Member Article

Sadiq Khan gives Garden Bridge the nod despite transparency misgivings

One of London’s most controversial developments, the Garden Bridge, has been given the greenlight by Sadiq Khan despite concerns about transparency in the planning process.

The new Mayor has signalled his backing for the project today, but has attached a number of conditions to ensure that the new bridge over the River Thames will be a ‘genuinely public and open space for all Londoners’.

There had been speculation that Khan would nix the project after labelling it another one of ‘Boris Johnson’s white elephants’, with accusations that the former Mayor used his influence in a supposedly ‘open’ design competition to secure a victory for designers Thomas Heatherwick.

However, Khan has now given the nod for the £175m project providing certain conditions are met. These include:

• The Bridge to be closed for fewer days each year for private fundraising events – the current plans are for 12 closures a year.
• The Bridge to be closed for fewer hours each time it has to close for fundraising events, so that the Bridge can still be used in the morning and evenings – the current plans are for it to be closed from midnight to midnight
• A guarantee that children at local schools on either side of the river will get to visit the Garden Bridge and be involved in planting and maintenance, with a rolling programme of events for local school children.
• The Garden Bridge Trust to build a strong working relationship with all of London’s parks, so that seeds and plants grown on the Garden Bridge can then be re-planted in parks across the capital; ensuring it has a positive benefit for all Londoners.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “I expect the Garden Bridge Trust to ensure that the Bridge be closed fewer days each year for private fundraising events and fewer hours when they do. I also want a guarantee that an ongoing programme of visits will be laid on for local school children.

Making reference to the earlier controversy, Khan added: “The early days of this project clearly fell short of our expectations on transparency. I am determined to run the most open and transparent administration London has ever seen.

“I will let the sunshine in, which is why we are today publishing the previously undisclosed full business plan for the Garden Bridge alongside a list of its funders.”

Commenting on the news, a spokesman for the Garden Bridge Trust, the private owners who will build and maintain the bridge, said: “We welcome the Mayor’s support and look forward to working with him and his team to make the beautiful Garden Bridge happen and deliver its many benefits to millions of Londoners and visitors to the city.

“We share the Mayor’s desire to have the Bridge open to everyone for as long as possible. Balancing this and the need to raise the required private funds to operate the Bridge is important.”