Residents have long complained of unreliable lifts in the Greenwich foot tunnel

Plans to undertake a "full tunnel regeneration" of the Greenwich and Woolwich foot tunnels are in the pipeline, a south-east London council has said.

Greenwich Council's acting cabinet member for transport confirmed a plan to replace the often faulty lifts in the Greenwich tunnel had been agreed with Tower Hamlets Council.

The council jointly owns the Greenwich tunnel with Tower Hamlets and the Woolwich tunnel with Newham.

However, Greenwich Council has the responsibility for operating and managing both of the pedestrian river crossings.

The local authority has come under fire for its management of the tunnels, as frequent users have consistently complained about the lifts being out of action for extended periods of time.

Greenwich Council has previously said that bespoke parts to fix the lifts were hard to get hold of, which has led to delays in getting them operational again.

At a meeting this week, councillor Calum O'Byrne Mulligan confirmed that the authority would be leading the way in fully refurbishing the Greenwich foot tunnel and its lifts alongside its council partner north of the Thames. He said: "The week before last I had an incredibly productive meeting with Tower Hamlets, the cabinet member for transport and some of their senior officers, and I was very glad that they agreed we could proceed to the detailed design phase for full tunnel regeneration."


Plans for the Woolwich foot tunnel upgrades need to be agreed between Greenwich and Newham councils

O'Byrne Mulligan said the agreed master plan included replacing both the lifts with dual-shaft systems which would increase "reliability and serviceability". The plan also includes work to improve the lighting and heritage aspects of the century-old crossing, as well as encouraging wider usage of the tunnel. He said he was "incredibly glad" that Tower Hamlets had agreed the plan, and revealed he had requested a meeting with Newham Council to implement a similar strategy with the Woolwich foot tunnel.

O'Byrne Mulligan also confirmed the council had been working with the mayor's office to deliver "a co-ordinated approach for step-free travel that is reliable and fully accessible under the river for both Greenwich and Woolwich".

Campaigners from the residents' group Lifts Now said they remained unconvinced, noting that the Woolwich tunnel's north lift was still out of use and the south lift continued to be unreliable. The group said more than 1,800 people had signed its petition and that it would keep pressing for the crossings to be managed by Transport for London.