Two of the last parking spaces near a GP practice in Putney have been painted over for cycle-hire and e-scooter bays — and Transport for London has refused to give them back.
The spaces were in a lay-by on Upper Richmond Road, opposite the florist F for Flower, on the same side of the road as the Heathbridge Practice at 125 Upper Richmond Road. The change happened last week, and was first reported on 6 November.
Patients visiting the practice now have only four parking bays on the same side of the road, with all the others across a busy red route. The bays on the south side fill up quickly and are rarely available, according to Putney.news.
It matters because many patients cannot use the practice’s own parking. The courtyard is blocked by a barrier, and the spaces out front are reserved for doctors. The only crossing between the Putney High Street junction and the signal crossing by Little Waitrose is a narrow traffic island opposite Monies coffee shop and the busy junction with Oxford Road — a hard crossing for older patients.
TfL has stood by the change. In a statement, it said: “We recognise the importance of ensuring that residents and businesses can access the places they need to go, and we carefully consider a range of factors when identifying locations for these bays, including the availability of other parking in the local area.”
It added: “We will continue to monitor the impact of these bays, working closely with the council to ensure the road network continues to work for everyone who uses it.”
TfL told Putney.news there were “a number of alternative parking bays nearby for drivers, including disabled parking and loading” — about 12 disabled parking spaces between Putney High Street and Carlton Drive, seven of them shared with loading, two loading bays, and 12 parking spaces for all vehicles, plus five council-run spaces on Oxford Road, which runs off Upper Richmond Road. It did not say where the 12 spaces it cites are located.
TfL said it had given notice of the change through “targeted communications, including letters delivered to properties and businesses located close to the proposed bay location.”
Cllr Nick Austin, Wandsworth’s Cabinet Member for Transport, has told residents the road is TfL’s, that he first heard of the change from a post in a local WhatsApp group, and that he is lobbying TfL to reverse it.
Marios Zikas, who runs F for Flower directly across the road, said he had no warning. “From our perspective, the change happened overnight,” he said.
Leonie Cooper, the London Assembly Member for Merton and Wandsworth, has taken the matter up with TfL after residents wrote to her.
Putney.news also reports that TfL published a notice in December, with the consultation running for four weeks over Christmas and closing on 5 January. The same notice cut a 21-metre parking bay outside Nos. 83 to 99, further along the same side of the road, for a second bike bay.
Parking near the practice was already scarce. Drivers had previously used the plaza to the Carlton Plaza flats until residents complained, and Toolstation next door put up signs asking people not to park there. The lay-by was one of the few places left on that side where anyone could stop for an hour — and the red route sign beside the bay still offers an hour’s parking, Monday to Saturday, 7am to 7pm.
TfL’s own hire-bike docking station about 200 metres away takes up kerb space equivalent to about six parking spaces, according to the report. TfL’s own internal classification for the spaces is said to call them the “Heathbridge Practice Parking Bays.”
Residents who want to object can write to TfL’s Traffic Order Team, quoting reference GLA/2026/0020.
Putney has seen its share of local disputes over street space in recent years. A 1912 photograph of a Putney football team recently resurfaced with the stories of the players who went on to fight in the First World War. Meanwhile, four MPs have written to the Mayor calling for more school bus services in Sutton after TfL said it had no plans to restore a cut route.
