From:
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/...-garden-bridge

Extract:

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.

Khan officially backs the plan for the 367-metre tree- and plant-filled
bridge, but only on the condition that no more public funding is made
available for its construction. So far, £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 tube station by the 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 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.

The trust was due to repay the £3m for the work at Temple tube, so it is
possible the work will begin again. However, Khan’s decision both risks
delaying completion of a project due to open in 2018, and illustrates how
less sympathetic the new mayor is to the Thomas Heatherwick-designed bridge
than his predecessor, Boris Johnson.

.... Continues

Very strange. Just two weeks ago, Mr. Khan was saying
that completing the project would provide the taxpayer with
better value for money than cancelling it as £40 million had
already been spent.

I note this report says £60 million has been "committed" so far.
What is the difference between the £40 million spent and the
£60 million committed?

Robin9 wrote:

'Recliner[_3_ Wrote:
;156717']From:
http://tinyurl.com/zvmm6lr

Extract:

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.

Khan officially backs the plan for the 367-metre tree- and plant-filled
bridge, but only on the condition that no more public funding is made
available for its construction. So far, £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 tube station by the 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 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.

The trust was due to repay the £3m for the work at Temple tube, so it
is
possible the work will begin again. However, Khan’s decision both
risks
delaying completion of a project due to open in 2018, and illustrates
how
less sympathetic the new mayor is to the Thomas Heatherwick-designed
bridge
than his predecessor, Boris Johnson.

.... Continues

Very strange. Just two weeks ago, Mr. Khan was saying
that completing the project would provide the taxpayer with
better value for money than cancelling it as £40 million had
already been spent.

I note this report says £60 million has been "committed" so far.
What is the difference between the £40 million spent and the
£60 million committed?

I wonder how they've managed to spend so much already? Has much work been
done on the ground? Have any materials been ordered or components
fabricated? Or has the expense just been on the design and architecture
work?

I don't think Khan is actually a fan of the project, but is probably trying
to devise a way of getting out of it without TfL getting dumped with a big
cancellation charge. By freezing TfL's contribution he either offloads the
cost increases on to the bridge's supporters, or forces them to be the ones
to cancel it, letting TfL off the hook. Either way, he gets to dump the
blame on Boris for his sloppy management of the contract.

In message
-septe
mber.org, at 14:49:49 on Mon, 11 Jul 2016, Recliner
remarked:
I note this report says £60 million has been "committed" so far.
What is the difference between the £40 million spent and the
£60 million committed?

I wonder how they've managed to spend so much already? Has much work been
done on the ground?

There's some piling work going on in the river, whether it's for the
garden bridge or not, I don't know.
--
Roland Perry

Mulch.

Roland Perry wrote:
In message
-septe
mber.org, at 14:49:49 on Mon, 11 Jul 2016, Recliner
remarked:
I note this report says £60 million has been "committed" so far.
What is the difference between the £40 million spent and the
£60 million committed?

I wonder how they've managed to spend so much already? Has much work been
done on the ground?

There's some piling work going on in the river, whether it's for the
garden bridge or not, I don't know.

Apparently not. It now looks like the bridge will get canned, after £38m
has been spent before any actual construction work. Apparently Boris is the
only cabinet minister in favour, and there's no enthusiasm in City Hall.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36890524

So this is another Boris project that's hit the skids, after his estuary
airport (no support, Heathrow expansion now more likely), cable car (still
running, but little used) and new Routemaster bus (no more open platforms,
no more to be ordered). His only legacy might be the cycling stuff.

On Tue, 26 Jul 2016 04:52:06 -0000 (UTC)
Recliner wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:
There's some piling work going on in the river, whether it's for the
garden bridge or not, I don't know.

Apparently not. It now looks like the bridge will get canned, after £38m
has been spent before any actual construction work. Apparently Boris is the
only cabinet minister in favour, and there's no enthusiasm in City Hall.

Can't say I'm surprised. A nice idea in times of plenty, but completely
inappropriate right now when the money could be spent on far more important
projects.

airport (no support, Heathrow expansion now more likely), cable car (still
running, but little used) and new Routemaster bus (no more open platforms,

Wonder how long before the doors close on the cable car. Its obviously losing
money and that can't be sustained for long.

no more to be ordered). His only legacy might be the cycling stuff.

Was it actually Boris that initiated that? I have a vague recollection of
the ground work being done by Ken.

--
Spud

"Recliner" wrote in message
...
Roland Perry wrote:
In message
-septe
mber.org, at 14:49:49 on Mon, 11 Jul 2016, Recliner
remarked:
I note this report says £60 million has been "committed" so far.
What is the difference between the £40 million spent and the
£60 million committed?

I wonder how they've managed to spend so much already? Has much work
been
done on the ground?

There's some piling work going on in the river, whether it's for the
garden bridge or not, I don't know.

Apparently not. It now looks like the bridge will get canned, after £38m
has been spent before any actual construction work. Apparently Boris is
the
only cabinet minister in favour, and there's no enthusiasm in City Hall.

Anyone have any idea how you can spend 38 million on just talking about
something

it seems nuts

tim

On 26.07.16 5:52, Recliner wrote:
Roland Perry wrote:
In message
-septe
mber.org, at 14:49:49 on Mon, 11 Jul 2016, Recliner
remarked:
I note this report says £60 million has been "committed" so far.
What is the difference between the £40 million spent and the
£60 million committed?

I wonder how they've managed to spend so much already? Has much work been
done on the ground?

There's some piling work going on in the river, whether it's for the
garden bridge or not, I don't know.

Apparently not. It now looks like the bridge will get canned, after £38m
has been spent before any actual construction work. Apparently Boris is the
only cabinet minister in favour, and there's no enthusiasm in City Hall.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-36890524

So this is another Boris project that's hit the skids, after his estuary
airport (no support, Heathrow expansion now more likely), cable car (still
running, but little used) and new Routemaster bus (no more open platforms,
no more to be ordered). His only legacy might be the cycling stuff.

I was on a Borisbus at the weekend, in the heatwave. The lack of windows
made for a rather unpleasant ride.

Sounds a bit odd: a charity benefiting the Garden Bridge.