Change language
Actions
Displays
Remove from selection
Add to selection
Abstract

A woman has died after falling from Hornsey Lane Bridge – almost a year after plans for an anti-suicide fence aimed at preventing more deaths were approved.

The woman, in her 40s, died on Saturday lunchtime after the incident at what is known locally as “suicide bridge”.

Campaigners had breathed a sigh of relief at the end of last year when Islington and Haringey councils approved Transport for London (TfL)-led plans to erect a 3-metre fence to stop people jumping from the bridge after years of campaigning.

But the Tribune can reveal planners have had to go back to the drawing board after designs tested on the bridge were found to be unsuitable.

TfL had hoped to have the fence in place this summer but an initial design for the fence with horizontal wires was too easy to climb over, while a design with vertical wires was considered too imposing for the Victorian bridge.

Conservation societies have raised concerns about the visual impact on the Grade II-listed bridge.

A 40-year-old man was killed after falling in January and a woman in her 20s was talked down in June.

Sarah Cope, who launched the Hornsey Lane Bridge anti-suicide campaign in 2010, said: “We have had delays, delays and delays and so many more deaths than are necessary. There is no reason they shouldn’t be doing it and it is unfortunate they couldn’t agree on something that could work.

“Some say it will spoil the bridge, but how can you call it beautiful when it’s associated with awful deaths?”

Islington Hillrise ward councillor Dave Poyser, who lost his partner to suicide more than 30 years ago, said: “I fully understand it is difficult to get a design right, which respects the bridge while also stopping suicides, but every time there is a death we must realise there is a huge human cost to the delay.”

Haringey Highgate ward councillor Bob Hare, who has seen the test fences in place, said: “We are grateful to TfL for continuing to fund the work. It is a difficult job finding a solution for a difficult problem. We are trying to get it to work.”

Sam Monck, head of Borough Projects and Programmes, Surface Transport at TfL, said: “Our thoughts go to the friends and family of the person who lost their life in Archway. We are working with Islington and Haringey councils to create a safety measure at Hornsey Lane Bridge to help prevent suicide attempts while respecting the heritage features of the bridge. We are working on a suitable design which we hope will be granted approval by both councils later this year.”