Conservatives Start Petition Against Weltje Road Plan

Say formal consultation should take place before any decision

H&F Council says it is concerned by the number of collisions involving cyclists at the junction with King Street

August 23, 2026

Chiswick councillors say they have now been formally told that Hammersmith & Fulham Council (LBHF) intends to impose new access restrictions on Weltje Road.

As a result they have started a petition against the proposal which would be brought in through an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO).

They describe the proposal as a “beggar-thy-neighbour” proposal: a camera-enforced ban preventing anyone other than LBHF residents from using Weltje Road to reach the eastbound A4. Weltje Road is the final remaining access point between Chiswick Lane and Hammersmith Broadway, and councillors warn that closing it to non-residents would push an estimated 2,000–2,500 vehicles a day onto Chiswick Lane — a road they say is already under strain from displaced traffic following the closure of Rivercourt Road and the long-running restrictions at Hammersmith Bridge. This assumes that nearly all the vehicles currently using Weltje Road would switch to Chiswick Lane.

Cllr Linden Grigg, who is coordinating the campaign, said the proposal would heap pressure on roads that are already at capacity. He criticised LBHF for failing to consult Hounslow Council before drawing up the scheme, despite the clear impact on Chiswick residents and Hounslow’s road network. “Weltje Road is an important access route onto the A4 that drivers in Chiswick have used for years,” he said. “Close it off and much of that traffic is dumped onto Chiswick Lane, a road that is already full to bursting.”

Cllr Grigg added that while some cyclists argue the junction has a poor safety record, closing the road is the wrong solution. “The answer to a dangerous junction is to redesign it so cyclists and drivers can use it safely together, not to slam the road shut and push the traffic onto somebody else’s streets.”

Cllr Vickram Grewal said the proposal fits a familiar pattern: “Close a road, watch the traffic pile up somewhere else, and call it progress. We saw it with Hammersmith Bridge, we saw it with Rivercourt Road, and now it’s happening again on Weltje Road.” He warned that each closure adds minutes to everyday journeys and increases pollution on already-busy streets.

Cllr Gabriella Giles, Chairman of Hammersmith and Chiswick Conservatives, said the scheme risks repeating the confusion seen in other camera-controlled zones. She pointed to examples on Hartington, Staveley and Rivercourt Roads, where drivers have found themselves facing unclear signage and making dangerous last-minute manoeuvres. “If the same restriction and the same signage are used southbound on Weltje Road, I would expect exactly the same panicked manoeuvres, at a junction that is already among the most dangerous for cyclists in London,” she said. “Far from making the junction safer, this scheme risks making it worse.”

The opposition councillors claim that no consultation has taken place with Hounslow Council so far and the borough did not respond to a request for comment on the matter. For an ETO the statutory consultees include organisations such as the emergency services but no neighbouring boroughs but it is considered good practice to inform local authorities that might be affected by any changes.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council says that no decision has been made at this point but that over 2,000 vehicles use the Weltje Road cut through of which it claims 90% are from outside the borough. It says residents have been asking for sometime for the restriction which they believe would make the road safer and less polluted.

Emer O’Neill and Nassos Mouzouropoulos support the restriction saying that the Weltje Road junction has been measured as the fifth most dangerous in London and that the Rivercourt Road restriction has been a success, reducing traffic in the area without displacing it elsewhere. In response to concerns about difficulty accessing the A4, they say that Hounslow Council should reopen one of the roads in Chiswick currently closed off, if this was their priority.

They say, "The case for an LTN on Weltje Road is based on exceptional circumstances: dangerous conditions, heavy pollution, and the wellbeing of schoolchildren and residents. Some may attempt to frame this as a political issue, but it is not. It is a matter of common sense, safety, and responsible urban planning."

There is not, however, a consensus among residents of the road. Hammersmith Conservative activist Tim Janman says he has gathered signatures from 44 Weltje Road residents opposing any restrictions.

The Conservative petition calls on LBHF to scrap the proposal and to carry out formal consultation with Hounslow Council and any other affected neighbouring boroughs before taking any decision.