The Garden Bridge Trust has said it is confident that it can raise the remaining funds, after the mayor of London pulled support for it.
On Friday the Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, wrote to the charity explaining that he could not provide mayoral guarantees which would enable the charity to start building work on the project before raising all the funds.
Khan told the charity he did not believe that the trust would be able to raise enough money before planning permission runs out and that there was a risk that the taxpayer could be left with the bill.
The project has faced mounting criticism from politicians and the media over the last few months, with the Public Accounts Committee, Newsnight and an independent review led by Dame Margaret Hodge all raising concerns.
But trustees of the charity have now said that they have “enormous support” and are “confident we can raise the remaining funds required”.
‘We have had enormous support’
Lord Mervyn Davies of the charity said in a statement that: "We received the Mayor's letter with great regret today. We will study the contents of the letter in detail before responding formally.
“The Garden Bridge Trust was set up at the request of Transport for London and the Department of Transport to deliver the project which had received public money.
“We have had enormous support from our funders and are very confident we can raise the remaining funds required. But sadly the Mayor of London has taken a different decision to those in place when the project started.”
Backed by the Times
Meanwhile the Times newspaper has signalled its support for the project and attacked Khan for being “short sighted”.
In a leader article on Saturday 29 April, the Times wrote that the bridge would be a “stunning adornment to the London skyline”.
It added that: “While Mr Khan is to be commended for tackling air pollution, especially from diesel vehicles, he has shown a worrying short-sightedness over this project. The stewardship of a great city occasionally requires a leap of imagination and a willingness to take on carping critics.
“Once built, the bridge would win the affection of future generations, who would be astonished it was ever controversial. It is a pity that on this project the mayor has been so uninspired.”
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