London garden bridge project in jeopardy amid funding row
24 Sep 2015
Lambeth Council have taken a brave step back from the Garden Bridge project as the facts have gradually unravelled in front of them and they don’t like what they see. The leader of the council Lib Peck has written that “serious question marks remain about financing of the scheme. It is also becoming clear that future mayoral support for this scheme is weakening.”
The chairman of the Garden Bridge Trust, wealthy banker Mervyn Davies, is apparently appalled by the ‘sudden u-turn’ after being “so far down the road on fundraising and planning” but this highlights the arrogance of a man who thinks he has the right to play with public money. And it’s not a u-turn at all; it’s simply common sense prevailing.
Not even half of the 46 planning conditions have been met or discharged before construction can begin, yet the Garden Bridge Trust have swallowed up public funds by ploughing ahead with preliminary drilling into the Thames and splashing out on massive PR events including a fundraising dinner at Harrods.
Ex-Heatherwick Studios PR employee Bee Emmott, who is now the Director of the Garden Bridge Trust, was quick to protest and confirm that they had used up much of the public funds from TfL over the past couple of years, something that the Garden Bridge Trust has avoided admitting to, until now.
We would like to point out to them that they had better stop wasting even more millions of pounds of public money before they end up on the top of the pile of the most loathed and unwanted projects in London; however A Folly For London has demonstrated that they are probably already there: http://www.afollyforlondon.co.uk/
The Guardian reports in more detail here http://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2015/sep/24/london-garden-bridge-project-in-jeopardy-amid-funding-row
CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE GARDEN BRIDGE
We are dedicated to saving public space on the South Bank and over the River Thames. The controversial Garden Bridge is not needed here, it would destroy protected views and is democratically and environmentally damaging. Help us stop this now.
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12/6/19 Garden Bridge failure should be likened to Kids Company scandal, MPs told
17/3/19 Minister: it’s ‘unfortunate’ we spent £43m on Garden Bridge
13/2/19 Garden bridge charity spent £53.5m with no construction, TfL finds
12/12/18 Garden Bridge Trust claims £5m of public money for wind-up costs
31/7/18 Garden Bridge backers 'may have breached legal duties'
31/7/18 Garden Bridge trustees may have ‘breached their legal duties’ says QC
01/03/18 Boris Johnson defends garden bridge plan that will cost public £46m
01/03/18 Boris Johnson blames Garden Bridge project blunders on successor
28/02/18 Boris Johnson could face investigation over Thames garden bridge
14/8/17 London's Garden Bridge project officially abandoned
14/8/17 London's Garden Bridge project scrapped
6/7/17 Soothing the Garden Bridge’s troubled waters
22/6/17 Standards commissioner examines complaint against Garden Bridge review
11/5/17 Good riddance to the Garden Bridge: an eye-watering waste of public funds by Walter Menteth
29/4/17 Lumley fights on for her fabulous bridge
28/4/17 The garden bridge is dead – now £37m of public money must be repaid
28/4/17 Garden Bridge: London mayor Sadiq Khan withdraws support
16/4/17 Garden bridge project is a landmark of the post-truth era
15/4/17 A garden bridge to nowhere
7/4/17 Garden Bridge should be scrapped, Hodge review finds
27/3/17 Garden Bridge could cost £22 million more than forecast
10/3/17 MP warns mayor over Garden Bridge’s cost to taxpayer
28/2/17 Garden Bridge Trust cleared of financial irregularities
23/2/17 Top criminal QC raises ‘serious concerns’ over Garden Bridge contest
9/2/17 London garden bridge case weaker now than in 2014, says Treasury official
8/2/17 Garden Bridge: all-party pressure on Sadiq not to sign guarantee
15/1/17 Let’s not be led any further up the garden bridge
11/01/17 London garden bridge project's future is in doubt, say trustees
5/01/17 "If 2016 was the Year of Bullshit, then the Garden Bridge could be its monument”
27/12/16 Garden bridge charity warns more delays could terminate project
16/12/16 MPs investigating Garden Bridge question need for scheme
14/12/16 Letter from PAC chair Meg Hillier to Treasury Permanent Secretary
9/11/16 TCOS response to the GBT's misleading autumn newsletter
16/10/16 Controversial garden bridge to cost public total of £50m – even if it fails to go ahead
11/10/16 Mayor must refuse to sign the Garden Bridge maintenance guarantee: statement on NAO report
11/10/16 David Cameron 'ignored civil servants over Garden Bridge funding'
11/10/16 Department for Transport ignored official advice not to risk public money on Garden Bridge
22/9/16 London’s garden bridge would benefit only the rich
22/9/16 Dame Margaret Hodge MP to conduct review into Garden Bridge project
7/9/16 Garden Bridge Adjournment Debate in the House of Commons led by Kate Hoey MP
17/8/16 £22m gap in Garden Bridge funds - Newsnight investigation
5/8/16 Thames garden bridge delays raise risk of major boat collision – expert
29/7/16 Garden bridge charity delays publishing annual accounts for five months
25/7/16 Garden Bridge: Tough questions for £175m Thames project
24/7/16 HS2 and the garden bridge are vanity projects – it's not too late to scrap both
21/7/16 Garden bridge may need taxpayer bailout once built, report says
11/7/16 Sadiq Halts Work On Garden Bridge
30/6/16 National Audit Office investigates London garden bridge grant
19/5/16 London's garden bridge: visitors urged to donate on Thames crossing
21/4/16 Boris Johnson accused of misleading politicians over garden bridge
17/4/16 Why did Sadiq Khan change his mind over the Garden Bridge? He's fallen for the sunk costs fallacy
14/4/16 Council consultation row over Garden Bridge
5/4/16 Lambeth’s Garden Bridge decision to face scrutiny
1/4/16 Joanna Lumley proposes Thames ‘Allotment Ferry’
1/4/16 Giant Boris Gnome planned for Garden Bridge
24/3/16 Architects and critics in last-minute plea to stop Garden Bridge
18/3/16 London's Boris Johnson 'chided' over Garden Bridge design contract
9/3/16 Toilets and terrorism: Lambeth approves Garden Bridge plans
7/3/16: Garden Bridge: London council allegedly threatened over Thames project - by Peter Walker
7/3/16 Taking the piss out on the Garden Bridge - by George Turner
6/3/16 Thames garden bridge faces last-ditch challenge from local politicians - by Peter Walker
3/3/16 Lambeth could take Garden Bridge decision behiind closed doors - by James Hatts
1/3/16 Caroline Pidgeon pledges total opposition to the Garden Bridge - by Caroline Pidgeon
February 2016 ‘Thames Garden Bridge Procurement issues’ Walter Menteth, Project Compass CIC.
24/2/16 "On Bullshit" & the Garden Bridge - by Dan Anderson
14/2/16 Garden bridge: a project promoted and sold with half‑truths, deceptions and evasions - by Rowan Moore.
14/2/16 You've had your fun - let's put the Garden Bridge to bed now - by Rachel Holdsworth
10/2/16 London Green party call halt to privatisation of public space in London - by Sian Berry
10/2/16 Is it still possible to stop the Garden Bridge? - by Will Wiles.
9/2/16 Garden Bridge procurement statement from RIBA - Jane Duncan
31/1/16 Muddy Waters - Jobs for the boys - by Walter Menteth
29/1/16 The Garden Bridge subverts the lessons of history - by Dan Anderson
20/1/16 Boris Johnson evades Tom Copley AM's questions about the Garden Bridge
20/1/16 Londoners' money put at risk by the Garden Bridge - by Will Hurst
17/1/16 George Osborne under attack overGarden Bridge cash pledge - by Mark Townsend
21/11/15 Why we must stop Thomas Heatherwick's Garden Bridge - by Jack Wakefield
17 Sept 2015. GLA Oversight Committee Agenda Item 8, p71-72. Walter Menteth Report submission to the GLA Oversight Committee to inform their examination into the procurement of the design and technical services for the Thames Garden Bridge. Document review, analysis, report & response to GLA questions by Walter Menteth of Project Compass CIC as expert witness on behalf of industry. 34p.