London’s fifth cycling fatality of 2015 was designer overseeing renovations at Windsor Castle

The identity of the cyclist killed in a collision with a tipper truck in London on Thursday morning has been confirmed as 55-year-old designer, Moira Gemmill, reports the London Evening Standard. A major figure in the London arts world, Gemmill had been selected by the Queen to lead the renovations of Windsor Castle.

Gemmill was killed following a collision with a tipper truck near Lambeth Bridge in central London. She is thought to have been cycling to work at St James’s Palace when the incident took place.

Gemmill had recently joined the Royal Collection Trust as director of capital programmes, working on both Windsor Castle and Holyrood Palace in Edinburgh. She had previously worked as director of design at the Victoria and Albert Museum. The museum’s director, Martin Roth, commented:

"During her 13-year career at the V&A as the Director of Design before leaving for the Royal Collection in January this year, she made an extraordinary impact in transforming the Museum’s galleries and facilities with the FuturePlan programme of restoration, refurbishment and redesign.

"I cannot overstate Moira’s remarkable contribution in making the V&A the global leader in museum design that it is today. She will be greatly missed and our thoughts are with her family at this very sad time.”

The collision took place at the junction of Lambeth Bridge and Millbank, a spot which campaigners have described as ‘notorious’.

Rosie Downes, Campaigns Manager at London Cycling Campaign, said:

“We are devastated to hear of yet another fatality on our roads. This death took place at a notorious danger spot – campaigners have long called for the urgent redesign of this junction. That proposals to do so were abandoned after consultation will bring no comfort to this woman’s family.”

London Cycling Campaign said that in 2012 they ran a workshop with Transport for London (TfL) together with experts from the Dutch Cycling Embassy. They recommended that the roundabout be redesigned with kerb build-outs to slow motor vehicles and with a shared space system to allow cyclists more room.

A Westminster City Council spokesman said:  

“The council felt that the proposed TfL scheme would have made the junctions unsafe for motorcyclists, and included no safety measures for pedestrians.

“We asked Transport for London to engage with all road users and put together a revised scheme for everyone to agree, as we always have to find a balance for all road users. As far as we are aware this has yet to be done.”