Actress Joanna Lumley’s vision for a garden bridge crossing over the Thames in London is one step closer to reality. Her dream has just been granted a pledge of £30 million by the British government with another £30 million committed by London mayor Boris Johnson and Transport for London.
The bridge has been designed by Thomas Heatherwick, who previously designed the Olympic cauldron for London 2012. While the £60 million will provide Heatherwick and Lumley a boost in constructing the bridge, it’s just another part of the £150 million needed overall. However, they had previously acquired half of the necessary funds through private donations.
Lumley first had the idea for the garden bridge some 15 years ago but it was only in recent years that her idea gathered steam after Transport for London expressed an interest in building a new pedestrian bridge over the Thames.
The British government announced the funding as part of a wider £375 billion infrastructure plan that will also see the redevelopment of Gatwick Airport’s train station.
Irish journalist writing on business, tech and engineering.
