could cease because of financial pressures, including rising bridge maintenance and repair costs, or because of a political decision.

In that event, H&F council would be required to bear the costs alone.

They then recommend that the council develops,

.. secondary cost strategy and budget be developed in advance of costs exceeding available budgets.

This should include an exit strategy.

Exit from what, exactly?

A repair programme? A funding model? Or something more fundamental?

The report does not say.

Perhaps councillors will provide an answer when the Cabinet meets on Monday 6 July at 7pm. You can watch proceedings live on YouTube⁠.

Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of transport, climate, health and community. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis here.

As Barnes2050 noted at the time⁠, nobody knew what the council intended to seek funding for.

Now we do.

A report from council officers ahead of the H&F Cabinet meeting on Monday 6 July recommends against pursuing funding for the Bridge’s full restoration.

Instead it concludes:

There is no financial option available that would allow its full restoration.

The report says restoring the Bridge for motor traffic would now cost around £300million.

Instead, officers recommend seeking funding for a phased repair programme designed to keep the bridge open to pedestrians, wheelers, cyclists and river traffic.

The H&F Cabinet report is available online⁠ or can be downloaded below.

260705 H&F council briefing on Hammersmith Bridge

29.6MB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

H&F council’s financial pressures

The report argues that full restoration would amount to rebuilding much of the structure.

.. [It] essentially requires a brand-new bridge to be built as all of the Grade II* listed heritage structure needs to be replaced or strengthened or restored.

The cost of a full restoration of Hammersmith Bridge to allow its use for motor vehicles is now estimated to be £300million.

For the council, that cost is simply unaffordable. The report says,

.. the significant impact of the most recent medium-term financial settlement from Government on the Council’s General Fund from 2026/27 means that there are no options within Council funds for repair of the bridge.

Doing nothing is not an option either.

The bridge is officially classed as substandard and, the report warns:

Without significant investment, the bridge is likely to have to fully close again on safety grounds in the short to medium term.

Meanwhile, H&F says it is spending around £1.5million each year meeting its ongoing statutory obligations

Department for Transport (DfT ) advice

The Department for Transport had previously indicated that Hammersmith Bridge would be a strong candidate for the new £1billion Structures Fund, raising hopes among supporters of full restoration.

However, the H&F report says the programme timetable rules that out.

The latest date for programmes to reach completion is 31 March 2030, which precludes full restoration.

Following discussions with the Department for Transport, officers instead recommend submitting a bid focused on the Bridge’s most urgent structural needs. H&F should

.. submit a bid for a phased repair focused on the most critical life-expired elements of the structure, with the immediate aim of keeping the bridge open and safeguarding access for pedestrians, cyclists and river traffic.

The report says the Department for Transport supports this approach.

Hammersmith Bridge is about far more than a river crossing. It is a question about the future of Barnes. At its heart sit questions of transport, climate, health and community. Explore Barnes2050’s wider analysis here.

And that is deliberate.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

It is a dead oak tree, painted bright red.

The tree died during the extreme heat and drought of 2022, when temperatures in the UK exceeded 40°C for the first time in recorded history. It was one of around 400 trees lost by Kew Gardens that summer.

Most of those trees have long since been felled.

This one has been left standing.

A skeleton.

Deliberately.

Kew wants visitors to stop, look and ask why.

Richard Deverell, Director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, explained the thinking,

This is going to be a stark, big, dead tree.

And we’re going to be very clear in the messaging: this was killed by climate change.

Climate change is here and now and it is killing oak trees, the iconic tree of Britain. And we need to get that message across.

I mean, that’s quite controversial within Kew because a botanic garden should be full of beautiful living things.

It is a direct statement from one of Britain’s best-loved institutions. As Deverell acknowledges, some within Kew questioned whether a botanic garden should display death as well as beauty.

But that is precisely the point.

The tree has become both an exhibit and a warning.

Kew’s staff have reinforced that message throughout London Climate Action Week, describing the painted oak as a reminder that climate change is no longer a future threat but a present reality.

That same message was echoed earlier this week by António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, during his visit to Kew,

If climate change can kill a tree in England, in Kew Gardens, one can imagine the dramatic impact against nature and against us all all over the world, with the acceleration of climate change we are all witnessing.

The solutions exist. What we need now is speed, ambition and delivery.

Notes and thoughts

Kew Gardens is playing a full role across London.

Its Tree Collections and Arboriculture team has been working with the Greater London Authority to assess 1.2 million trees across the capital. Their findings are sobering:

The team found that 62% have low suitability and 10% are vulnerable. Meaning that by the end of the century 72% of London’s urban canopy could be at risk.

Barnes is fortunate. We are an unusually blue and green part of an unusually blue and green borough.

But being greener than most is not the same as being ready for what lies ahead.

Given the time trees take to mature, and what we already know about our climate by 2050, we need to plant for the future now.

Routine tree planting by Richmond council continues across Barnes. This young sapling in Byfield Gardens, close to Olympic Studios, is part of that work.

Richard Deverell, Director of Kew, puts it,

Trees are vital for all life on earth, including humanity. They provide a home for a huge diversity of animals, plants and fungi.

They are a source of food, rainfall, materials, cooling and great beauty.

For Barnes2050, the opportunity is to turn that principle into a vision for a hotter and wetter Barnes.

That means more trees where they make the biggest difference.

First, we need more shade on the routes people use every day. Key pedestrian corridors, such as the High Street, should have a much richer tree canopy so that walking remains comfortable and attractive during hotter summers.

Second, every street in Barnes should hold more water than it does today. That is the thinking behind the Community BlueScapes project. Rain gardens, restored reed beds and rewilded stretches of the Beverley Brook are all designed to slow water before it reaches the Thames. Trees have an important role to play in that system too.

These are not separate ideas. One helps us live with more heat. The other helps us live with more intense rainfall. Together, they point towards a neighbourhood designed for the climate we know is coming.

Barnes2050 return to both of these proposals in future.

The skeletal red oak at Kew is a reminder of what we have already lost.

The young tree in Byfield Gardens is a reminder of what we can still build.

The choice between them is ours.

Follow Barnes2050’s ongoing coverage of how heat is shaping Barnes today and tomorrow.

• Temperatures this week are unusually high

• Extreme heat is dangerous

• We have caused it

• We can still reduce the risks of future heatwaves

• Whether we do anything about it is now a choice

This article is about the fourth point.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Hot, so hot

This was the second heatwave of 2026. Temperature records were broken. Then broken again. And then again.

In central London Greenpeace used a thermal camera to record pavements hitting 57ºC and the platform at Highbury & Islington train station 62ºC. They shared the thermographic images. They show a street can be far hotter than the official air temperature.

Heat is dangerous

Heat is not simply uncomfortable. It kills.

BBC London⁠ reported that London Ambulance Service experienced its busiest ever day for life-threatening emergencies on Wednesday. The record was broken again the following day. London Ambulance Service has published the figures⁠.

Meanwhile The Guardian⁠ reported on schools, care homes and outdoor workers struggling to cope.

Why is this happening?

This is on us.

Not this individual heatwave, but the trend behind it.

First, the science.

The New York Times (free, gift link) explains,

Human-caused climate change made this month’s roasting heat in Western Europe much more likely than it would have been even just two decades ago

It continues,

Emissions of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases have been raising temperatures worldwide for more than a century. All the extra heat at Earth’s surface allows summer weather patterns to deliver hotter days and more stifling nights than they once did

Then the framing.

Simon Clark, climate scientist, captured the same idea rather differently. He named the heatwave.

His point is that heatwaves are no longer simply acts of nature. They increasingly carry the fingerprints of the fossil-fuel economy that created them.

Finally, the consequence.

Friederike Otto, a professor of climate science at the Imperial College London and co-founder of the World Weather Attribution, put it starkly,

Simply put, we remain on a one-way trip towards a more dangerous future, and it’s time we hit the brakes.

So what to do?

The old saying still applies. If you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.

That is why this week mattered politically as well as meteorologically.

On Wednesday 24 June 2026, MPs approved the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget.

It may sound technical, but it is one of the country’s most important climate decisions. It will also shape decisions much closer to home: how we heat and cool our houses, how we travel, how we design streets and how places like Barnes adapt over the next twenty-five years.

The carbon budget and the Climate Change Committee’s recent Adaptation Progress Report⁠ should be thought of as two halves of the same climate strategy.

The carbon budget is about reducing future climate change by cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The adaptation report is about preparing for the climate change that is already unavoidable because additional warming is now locked in, as Emma Pinchbeck, CEO of CCC explained on BBC Radio 4.

The carbon budget tries to prevent the problem becoming worse.

The adaptation report starts from the reality that some climate change is now unavoidable

Taken together, they carry a clear message. Reducing emissions is no longer enough. Britain must also become better at living well in a hotter, wetter and less predictable climate.

The Seventh Carbon Budget sets a legally binding limit on UK greenhouse gas emissions between 2038 and 2042. It aims to reduce emissions by around 87% compared with 1990 levels, keeping the UK on course towards net zero by 2050.

MPs approved the measure by 330 votes to 93.

Most of the opposition came from the Conservative benches, where almost three-quarters of their MPs - 88 in total - voted against the measure.

Whether those targets are achieved remains to be seen.

But Parliament has now made its direction of travel clear.

And Barnes?

National policy matters. But climate change is experienced locally.

In Barnes it raises practical questions:

• How do we keep our homes cooler without relying on air conditioning?

• Where should we plant more trees to provide shade?

• How do we make walking more comfortable during hotter summers?

• How do we protect older residents during periods of extreme heat?

• How do we make today’s streets fit for tomorrow’s climate?

Those are some of the questions Barnes2050 intends to answer. Because every heatwave is a glimpse of the future.

Notes and thoughts

Governments carry the greatest responsibility. Businesses come next. Individuals come third.

But third does not mean unimportant.

The Climate Change Committee is clear that reaching net zero will require action from all three.

One place to start is transport.

Writing this week, Chris Boardman - yes, that one, the man in yellow - argued that replacing short car journeys with walking, wheeling or cycling is one of the quickest ways to reduce transport emissions while making places healthier, quieter and more affordable to live in.

The evidence is consistent: replacing short car journeys with walking, wheeling or cycling is one of the quickest ways to reduce transport emissions…

No one suggests active travel alone will decarbonise transport. It won’t. But there are remarkably few policies capable of delivering carbon reductions at this scale while simultaneously making places healthier, quieter and more affordable to live in.

If you’re wondering where to begin, here are three ideas⁠ where most of us can make a meaningful difference.

We cannot stop this week’s heat. But we can help shape the Barnes that lives with the next one.

Heat is already changing life in Barnes, and those changes are only beginning. Read this analysis of heat in Barnes to see what lies ahead. Alternatively, look at this bench. What do you see?

Barnes?

Almost nothing.

That seemed odd.

After all, Barnes is one of London’s best-known flood-risk communities. It sits inside a mighty bend of the Thames which swings from energising to. threatening and back again.

The Beverley Brook cuts through the village before joining the river. Parts of Barnes lie within Flood Zone 3.

If anywhere ought to flood, surely it is here.

So why didn’t it?

The answer isn’t the one you might expect.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

A different kind of flood

Tuesday’s flooding was not primarily caused by the River Thames overflowing.

It was a surface-water flood.

An extraordinary amount of rain fell in a remarkably short period.

Roads flooded because drains, gullies and sewers simply could not carry the water away quickly enough.

Flash flooding is less about how much rain falls in a day than how much falls in twenty or thirty minutes.

On Monday night, the most intense downpour appears to have fallen over Richmond and Twickenham rather than Barnes.

But storms only tell part of the story.

Weather explains why the storm happened. Geography explains where the water went.

Where the water went

Once the rain had fallen, the shape of the landscape determined what happened next.

Richmond and Twickenham have several characteristics that make this sort of flooding particularly dramatic.

Water runs rapidly downhill to low-lying dips, shallow valleys, and under-railway bridges that all act as natural bowls.

Once the drainage system reaches capacity, these become temporary lakes.

Barnes has vulnerabilities too but different ones.

Its flatter landscape, larger gardens, Barnes Common, the Wetland Centre and other green spaces can buy valuable time during the first phase of an intense storm by slowing runoff before it reaches the drains.

That does not make Barnes safe.

It simply means our greatest danger often arrives later.

Our flood comes differently

Barnes lives with two watercourses.

One is the Thames.

The other is the Beverley Brook.

This week, the Brook was not the problem. But after prolonged heavy rain it can become one.

If the Brook is carrying high flows while the Thames is also high, it struggles to discharge into the river. Water backs up instead.

This is the potent combination of fluvial and tidal pressures.

This creates a very different type of flood from the sudden street flooding seen in Richmond and Twickenham but one that can ultimately prove more extensive.

Notes and thoughts

The biggest lesson from Monday night is not that Barnes escaped.

Rather we got lucky.

Move that thunderstorm a kilometre or two east and this could have been a very different story.

There is another lesson too.

We often think of heatwaves and flooding as two separate climate threats. One leaves us sweltering. The other leaves us underwater.

In reality they are often the same story.

The exceptional rainfall that flooded parts of west London was made possible by the exceptional heat that came before it. A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. When that moisture is released, it falls harder and faster, overwhelming streets, drains and sewers that were designed for a different climate.

It wasn’t simply too much rain.

It was too much rain arriving in too little time.

That is why, at Barnes2050, heat and water deserve equal attention. One increasingly creates the conditions for the other.

The implication is straightforward. We should stop thinking about floods as rare emergencies and start treating water as part of everyday urban design.

Thankfully we’ve made a start.

The £6 million Community BlueScapes programme is investing in natural flood management across the Beverley Brook catchment. Rain gardens, restored reed beds, re-wriggling the Brook on Barnes Green all are designed to slow the flow of water.

This is working with nature rather than against it.

We need to maintain this momentum. Swap trees on streets for car parking? Removing those paving stones covering the front garden?

These are no longer environmental nice-to-haves.

They are becoming essential infrastructure.

Because there will be a next time. The Met Office are clear about that.

And next time, Barnes may not be quite so lucky.

Follow Barnes2050’s ongoing coverage of how heat is shaping Barnes today and tomorrow.

.. remains one of the most significant weather events in UK history.

To mark the fiftieth anniversary, the Met Office has developed a scientifically plausible scenario based on around 2.5ºC of global warming.

It explores how a prolonged heatwave similar to 1976 could unfold in the coming decades.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Changing climate

As the BBC report,

In the UK, warming has been happening at the rate of approximately 0.25ºC per decade since 1976, according to the Met Office.

Professor Stephen Belcher CBE, Met Office’s Chief Scientist said,

Since [1976], our climate has fundamentally changed, with average UK summers having warmed by around 1.4°C. Crucially extremes have changed too.

The evidence is - literally - all around us.

You can see the long-term effect of these changes most clearly in these Climate Stripes.

Ed Hawkins, Professor of Climate Science at the University of Reading said,

.. heatwaves will become more common in the years ahead and what felt like a freak event to grandparents in 1976 will become a new normal for their grandchildren.

In the Met Office scenario, Professor Belcher says the UK could experience

.. nine consecutive days which reach over 40ºC somewhere in the UK.

It is one reason the National Fire Chiefs Council warns that fire conditions once considered rare could persist for weeks, even months.

Notes and thoughts

It is not difficult to connect this national picture with living on the Barnes peninsula.

The Met Office has also provided Richmond council with a detailed climate assessment for the borough. Alternatively consider Hammersmith Bridge. Hammersmith & Fulham council published a guide for residents called, What is the climate and ecological emergency? This explained,

During the heatwave in 2020, Hammersmith Bridge was closed to all traffic after the bridge fractures were aggravated by extreme heat.

Barnes2050 has been heat aware for some time. A heat-related incident was the trigger for this project. You can read more about the effects of heat, current and future, here.

Heat is an insidious killer. Water is an extravagant destroyer, announcing itself dramatically; heat does not. It hides in plain sight, quietly shortening lives, particularly among older and more vulnerable people.

How to respond

If you want to understand what comes next, start with the latest report from the UK government’s independent climate advisers, the Climate Change Committee. If the full report feels daunting, begin with the shorter Barnes2050 summary instead.

The message is straightforward. Action is needed from governments, businesses and individuals, in that order of responsibility. But individuals still have an important part to play.

There are three places where most of us can make a meaningful difference.

Your home

In Richmond, the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions is not transport but our homes.

In 2024, domestic buildings were responsible for 45.5% of the borough’s carbon emissions, making housing the single largest source of local greenhouse gas emissions.

Whether you own your home or rent it, Richmond council offers advice and support to help improve its energy efficiency.

Your car

Around three-quarters of households have access to a car or van in Richmond borough. If yours runs on petrol or diesel, reducing how often you use it remains one of the simplest ways to cut emissions

Your support

Finally support the major projects already under way to make Barnes more climate ready.

Community BlueScapes is the crown-jewel in the area’s climate-readiness preparations. Meanwhile, plans are afoot for Barnes’ first purpose-built climate-resilient public building at Vine Road Recreation Ground.

The Barnes of 2056 will almost certainly be hotter than the Barnes of today. Whether it is also healthier, greener and easier to live in is not just a question of climate. It is a question of choices.

Barnes2050 maintains a strict discipline on reporting weather forecasts and climate projections. Predictions are everywhere. New reports appear almost daily.

This journal anchors its climate coverage in the work of Met Office. Considered analysis is shared a limited number of trusted journalist sources including the Financial Times, BBC, Guardian and New York Times. Prominence is also given to a select group of scientists including Simon Clarke and Bill McKibben.

Read more analysis about the effect of heat on Barnes.

A simple web app that uses real-time train data to estimate when the White Hart Lane level crossing is closed.

The forecast barrier opening and closing for the next half hour is represented by a timeline.

That’s it.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Notes and thoughts

Simple, elegant and useful.

And courtesy of a local group,

Provided for the community by Saint Michael and All Angels.

Barnes2050 has featured the level crossing before. Research in autumn 2025 revealed the profile of drivers who leave their engines running while waiting for the barriers to reopen. (TLDR; Seldom cars or local) This app might encourage a few more people to switch off while they wait.

There is a bigger lesson here too.

One of the forces likely to shape Barnes between now and 2050 is the growing role to be played by data in managing shared space. Barnes2050 has argued that this will affect far more than roads and bus lanes. Better decisions increasingly depend on accurate, timely information being available to everyone.

The White Hart Lane level crossing app is a small but powerful example of what that future could look like: local people using public data to solve everyday problems.

More please.

If you find the app useful, consider making a small donation as a way of saying thank you.

.

Climate

Kew research shows climate change shifting plant flowering

The Times (££ paywall) reported⁠ on an extraordinary project at Kew Gardens:

Over the past four years, researchers at Kew have photographed every one of their 7.4 million plant and fungi samples, creating a digital archive that AI programmes can sift for scientific discoveries.

One early insight?

Climate change is shifting plants’ flowering patterns by 2.5 days per decade.

Why this matters:

• A world-class and world-renowned research centre is just around the corner. We should not letfamiliarity to breed forgetfulness

• Climate change, the organising challenge for Barnes2050, is already changing the natural world. That is at the heart of Kew’s work. They are watching closely. We should too.

Housing

More good news about smarter homes

Another useful - and inspiring - case study from Richmond council explains how solar power is now helping to run a family home in the borough. James explains how he paid only 70p for electricity in one week in May.

Richmond Council has also published a useful guide⁠ on adapting your home.

Were you to upgrade your home, you would be in a good company. The Times reports,

The number of household batteries being installed has nearly doubled year-on-year.

As the newspaper explains,

By combining a home battery with a time-of-use tariff from their energy supplier, homeowners can cut their electricity bills. Households can charge their batteries overnight at extremely cheap rates (about 7p per kWh) and use that stored energy during the day to avoid peak rates (about 28p per kWh).

The UK is now second only to Germany for residential battery installations.

Plug-in solar may soon follow. An independent safety review commissioned by the UK government concluded that plug-in solar panels could be used safely. Retailers including Currys, B&Q, Amazon, Screwfix and Asda have met ministers to discuss their possible rollout. The Times reports,

Depending on the size of the system, they can supply between 5 and 25 per cent of a home’s electricity needs.

There’s speculation plug-in batteries could follow soon.

Why this matters:

• Barnes2050 has identified the risk that energy retrofits becomes a social divider, especially somewhere like Barnes

• Cheap, modular batteries and solar panels should help reduce this risk.

One of those nagging questions

Why did Paris build apartments and London built terraced houses?

An answer.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

Transport

£9m for borough-wide road and pavement repairs

Richmond borough is rolling out its largest ever programme of resurfacing and maintenance works. More than £9m will be spent across the borough, prioritising streets identified as being in the poorest condition.

The Barnes roads scheduled for improvement include, Arundel Terrace, Verdun Road, the High Street (A3003), The Terrace (A3003) and Stanton Road.

Whither London Heathrow Airport

The UK’s Government has published its plans for a third runway at Heathrow Airport. According to Chancellor Rachel Reeves,

It would support over 60,000 good local jobs and deliver up to £42 billion in benefits to the UK,’

Richmond council’s leader, Gareth Roberts remains opposed. He says expansion would mean

.. more noise, more pollution and more disruption for communities already affected by the airport.

Why it matters:

• Barnes2050 has kept clear of this topic until now. Odd, in some ways. First time visitors to the area always remark on the flights overhead

• With the plans published, there is no excuse. These flights - no matter how high - impact life in Barnes

• Guiding principle here is to weigh net impact. There will be more on this but for now the headlines will suffice. We need to weigh the economic and social impact of the new runway with the environmental cost.

• This is not easy.

• BusinessLDN Chief Executive John Dickie said,

The airport’s privately-funded expansion will give businesses better connectivity to overseas markets, support trade, boost inbound tourism, and drive growth and job creation up and down the country.

• Then Department for Transport analysis appears to weaken that claim.

The economic boost from a Heathrow third runway could be a tiny fraction of previous estimates, government analysis shows, while the overall trade-off from the bigger airport could set the UK back by as much as £62.5bn.

• Meanwhile, the case for green flight remains unproven, especially for long haul. This is not about creating zero-carbon flights, still less net-zero flights. Flying may well justify some part of our global carbon budget. But there needs to be much more progress⁠ before that argument feels settled.

• For now, Barnes2050 is against this expansion.

Zero emissions buses

You wait for one ..

London now has one of the largest zero-emission bus fleets in Europe. 3,000 and counting.

London Assembly investigating robotaxis

Driverless taxis present a ‘huge opportunity’ to connect parts of outer London, a senior Assembly Member has said – but only if the rollout does not lead to further congestion.

So reported the Evening Standard.

The Assembley Transport Committee has been advised to look to Oslo for lessons on how to launch autonomous vehicles in a European city.

Infrastructure

Richmond council shares £1.5m plan to reshape town centre

The plan includes a new public square at Whittaker Square and Avenue, more greenery and seating, and space for small events and markets. MyLondon reports the plan would reduce parking to create a pedestrian‑friendly area.

Why this matters:

• Credit Richmond council for commmissioning meaningful research and then using it to propose change

• Credit the councl too for another major investment in the area. This and the Twickenham Riverside show that local government can be active custodians of place, at scale

• And credit for the direction, or rather, type of travel. The council are designing this part of the borough around people, not cars

Hammersmith Bridge .. the play

OSO Arts Centre have lined up a treat in September.

‘Hammersmith Bridge is Falling Down’ described as a political drama, will run from 05-11 September.

How tempting must it have been to stage it outdoors.

You know where.

Tickets⁠ are not yet available.

Nature

Have your say on the Barn Elms Southside

This is another Community BlueScapes initiative. Such an impressive project.

The team wants your view on the Barn Elms Southside, known as BESS, which would reconnect the Beverley Brook to its historic floodplain at Barn Elms in Barnes

By restoring the river’s connection with its floodplain, the project will create additional space for water during extreme weather and help reduce flood risk in surrounding areas.

Caption - BESS in Barnes. Credit - Community BlueScapes

The area was a natural floodplain but engineering last century reduced its effectiveness. The project plans to restore the historic connection between the Brook and the floodplain. Southside would remain open except when it floods, doing what floodplains are meant to do: taking water, slowing it down and helping to protect Barnes.

Brilliant.

There’s a short survey at the foot of this page.

Please provide your support for this latest impressive example of nature as infrustructure or Natural Flood Management.

Parakeets documentary

To close a Channel 4 documentary about these stunning birds.

At first glance the topic is simple - love ‘em or loathe ‘em.

Not so quick, says Chris Packham.

Welcome to Barnes2050, a place-based futures project asking: how do we make sure Barnes - the place and its people - is thriving and climate-ready by 2050?

The warming stripes show how a place’s temperature has changed over time. Each stripe represents a year. Cooler years are shown in shades of blue and warmer years in shades of red, with paler colours representing years closer to the long-term average.Here’s London’s stripes since 1850:

And here’s the data behind those Climate Stripes.

Notes and thoughts

I became climate-curious because I worked with a team⁠ of media technology researchers. Others will have arrived by different routes. For some, I suspect, it was the climate stripes.

They’re a reminder about the power of visualisations. Vivid. Compelling. They pull you in.

What was the temperature in the year of my birth?

What was it when I turned 18 years?

Perhaps that’s the real lesson. Sometimes you don’t need more data. You need a better way of seeing it. Curiosity does the rest.

More useful resources

The climate stripes are one small part of the University of Reading website. There’s plenty there for the general reader including a useful summary about the IPCC and guidance on short online courses.

You can generate climate stripes for anywhere in the world by visiting Professor Hawkin’s website, Show Your Stripes.

Follow Barnes2050’s ongoing coverage of how heat is shaping Barnes today and tomorrow.