Plans to build the Garden Bridge between Temple and the South Bank must be scrapped if a new inquiry into the project identifies a wasteful use of public money, a member of the London Assembly has said.

 

Last week the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan announced that former chair of the Public Accounts Committee Dame Margaret Hodge MP will be conducting a review into the £185M footbridge scheme.

 

This will look at whether value for money has been achieved from the taxpayers’ contribution to the project, which amounts to £60M including a £20M loan from Transport for London.

 

It will also examine in detail the project’s procurement process and establish whether required standards of transparency and openness have been met since the start of the project.

 

“The Garden Bridge must be scrapped if the Mayor's inquiry identifies wasteful spending or a failure to follow procurement rules,” said London Assembly Green Party member Caroline Russell.

 

But she supports the need for new walking and cycling bridge projects in the capital. “They just need to be in the right location, in places with a proven transport need,” she said.

 

The Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Nearly £40M of public money has already been spent on the Garden Bridge project, and Londoners deserve far more information about the decisions that have been made around how their money is being spent.”

 

He added that “there’s no better qualified person to get to the bottom of the procurement process around the Garden Bridge” than Margaret Hodge.

 

The Labour MP is famed for holding public figures and organisations to account during her five years as chair of the Public Accounts Committee, scrutinising spending across all areas of Government.

 

Her work included looking at action taken by the Government to deal with corporate tax avoidance.

 

Margaret Hodge said: “I’m delighted to accept Sadiq’s offer to look in detail at some of the key decisions made so far around the Garden Bridge.

 

“Given the millions of pounds of public money allocated to the project, it is clear that there needs to be far more transparency around how funds are being spent. The planned bridge is a major project in an iconic part of London, and there are clearly questions that remain unanswered around issues like procurement.

 

“I look forward to presenting the findings of the review, and assessing the lessons we can learn for other major projects in our city.”

 

A statement from the Garden Bridge Trust, which is leading the project, read: “It is right and understandable that public funding in the UK is regularly reviewed by Government. The Mayor of London is accountable for Londoners’ money. So the Trust will work with Dame Margaret Hodge and her review in the same way we have with all other reviews in the past.”

 

(Image: Arup)