HLG 159/2507

Greater London Council: alternative primary networks in Chiswick and the adjoining areas

Date range	1972
Location	National Archives (see all files stored here)
Catalogue	See entry
File base	Series HLG, subseries HLG 159

Context

As part of the Greater London Development Plan Inquiry, the GLC was asked to justify its road proposals in west London, and more specifically its decision to demolish large parts of Chiswick in order to build a whole range of motorways. The people of Chiswick were not overly pleased by this idea and the inquiry panel agreed that the GLC should be asked whether this really was a good idea.

This file contains the GLC's response in which their engineers explain the logic and reasoning behind their proposals - which essentially boils down to a poverty of options. There were almost no alternative route possibilities in this part of London and this is demonstrated by an extensive list of places that had to be avoided and a map showing all the sensitive locations that could not be used for roadbuilding, from Richmond Park, Kew Gardens and the meadows around Ham to Chiswick town centre, Barnes waterfront and Hogarth House.

The result seems to be that Chiswick was, by comparison, not interesting enough to save and - as seemingly the only part of this area of London that was not of special historic or cultural importance, it was the only place that you could dump a major series of motorway interchanges.

If you're looking for alternative primary networks in Chiswick, as the file title hints, you won't find them here - because, as the file explains, there aren't any.

People with camera copies

None known.