Gwynne demanded Johnson provide evidence for his allegation against Will Hurst, the managing editor of Architects’ Journal who has won several awards for his coverage of the garden bridge, or withdraw them and apologise.

The letter adds to the pressure on Johnson over his role in the troubled story of the planned pedestrian link across the river Thames, which he commissioned and championed as mayor of London, a job he held until May 2016. — The Guardian

The garden bridge, proposed to cross the Thames from the South Bank to Temple, is nothing if not a landmark of the post-truth era. It has wrung tens of millions out of the public purse on the basis of deceptions, distortions and facts that proved to be fake. First sold as “a gift to the people of London”, entirely paid for by private sector donations, it is now due to cost a minimum of £60m in public money. Its estimated total cost has gone from £60m to “north of £200 million”. — Rowan Moore

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.

The Garden Bridge Trust says the bridge from South Bank to Temple, featuring 270 trees and thousands of plants, will be a “tiara” for London, being both an iconic landmark and a vital pedestrian bridge. — The Guardian

Hey London, how do you feel about a major span across the Thames being corporately sponsored? Because that's what's going to happen with the Garden Bridge.

It's just been announced that Sky, the media behemoth owned by Rupert Murdoch, has given an undisclosed amount to the Garden Bridge Trust. But this is no altruistic gesture: one of the gardens on the bridge "will be named by Sky". — Londonist

You wait years for a new bridge across the Thames then three come along at once. Joining the controversial garden bridge and a plan for a crossing between Nine Elms and Pimlico, both of which have fierce opponents, comes a proposal unveiled today for a new pedestrian and cycle bridge between Rotherhithe and the Isle of Dogs in east London that hasn’t aroused a single objection – yet.

There’s a good reason why: of the three plans, it makes by far the most sense. — Oliver Wainwright

Visitors to the garden bridge in London will be tracked by their mobile phone signals and supervised by staff with powers to take people’s names and addresses and confiscate and destroy banned items, including kites and musical instruments, according to a planning document. [...]

Caroline Pidgeon [...] said she feared the bridge was following “a worrying trend of the privatisation of public places, where the rights of private owners trump those of ordinary people”. — theguardian.com

'Architecturally, the ends of the bridge are abysmal: they are sort of hacked off. It’s not a good termination of the bridge – it’s inelegant – and the views of the ends of the bridge are particularly poor and ungraceful. It doesn’t look good. It isn’t a nice piece of work.' — Piers Gough — The Guardian

Campaigners opposed to the planned Garden Bridge over the River Thames in London have won the right to challenge a council's approval for it.

The judicial review of Lambeth Council's decision to give planning permission for the £175m bridge will be heard in June.

Questions were raised about bridge's funding and its impact on views across the river of St Paul's Cathedral. — bbc.com

A legal challenge is being launched in the High Court against plans to build a garden bridge over the River Thames in central London.

A south London resident claims Lambeth Council unlawfully granted planning permission for the £175m bridge.

Michael Ball, from Tulse Hill in Lambeth, fears its impact will be "devastating".

Lambeth Council said the bridge would potentially benefit "both the local and wider London economy". — bbc.com

[...] the bridge will be closed at night, won't allow entry to cyclists or groups of 8 or more without prior booking, and will ocassionally be closed off for fundraising events. Right. So less a public bridge than a privately-managed tourist attraction, then. [...]

The east of London, on the other hand, could actually use another crossing, with or without limits to access — citymetric.com

Take one voguish designer, one national treasure and one icon-hungry mayor and what do you get? A floating forest across the Thames. But can anyone actually say what the £175m garden bridge is for? — theguardian.com