Conservative candidate, Mary Macleod, has criticised Labour Councillor, Ruth Cadbury, for failing to support the much needed footbridge at Chiswick Park Station.

Mary praised recent progress on the footbridge between Chiswick Park and Chiswick Park tube station following a meeting with Blackstone, the owners of the business park. Local residents have long called for the bridge to be built in order to alleviate the pressure on the severely overcrowded Gunnersbury Station.

Negotiations over the construction of the bridge have been reignited in recent weeks thanks to intervention from the Gunnersbury Station Action Team, chaired by Mary. At the meeting, Hounslow Council agreed to allow Blackstone, the owners of Chiswick Park to pay an annual fee for the maintenance of the bridge rather than one lump sum payment up front.

Meanwhile, the Labour Candidate for Brentford and Isleworth last month voted against the proposal to allocate funding towards the construction and maintenance of the footbridge in her position as Councillor.

Mary, who established the Gunnersbury Station Action Team in 2013, said:

“I am delighted to hear that at long last the Local Authority has been able to come to an agreement with the owners of Chiswick Park. More progress has been made in the last few months over the footbridge than in the last decade. Although Gunnersbury Station itself needs a serious overhaul, the bridge is vital step towards ensuring Chiswick residents are serviced by the safe and efficient transport links that they deserve. My opponent’s attempts to deny this project funding shows a clear lack of understanding of the needs of local people.”