The government’s former chief construction adviser Paul Morrell is backing the controversial proposal to build a £175m “garden bridge” across the Thames, in his role as vice chair of the charity behind the project.
The 360m bridge, which would link Temple station on the north bank of the Thames with the South Bank, is designed by Thomas Heatherwick with a garden and planting by Dan Pearson Studio. Arup is also advising on the tree-like copper-alloy structure as consulting engineer.
The project originated is an idea from actress Joanna Lumley 15 years ago, but she apparently approached Thomas Heatherwick directly following his coup de theatre with the Olympic cauldron in 2012.
Meanwhile, Transport for London was also interested in ideas for a new pedestrian bridge across the Thames, hoping to encourage greater use of the relatively quiet Temple station, taking pressure off nearby Embankment and Blackfriars.
It issued a “tender” for design ideas in early 2013, but The Guardian reports that the names of other practices invited to submit ideas have not been revealed.
TfL also calculates that the bridge would reduce the journey time for anyone crossing from the north bank to the popular destinations of the LWT building, National Theatre and South Bank Centre, and would also function as an alternative pedestrian route to and from Waterloo station.
But the project has run into controversy because of its ever-increasing price tag. According to a report in The Observer, when the design was unveiled in June 2013 it was widely reported to cost £60m. By December it was £120m-£150m and it’s now put at £175m.
The paper quotes Morrell as saying this is “a genuine bottom line budget” that includes VAT and “real-estate issues”.
Morrell apparently said: “It was never a £60m bridge. That figure came from someone who looked at the bridge for Thomas – it was a very early number for construction only.”
The bridge aims to encourage people to use Temple station
The project ihas now secured £60m of public fudning – £30m from the UK government and £30m from the Mayor of London. But it needs to raise the balance from private donors to a tight deadline: the plan is to complete the work between 2015-18, before tunnelling for the Thames Tideway Tunnel starts.
The Trust is currently awaiting a decision on its planning application to the London boroughs of Westminster and Lambeth, which is due to be decided within a month.
Morrell is a trustee alongside Lumley, Eversheds partner John Heaps, and Roland Rudd, chair of PR firm RLM Finsbury, which is also advising the Garden Bridge Trust. The Trust is chaired by banker Sir Mervyn Davies, who served as a government minister until May 2010.
Writing in June in Infrastructure Intelligence, an online publication from the Association of Consulting and Engineering to publicise the Trust’s search for a project director, Morrell said: “The concept of a garden floating across the Thames began, almost as a dream, in the mind of the dreamy Joanna Lumley. Thereafter, it has become the very model of a ‘dreams to reality’ project.”
He described the Trust’s plans to set up an effective client body, then the next steps of “developing the detailed design, and finding the right procurement route for a market in which contractors now have many opportunities to choose between; designing an outreach programme, offering opportunities for participation and training, and embedding the project in the community.”
The bridge widens in two places across its span, to accommodate fifteen angled viewing platforms described as “garden rooms”. According to a brochure published by the Trust, it features “plants, trees, woodland and meadering walkways”.
