Westminster councillors call in the decision to dispose of public land

The decision by Westminster City Council (WCC) to allow the Garden Bridge Trust to privatise public property/land around Temple tube station for their corporate folly, has been called in today.
Although we had the support of WCC Labour councillors from the relevant committees who were able to call in the decision, we still needed one more vote – so it was down to WCC's Conservative councillors to step forward and help. One such councillor deserves this mention:
Cllr Brian Connell from Bayswater ward, displayed courage and integrity by approaching WCC's Conservative Group Leader Nickie Aiken after many Westminster constituents had contacted him with concerns about the privatisation of Temple's public land for the controversial Garden Bridge. Fortunately, Cllr Aiken supported his claim and the call in of WCC's Cabinet Member Report decision was announced this evening. Cllr Connell stated that he wants transparency and value for money where the matter is concerned - as we all do.
This will be discussed at a special Policy and Scrutiny Committee meeting to be held before the 17th January to examine the technical details contained within the report, and to ensure that WCC residents' views have been fully considered and as far as possible, addressed.
In the meantime, we would like to thank all those who lobbied their councillors and raised awareness of this highly contentious private development. TCOS will submit more evidence and analysis to support the call in and we shall be monitoring its progress, very carefully.