The Sun and the Daily Mail have discovered East Putney’s railway bridges – and landed on exactly the joke Putney.news readers made two months ago: the IKEA bridge.
Both papers ran near-identical stories on 19 July about the blue-and-yellow paintwork on the two railway bridges either side of East Putney station, complete with residents comparing the colours to the Swedish furniture giant.
Wandsworth Council spent £600,000 repainting the bridges, cleaning them up by removing decades of built-up grime, and pigeon-proofing the metalwork. The job finished in May, under the previous Labour administration, and former Labour East Putney councillor Finna Ayres is getting the blame for the minion-style makeover.
For those who would prefer a return to more muted colours, they may have a supporter in Conservative ward councillor George Crivelli, currently cabinet member for children, who told the papers he thinks the colours are “a bit too bright” and he wishes residents had been consulted – although we note he hasn’t offered to consult residents himself.
Those looking for a swift resolution to the highlighter yellow situation may be disappointed: rather than advocate for a repaint, Cllr Crivelli predicted the bridges would fade over time.
What went up wasn’t quite the original 2016 promise when the idea was artwork similar to Balham station’s bronze relief sculptures depicting local scenes, commissioned by the council and installed in 1991. But the clean-up job did at least cap eight years of delay.
None of that is new to our readers. We put the question to you in our own poll in May, and the results have aged uncannily well. 245 of you answered. The top response, at 35%, was “I’m filing a complaint.” A quarter of you saw the Ukrainian flag (accurate if you stand on your head – it is upside down). Fifteen per cent loved the IKEA look outright. Eight brave souls saw a very happy minion.
So what should happen to East Putney’s bridges now? Cast your vote below, this time with a few more options than “filing a complaint.”
East Putney Station needs lifts in order to make it accessible to disabled and to people with buggies. It is another example of misappropriation of public funds.