Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has blocked an extra £3m for preparatory work on the Garden Bridge, raising further doubts over the future of the project.
Khan officially backs the construction of the 1,204 ft bridge over the Thames on the condition that no new public funds are required.
A spokesperson for the mayor of London said the preparatory work has been suspended and that will be reported to Transport for London’s finance and policy committee today.
Foremer mayor Boris Johnson originally approved plans for enabling work to prepare Temple Underground station for the arrival of the Garden Bridge two years ago in the summer of 2014, but final authorisation was only provided in March this year.
Khan raised concerns about the procurement process for the bridge during his election campaign and his team is currently examining this in detail.
It comes after the National Audit Office announced it was investigating another element of public funding for the bridge from the Department for Transport. The Charity Commission is also looking into the spending of the Garden Bridge Trust, which is behind the project.
TfL’s finance and policy committee will now examine whether the extra funds will be committed to work at Temple.
A Garden Bridge Trust spokesperson told the Guardian: “Once all planning and property matters have been resolved, the next phase of the London Underground work will commence. All works will be paid for by the trust. It is full steam ahead across the planning priorities and fundraising is also very active.”
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