From:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...-garden-bridge
Extract:
The future of London’s proposed garden bridge has been called into further
question after the city’s new mayor, Sadiq Khan, halted preparatory work on
the structure over fears this could involve more public money being spent.
Khan officially backs the plan for the 367-metre tree- and plant-filled
bridge, but only on the condition that no more public funding is made
available for its construction. So far, £60m of public money has been
committed to the £175m structure.
Part of the initial work has involved London Underground strengthening the
structure of Temple tube station by the Thames so the north end of the
bridge could sit on top of it. Transport for London’s (TfL) finance and
policy committee had been due on Friday to formally approve £3m in extra
spending on this, but Khan has ordered a halt so the funding can be
examined by the committee, according to the Architects’ Journal.
It comes just over a week after the National Audit Office announced it was
investigating another element of the public funding for the bridge – the
£30m of £60m given by the Department for Transport. Separately, the Charity
Commission is looking into the spending of the Garden Bridge Trust, which
is behind the project.
The trust was due to repay the £3m for the work at Temple tube, so it is
possible the work will begin again. However, Khan’s decision both risks
delaying completion of a project due to open in 2018, and illustrates how
less sympathetic the new mayor is to the Thomas Heatherwick-designed bridge
than his predecessor, Boris Johnson.
.... Continues