Plans to build Thomas Heatherwick‘s controversial Garden Bridge in London have been officially scrapped. The Garden Bridge Trust charity – created to build and run the bridge – just announced the end of the project due to the lack of support by London mayor Sadiq Khan. Khan’s reasoning, according to his earlier statement, was led by the project’s spiraling construction and maintenance costs.
A financial inquiry into the Garden Bridge project found that the initial estimated costs escalated from £60 million ($77 million) to over £200 million ($259 million). This was determined to be too large of a financial risk to London taxpayers.
Related: Architects and artists sling harsh criticism at Heatherwick’s Garden Bridge project
Khan withdrew his support for the project following the recommendations of the report which also raised concerns about the fairness of the process of choosing the architects– it was said that Heatherwick Studio and Arup were favored by the procurement system. Heatherwick first unveiled the design for the Garden Bridge in 2013 as a verdant structure that would span the River Thames between Temple and South Bank.
“The Garden Bridge has not found its right moment, but I hope one day it will and that London continues to be open to ideas that make life here better,” said a statement from Thomas Heatherwick.
Via Dezeen
