- Transport for London spent £24m and £19m came from the Department for Transport
- London Mayor Sadiq Khan dropped the controversial bridge plan in August 2017
- The structure cost £9 million to design and the project executives were paid £1.7 million
Boris Johnson’s failed London Garden Bridge project cost £53m before it was scrapped, new figures revealed today.
The bill for taxpayers was £43m, with £24m from Transport for London and £19m from the Department for Transport, with the remainder coming from private sector donations.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan scrapped the controversial plan for a tree and flower-covered bridge in August 2017 after a damning report by Dame Margaret Hodge revealed it could have ended up costing more than £200million.
The London Garden Bridge project, backed by Joanna Lumley (featured on a TV show on 30 August 2016), netted a £53million bill before being scrapped. An artist’s impression of what the bridge would look like
Former mayor Mr Johnson claimed his successor “killed it out of defiance”.
The initiative was championed by ‘Absolutely Fabulous’ star Joanna Lumley but was scrapped amid bitter allegations about the use of taxpayers’ money.
An investigation by Transport for London found that the Garden Bridge Trust spent £161,000 on a website and £417,000 on a gala event.
The structure cost £9m to design and the Trust paid its executives £1.7m.
Former mayor Boris Johnson (seen at JCB HQ in Staffordshire on January 18) said his successor Sadiq Khan “killed it out of defiance”.
The charity previously described the program’s cancellation as a “sad day” for London because it “sent a message to the world that we can no longer deliver such exciting projects”.
Alex Williams, Director of Urban Planning at TfL, said: “As part of our ongoing commitment to transparency, we have released the final financial breakdown for the Garden Bridge project on behalf of the Trust, as well as all the evidence sought as part of this review.
“We have worked to ensure that costs to the public sector are kept to a minimum and having carefully considered Garden Bridge Trust’s application we have now confirmed the statutory final payment under the terms of the Government’s acquisition agreement.
“This formally ends our involvement in the project.”
Caroline Pidgeon, Chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, called the spending “a total misuse of taxpayers’ money”.
Boris Johnson has been criticized in the past for other costly projects, including buying three water cannons after the 2014 London riots, the use of which was then banned by Theresa May, then Home Secretary.
The plan for a tree and flower covered building (as in this artwork) was shelved in August 2017. Mr Khan said he would scrap the project to avoid another cost explosion. He is seen at a conference in London on December 12
He spent around £320,000 buying and refurbishing them and they made tens of thousands more in storage costs.
But after years of gathering dust, they were finally sold in November – for just £11,025 to a company that dismantles the machines and sells them for parts, London City Hall said. This left the taxpayer with losses of over £300,000.
Mr. Johnson is also known for his enthusiasm for large bridge construction projects.
He discussed the idea of a 22-mile road link across the English Channel during a summit with Emmanuel Macron last January.
Then, after resigning from Ms May’s cabinet in July, he proposed a bridge between Britain and Ireland, an idea he has since echoed.
An aerial view of the Garden Bridge showing its location in the heart of London. With plenty of plants and trees, the bridge was intended to be a place of rest and relaxation for busy Londoners
