Garden Bridge across the River Thames in London, Crossing Project, Lambeth, Design Proposal
Garden Bridge across the River Thames
Trust Scraps Pedestrian Crossing in London, England, UK: Probe News – design by Thomas Heatherwick
18 + 15 Nov 2018
London Garden Bridge Investigation
Probe by London Assembly into the Garden Bridge
The Greater London Authority (GLA) is to investigate the £200m Garden Bridge project. The scrapped proposal was promoted under former London Mayor Boris Johnson.
The design was by Thomas Heatherwick.
The GLA has set up a cross-party working group to scrutinise decisions taken by the Garden Bridge Trust and Transport for London (TfL), which sponsored the project.
The abandoned project cost £46m to the taxpayers. The working group will be chaired by Labour London Assembly member Tom Copley.
14 Aug 2017
London Garden Bridge Officially Dead
The Garden Bridge Trust Abandon London Garden Bridge!
The Thames garden bridge plan has finally been scrapped after £37m of public money was spent on a project the London Mayor Sadiq Khan said had no realistic chance of being completed, report The Guardian.
The Garden Bridge Trust said it could no longer proceed with the bridge without the support of Sadiq Khan, who responded by saying Londoners should be “very angry” that so much cash had gone towards a scheme critics have dubbed a “vanity project” his Tory predecessor, Boris Johnson.
“It’s my duty to ensure taxpayers’ money is spent responsibly,” Khan said. “I have been clear since before I became mayor that no more London taxpayers’ money should be spent on this project, and when I took office I gave the Garden Bridge Trust time to try to address the multiple serious issues with it.”
Former London Major Boris Johnson (Conservative, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs) hit back and said it was “so sad” that Sadiq Khan had “killed” what he said could have been a “beautiful project”. “The only crumb of comfort is that good plans have now been developed and can be readily revived,” he added.
Garden Bridge Trust Project Closure Statement
Garden Bridge Trust announces the closure of the project
1th of August 2017 – The Garden Bridge Trust, the charity established to build and run the proposed Garden Bridge in central London, today announced that it will be winding up the project.
It has informed the Mayor of London, as well as Transport for London (TfL) and the Department for Transport, who have both allocated public funds to the project, of its decision. The Trust has had no choice but to take this decision because of lack of support for the project going forward from the Mayor.
On 28 April, Sadiq Khan wrote to Lord Mervyn Davies, Chairman of the Garden Bridge Trust, stating that he was not prepared to sign the guarantee for the annual maintenance costs of the Bridge, a condition of planning consent, despite previous assurances given about his support for the project.
Since then the Garden Bridge Trust has examined in detail all options available to it. This included discussions with a potential benefactor who was keen to provide the required guarantee. It also had further discussions with the Government. Unfortunately, the benefactor concerned and the Trustees have all concluded that they cannot proceed with what was always designed to be a public project in the heart of the capital without the support of the Mayor of London.
Lord Davies has today written to the Mayor outlining the reasons why the Trust has taken this decision.
Lord Davies said: “It is with great regret that Trustees have concluded that without Mayoral support the project cannot be delivered. We are incredibly sad that we have not been able to make the dream of the Garden Bridge a reality and that the Mayor does not feel able to continue with the support he initially gave us. We had made great progress obtaining planning permission, satisfying most of our planning conditions and we had raised £70m of private money towards the project.
“The Garden Bridge would have been a unique place; a beautiful new green space in the heart of London, free to use and open to all, showcasing the best of British talent and innovation. It is all the more disappointing because the Trust was set up at the request of TfL, the organisation headed up by the Mayor, to deliver the project. It is a sad day for London because it is sending out a message to the world that we can no longer deliver such exciting projects.
“I would like to thank our donors and supporters, who gave us unstinting help and support along the way.”
The Garden Bridge project will now be formally closed. This includes terminating contracts, and concluding donor funding agreements. The Trust itself will then be wound up in accordance with the Companies Acts.
Link: The Garden Bridge Finally Scrapped
28 Apr 2017
London Garden Bridge Abandoned
London Garden Bridge Scrapped by London Mayor
What a debacle!
This controversy has rumbled on for years.
The whole procurement was remiss from the start.
Garden bridge across Thames scrapped by Sadiq Khan
London mayor pulls plug on controversial project designed by Thomas Heatherwick, saying he would not give financial guarantees for construction work to begin, reports The Guardian.
“The mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has finally pulled the plug on the controversial plan for a garden bridge across the Thames, announcing that he would not provide the vital financial guarantees needed for construction to begin.
In a letter to the Garden Bridge Trust, the charity leading the much-delayed project, Khan said he was taking the decision because of a continuing shortfall in fundraising for the scheme, and a lack of the necessary land use agreements despite three years of talks.
The news marks the end to the long-running saga of the bridge’s proposed construction, which was championed by Joanna Lumley, Boris Johnson and George Osborne and drew anger from critics who saw it as a symbolic indulgence.”
With planning permission expiring in December for the Thomas Heatherwick-designed bridge the timetable appeared impossible, Khan said.
It appears unlikely the trust would succeed in raising private funds required to bridge the funding gap of over £70m.
Sadiq Khan does not have the power to scrap the project but his withdrawal of the public guarantees effectively finishes the proposal.
Co-Editor Adrian Welch
London Garden Bridge Scrapped by London Mayor
13 Apr 2017
London Garden Bridge News
London Garden Bridge Hodge Review’full of errors’
The trust behind a project to build a bridge across the Thames in London has criticised a report that suggested the scheme should be scrapped, reports the BBC today.
The Garden Bridge Trust said Dame Margaret Hodge’s review had ignored information.
Lord Davies, chairman of trust, said: “It is a very one-sided report and full of errors.”
Dame Margaret said she did not expect the trust to support her conclusions, which were “grounded in evidence”.
The trust alleges the review ignored a survey that suggested three-quarters of Londoners supported the bridge and that Dame Margaret had engaged with a “very selective – largely opponent – audience”.
Lord Davies said he remained focused on the bridge’s future, which was in the hands of the London mayor Sadiq Khan.
Article on BBC: London Garden Bridge Hodge Review Criticism
7 Apr 2017
London Garden Bridge should be Scrapped
Dame Margaret Hodge’s review said it would be better to ditch the Garden Bridge than risk uncertain costs. Three months ago the Garden Bridge Trust admitted its future was in doubt after publishing accounts which showed a £70m shortfall in funding, reports the BBC today.
So far £60m of public money has been spent on planning for the bridge.
Dame Margaret, the MP for Barking and Dagenham and former chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee was asked to examine the project by London Mayor, Sadiq Khan in September.
A month later it emerged that former prime minister David Cameron had ignored the advice of civil servants over Garden Bridge funding, personally intervening to approve extra taxpayer money for the project.
Article on BBC: London Garden Bridge Hodge Review
28 Feb 2017
London Garden Bridge Trust Verdict
London Garden Bridge Verdict
Charity Commission reveals Garden Bridge Trust verdict
The Watchdog has found the charity’s behaviour in order but voices some concerns.
An operational compliance report by the Charity Commission into the charity responsible for constructing London’s Garden Bridge has concluded that trustees were acting in compliance with charity law.
The commission said that the case report examined the charity’s governance, specifically whether trustees were meeting their legal duties and whether the charity was complying with charity law. The case report did not examine matters such as the merits of the project, or how it was funded, which are outside the commission’s remit.
The National Audit Office has published an investigation into the Department for Transport’s £30m grant towards the projects construction of the project.
Article in Civil Society News: London Garden Bridge Charity Commission Garden Bridge Trust Verdict
Government link: http://www.gov.uk/government/news/charity-commission-publishes-report-on-garden-bridge-trust
14 Feb 2017
London Garden Bridge Case Weaker
London garden bridge case weaker now than in 2014, says Treasury official, reports The Guardian.
Letter to public accounts committee chair appears to signal ebbing of government support for controversial Thames project.
Signalling that government support for the controversial project may be in decline, a letter from the Treasury’s top civil servant said the overall case for supporting it even in 2014 was “finely balanced and subject to an unusually high level of uncertainty”.
Writing to Meg Hillier, the Labour MP who chairs the influential public accounts committee (PAC), Tom Scholar said the Garden Bridge Trust, which is behind the project, had yet to finalise planning consents, faced a continued funding shortfall and had already spent £22.5m of public money on pre-construction work.
Article in The Guardian: London Garden Bridge Government Support
8 Feb 2017
London Garden Bridge Maintenance Cost Guarantee
All-party pressure on London Mayor not to sign guarantee:
Members of the London Assembly have backed a motion by 16 votes to one calling on London Mayor Sadiq Khan not to sign a guarantee to meet the maintenance cost of the Garden Bridge in the event that private fundraising falls short, reports the SE1 website.
A motion was tabled by Labour’s Tom Copley and Florence Eshalomi designed to put pressure on the Mayor of London to withhold his signature from the vital guarantee required before building work on the controversial bridge could begin.
At a London Assembly plenary meeting, members of all parties represented at City Hall (Labour, Green, UKIP and Liberal Democrat) spoke in support of the motion and against the Garden Bridge project, except the Conservative member.
Tom Copley argued that the bridge was the product of “cocktail-party cronyism” and questioned the amount of public money already spent on the bridge before construction work has begun.
Liberal Democrat Caroline Pidgeon said that it was “far-fetched” to believe that the Garden Bridge Trust would be able to raise the estimated £3 million a year for maintenance without recourse to public funds.
source: http://www.london-se1.co.uk/news/view/9068
11 Jan 2017
Garden Bridge Funding Problem
Garden Bridge to ask for public’s help to plug funding gap as charity behind it admits it has no idea how much the final bill will be, reports Building Design today.
Article in BD: London Garden Bridge Funding Problem
11 Jan 2017
Garden Bridge Land Deal
Garden Bridge land deal faces further scrutiny, reports the Architects’ Journal today.
The acquisition of land on both banks of the Thames required for building the Garden Bridge is now in doubt after Westminster City Council announced it is to reassess its approval for the necessary property transactions on the north bank.
Article in AJ: London Garden Bridge Land Deal
26 Aug 2016
Garden Bridge Financial Guarantee
The UK government has cut its underwriting of the Garden Bridge by £6 million, reports Building Design.
UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling announced today that while he would extend the financial guarantee for an unlimited time period, it would be cut to £9 million.
The current guarantee, which covers up to £15 million of cancellation liabilities, expires in September and the Garden Bridge Trust had asked for a year’s extension.
Article in BD: London Garden Bridge Financial Guarantee
5 Aug 2016
London Garden Bridge Marine Engineer Warning
A marine engineering specialist has warned that building the Garden Bridge across the Thames at the same time as the super sewer would be an “unnecessary and reckless risk”.
Tim Beckett, founder of global marine civil engineering consultancy Beckett Rankine, said the unprecedented volume of river traffic would increase the chances of a disaster like the Marchioness tragedy (in which 51 people drowned in 1989 after a fatal collision between two rivercraft).
He said the schedules of both projects had shifted, resulting in a “clear and apparent clash” at Blackfriars, the part of the River Thames which already has the greatest number of collisions.
He advised the most effective risk mitigation measure is to delay the Garden Bridge construction until the peak of the super sewer river traffic (the Thames Tideway Tunnel or TTT) has passed in 2018.
20 Jul 2016
London Garden Bridge Concept at Blackfriars
British architect Crispin Wride has released his own concept for a Garden Bridge in London, which he claims is more cost-efficient than Thomas Heatherwick’s proposal and more imaginative then the alternative suggested by Allies and Morrison, reports Dezeen.
Titled the Blackfriars Garden Islands Bridge, the design by Crispin Wride Architects Design Studio Ltd uses the redundant piers beside Blackfriars Bridge to create a series of four leaf-shaped platforms across the River Thames, each containing its own garden.
The platforms are located between the existing road bridge and railway bridge, which lie quite close to each other.
photo © Adrian Welch
Previously this site had a concept design proposal by British architect Will Alsop. Alsop and Stormer’s design for a new Thameslink 2000 station at Blackfriars:
Blackfriars Bridge Concept in London
The London architecture studio was founded in 2010. Crispin Wride Architectural Design Studio, part of consultant Gibb, won a competition back in 1998 to design a 1M pedestrian footbridge across a 15m section of Loch Lomond in Scotland.
Article on Dezeen website: London Garden Bridge Debate
11 Jul 2016
London Garden Bridge Preparatory Work Stopped
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, reports The Guardian.
Sadiq Khan officially backs the plan for the 367-m long bridge, but only on the condition that no more public funding is made available for its construction. Until now £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 underground station by the River 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 Sadiq 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.
This vain-glorious project is so tainted it would be better to call it a day. It is not desperately needed and London already has had a disproportionate share of infrastructure spending when analysed nationally.
3 + 2 Jul 2016
Alternative London Garden Bridge Proposal
Thames Central Open Spaces (TCOS) attended The State of London debate (1 Jul 2016) chaired by LBC’s James O’Brien and “asked the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, to justify supporting the Garden Bridge given £37.7 million of taxpayers’ money has allegedly been spent on it with very little to show for it.”
Sadiq Khan tried to bluff his way through but “supporters wouldn’t let him off the hook accusing him of throwing away good money after bad. The audience was unanimous in shouting out “yes!” to Sadiq’s question of whether or not to cut our losses and scrap the bridge.”
Article on TCOS wbesite: London Garden Bridge Debate
Thames Central Open Spaces was created in 2014 by a group of stakeholders with the shared goal of protecting open space along the River Thames and the South Bank in London.
15 Jun 2016
Alternative London Garden Bridge Proposal
Allies & Morrison Architects, based in Southwark near the site of this bridge, has proposed a cut-price version of the Garden Bridge – simply by planting trees on an existing road bridge, reports Building Design today.
The architecture practice suggests reconfiguring Blackfriars Bridge so that traffic takes up just half the width, leaving 3,700sqm for flower beds, trees and footpaths.
Artur Carulla, a partner at Allies & Morrison, said the idea would cost a fraction of the £175 million Garden Bridge – because it does not involve building an actual bridge.
Article in BD: Alternative London Garden Bridge Proposal
15 Jun 2016
RIBA London Requests Garden Bridge Stop
Royal Institute of British Architects’ largest region backs Jane Duncan over £175m project with national council still to vote on president’s stance, reports the Architect’s Journal.
http://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/riba-london-calls-for-garden-bridge-to-be-halted/10007619.article?blocktitle=News&contentID=13628
26 May 2016
London Garden Bridge High Court Challenge
The Garden Bridge faces new High Court challenge: Lambeth resident instructs lawyers over recent Lambeth Council decision on South Bank land use, reports the Architect’s Journal.
4 May 2016
Garden Bridge Amendments
Design: Heatherwick Studio / Arup
London Mayor Demands Garden Bridge Amendments
Sadiq Khan has lent his support to the Garden Bridge so long as it is more accessible to “all Londoners”.
The newly-elected London mayor said the planned £175m footbridge linking Temple with the Southbank “must be a genuinely public and open space”, reports the BBC.
Sadiq Khan insisted on amendments in exchange for his support.
Sadiq Khan’s demands include:
•The bridge to be closed for fewer than 12 days each year for private fundraising events
•The Bridge to be closed for fewer hours when it closes for fundraising events – the current plans are for it to be closed from midnight to midnight
•A guarantee children from local schools will get to visit and be involved in planting and maintenance
•The Garden Bridge Trust to build a strong working relationship with all of London’s parks
Liberal Democrat and Green Party politicians have criticised his approach arguing against the bridge.
4 May 2016
London Garden Bridge Funding Bias
The architect responsible for a proposed bridge across the River Thames has questioned ministers’ motives for failing to offer the scheme a key funding break granted to Thomas Heatherwick’s controversial Garden Bridge project, reports Building Design.
One-World Design Architects already has planning permission for its speculative pedestrian bridge – The Jubilee Bridge London – linking Battersea with Fulham, and piling work on one side of the Thames is being undertaken through a s106 agreement related to a riverside development.
But the Diamond Jubilee Bridge’s backers are still seeking a main sponsor for the £24m scheme and believe a VAT waiver like that agreed by HM Treasury for the Garden Bridge could offer a kick start of up to £6m for the project.
One-World Design Architects director Chris Medland said the Treasury had avoided the issue by referring him back to Transport for London and the London Enterprise Panel – important partners, but not responsible for the VAT issue.
“HM Treasury have donated £30m to the Garden Bridge project and have previously stated that the money would be returned to the Treasury by VAT payments on the construction cost, which makes a lot of sense,” he said.
Link: London Garden Bridge Funding Bias
23 Mar 2016
Garden Bridge Final Attempt to Derail
Design: Heatherwick Studio / Arup
Final Attempt to Derail The Garden Bridge by Thomas Heatherwick and Arup
Jonathan Meades and Edwin Heathcote write to sole Lambeth councillor who is set to make critical decision
Campaigners against the Garden Bridge today made a last-ditch bid to persuade Lambeth council to stop the bridge, dubbing it a “real tragedy not just for the South Bank but for London”, reports Building Design.
Jonathan Meades, Owen Hatherley, Edwin Heathcote, Anna Minton and Walter Menteth signed an open letter urging Councillor Jack Hopkins to refuse to allow the Heatherwick-designed crossing to land on a small park on the South Bank.
Hopkins, Lambeth’s cabinet member for jobs and growth, is due to make the decision tomorrow under delegated authority. He has been advised by Sue Foster, the council’s strategic director of neighbourhoods and growth, who has written a report recommending approval.
However in support, celebrated British architect Richard Rogers wrote to the Times this week opposing a call by RIBA President Jane Duncan to postpone the project so serious questions over its procurement could be investigated, saying the bridge would be “a great addition to London’s public domain by a greater designer”.
Also, Ben Derbyshire, Managing Partner HTA Design LLP, argued that a motion by Walter Menteth calling for the project’s suspension pending an investigation to be debated at the RIBA Council be withdrawn.
Link: Final Attempt to Derail The Garden Bridge
18 Mar 2016
The Garden Bridge Design Procurement
Date published: 17 March 2016
The GLA Oversight Committee has been examining the procurement of the Garden Bridge design contract since September 2015. Questions were raised about the process following a series of Freedom of Information Requests by journalists and Assembly Members.
The Committee have outlined the key stages of their work and any resulting letters sent, or documents released, during the process. The final report, which has the support of the majority of the Committee, finds:
– The Mayor should have been more upfront about the range and nature of contacts between his Office, TfL senior management and Heatherwick Studio.
– There were a series of procedural errors in the procurement process.
– The final published audit failed to address the original objective.
The recommendations include:
– TfL to consider reimbursing the unsuccessful bidders from the Garden Bridge design contract to compensate them for the time and expense incurred in preparing their proposals for a pedestrian bridge.
– The Mayor’s office should compile written records of all meetings the Mayor holds with external bodies, including clarity about what capacity he is there in.
– Where major priority projects are commissioned by a future Mayor and are not in the Mayor’s Transport Strategy, that the Mayor implements them by directing the TfL Board.
– The TfL Audit & Assurance Committee should publish audit reports in full, not just the summary and conclusions as is now the case.
Website: Garden Bridge Design Procurement
8 Feb 2016
River Thames Garden Bridge News
Sadiq Khan and the London Garden Bridge
Contrasting statements, a U-turn from the Labour mayoral candidate:
Thursday 24 September 2015:
Sadiq Khan: “I’d scrap Garden Bridge plan if elected London Mayor”.
5 February 2016
Sadiq Khan: “I fully support Garden Bridge but procurement process worries me”
Sadiq Khan reaffirmed his support for the £175m Garden Bridge project today after telling a private Labour party event that he will review its future if he becomes Mayor, reports the London Evening Standard.
He told an audience at County Hall that he would decide what schemes would “carry on” only after May 5.
An FOI request by the Liberal Democrat mayoral candidate Caroline Pidgeon revealed that days before Transport for London released the tender for the project, Boris Johnson went on a 48-hour trip to Apple in San Francisco with City Hall staff and Thomas Heatherwick.
Sadiq Khan supports Thomas Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge
14 Jan 2016
London Garden Bridge Sky Funding
Sky has been named as one of the private backers of the controversial Garden Bridge, and will name part of the new structure, reports City AM.
The undisclosed donation to the Garden Bridge Trust is part of £85m raised from private sources in an effort to fill the funding gap between public funding allocated to it and the £175m it will cost to build.
“We are delighted to have the support Sky, which plays such a major role in UK culture. The Garden Bridge Trust has huge support as this announcement demonstrates. It is thanks to the support of so many donors that this world class project and imaginative green space is coming to life,” said chairman of the trust Lord Mervyn.
Sky’s is one of the biggest single donations and will name one of the large central gardens on the Thomas Heatherwick designed bridge.
“The project will enrich London, helping us to give back to the city where Sky was founded over twenty five years ago and remains headquartered today,” said Sky chief executive Jeremy Darroch. “The Garden Bridge will create a beautiful and tranquil space for us all to enjoy, and will become an iconic landmark in the heart of our capital city.”
17 Dec 2015
The Garden Bridge Trust today confirmed that the impact of construction of the Garden Bridge has been greatly reduced:
Garden Bridge across the Thames in London
9 + 2 Nov 2015
River Thames Garden Bridge Funding
Design: Heatherwick Studio / Arup
London Garden Bridge TfL Funding
Lambeth council and the Garden Bridge Trust have reached an agreement on the public funding contribution from TfL towards the construction of the Garden Bridge.
The agreement limits TfL’s contribution to the construction of the Bridge to £10 million rather than the original £30 million contribution.
The decision means that the negotiations for the Bridge’s south landing site in Lambeth will resume.
Cllr Lib Peck, Lambeth council leader, had suspended the negotiations because of growing concerns of the £30million TfL had contributed to the scheme.
Cllr Peck said: “I’m pleased that Londoners are getting a better financial deal particularly at a time of austerity when all public sector organisations are being forced to make deep cuts to services.
“We’ve been in tough negotiations with the Garden Bridge Trust and Transport for London and I’m pleased we’ve successfully agreed a deal that will cut London taxpayers’ contribution towards the Garden Bridge by two thirds.”
Chairman of the Garden Bridge Trust, Lord Mervyn Davies said: “We are delighted to move forward with the project. We have been hugely successful in our efforts to raise funds from the private sector, with £85m pledged to date, and we have agreed that any of the committed funds from TfL spent over the £10 million will be treated as a loan. We are delighted the Garden Bridge can now progress and are grateful for all the support we’ve had.”
4 Apr 2015
Thomas Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge Legal Challenge
Design: Heatherwick Studio / Arup
Garden Bridge Legal Challenge
Back on 17th February it was reported by The Guradian that lawyers for local resident Michael Ball argue that Lambeth council failed to comply with its duty to protect the historic settings of listed buildings near the proposed garden bridge.
A legal challenge was launched in the high court against plans to build this garden bridge over the river Thames. A ‘local resident’ is claiming the London borough of Lambeth unlawfully granted planning permission for the £175m bridge in central London. Michael Ball, from Tulse Hill in south London (quite a way from the River Thames!), fears its impact will be devastating and that some of the best views of the City and St Paul’s Cathedral will be compromised.
A High Court decision to allow a legal challenge against Thomas Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge will not hamper the £175m project, according to Paul Morrell, the government’s former chief construction adviser, reports the AJ on the 2nd of April. He claimed the judicial review granted to a campaign group opposing the project will not delay the Garden Bridge completion. Paul Morrell is a chartered quantity surveyor, formerly senior partner of Davis Langdon until retirement in 2007. He practises as an independent consultant and is also a non-executive director of strategic and design consultancy DEGW.
26 Mar 2015
Garden Bridge Planting and Maintenance Plans
picture: EPA/Arup
Arts, business and horticultural leaders have spoken about their support for the Garden Bridge and the opportunities it presents people living and working in London as well as those visiting the capital. Teams from The Courtauld Institute and the Royal Horticultural Society are among those highlighting the value of the project, as the tender for the procurement, planting and maintenance of the 6,000sqm footbridge gets underway.
The Garden Bridge will link Temple on the Northbank across to the South Bank, situated between Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges, creating a new green space which is free and open to all. It will include 2,500sqm for plants, showcasing the best of UK design, engineering and landscape talent.
Garden Bridge Planting
12 Nov 2014
Garden Bridge across the River Thames in London
Location: central London
Date: 2013-
Design: Heatherwick Studio with Arup
Concept: actress Joanna Lumley, 1998
Commission: Transport for London
Garden Bridge Approval
This bold but controversial proposal for a £175m garden bridge across the River Thames has been given approval by Lambeth Council, reports the AJ today.
Heatherwick Studio’s website states this:
Following Transport for London’s (TfL) tender for proposals to improve pedestrian links across the river, Heatherwick Studio and actor and campaigner Joanna Lumley have developed an idea for a new pedestrian ‘Garden Bridge’ across the River Thames; a scheme to connect North and South London with a garden. As one of the greenest cities of its size in the world, this precious new piece of landscape will add to London’s rich and diverse horticultural heritage of heathlands, parks, squares, allotments and community gardens and support many indigenous river edge plant species.
The revival of the South Bank over the past two decades has created a vibrant and artistic district attracting large number of visitors to its art galleries, theatres, music halls, restaurants and outdoor entertainment. However, visits to Temple and the north bank area east of Somerset House and Waterloo Bridge are far less frequent. The bridge will grow and nourish the connection between these distinct areas whilst providing new walking routes to and from Covent Garden and Soho.
Garden Bridge across the River Thames in London information from Heatherwick Studio
Back in July 2013 Arup reported this:
19 Jul 2013
Thomas Heatherwick has been working with Arup to develop plans for a new ‘Garden Bridge’ across the River Thames for Transport for London (TfL).
The proposal for the 360m pedestrian bridge draws on London’s green heritage. The Garden Bridge design aims to create an attractive new way to link north and south in the heart of the city, providing a new walking route from the Southbank to Temple and on to Covent Garden and Soho.
The design concept is still in development and Arup is working closely with Heatherwick Studio on the engineering aspects of the outline scheme. Arup has also been appointed to carry out the landscape design coordination and hard landscape design, working with Dan Pearson Studio who will undertake soft landscape design.
Wikipedia states this:
Garden Bridge is a planned pedestrian bridge over the River Thames in London, England. Conceived by the actress Joanna Lumley in 1998 and designed by Thomas Heatherwick, working with Arup, on a commission from Transport for London, it is planned to feature trees and gardens. The bridge is planned to be 367 metres (1,204 ft) long and 30 metres (98 ft) across at its widest point, and it would run from near Temple station as a continuation of Arundel Street on the north bank to near the Southbank Centre.
The Garden Bridge Trust was launched on 1 November 2013 to oversee the project; it is located at the National Theatre (overlooking the planned site). Lord Davies of Abersoch is the trust’s chairman, and horticulturalist Dan Pearson has been engaged to arrange the planting.
As of July 2014, the cost of the bridge has risen to £175 million, with £30m pledged by Mayor of London Boris Johnson and £30m pledged by HM Treasury. The full planning application for the project was submitted on 30 May 2014, and it is intended, subject to receiving planning permission and raising the necessary funds, the bridge will be completed by 2018.
The Garden Bridge in London would run from the roof of Temple station as a continuation of Arundel Street on the north bank to Queen’s Walk by the London Studios.
Location: Queen’s Walk, London, UK
Architecture in London
London Architecture Walking Tours
Website : River Thames Garden Bridge Funding
Rolling Bridge, Paddington Basin, west London
Design: Heatherwick Studio
photograph : Steve Speller
Rolling Bridge in London by Heatherwick Studio
Illuminated River International Design Competition in London
Bridge Architecture
Bridge designs on e-architect:
Dukes Meadows Bridge, under Barnes Railway Bridge, Chiswick, West London
Moxon Architects / CampbellReith consulting engineers
render © Moxon Architects
Dukes Meadows Bridge London
Rolling Bridge Paddington Basin
Key London Building by Heatherwick Studio
Paperhouse
photograph : Cristobal Palma
Comments / photos for the Garden Bridge across the River Thames in London page welcome
Website : River Thames Garden Bridge