:00:13. > :00:15.Welcome to BBC London News with me, Alex Bushill.
:00:16. > :00:17.The future of the Garden Bridge is under serious doubt tonight,
:00:18. > :00:20.after a review said it should be scrapped.
:00:21. > :00:22.The damning report was ordered by the Mayor.
:00:23. > :00:25.It found that despite ?40 million of taxpayer money being spent
:00:26. > :00:29.on the project so far, costs are escalating out of control.
:00:30. > :00:33.And that the purpose of the bridge is still unclear.
:00:34. > :00:37.Our transport correspondent Tom Edwards has this report.
:00:38. > :00:40.This is where the Garden Bridge was meant to be built,
:00:41. > :00:43.stretching from Temple to the South Bank.
:00:44. > :00:47.Today, though, another blow to a project under fire.
:00:48. > :00:50.A review says it's not value for money.
:00:51. > :00:55.Don't put another penny of London ratepayers' money,
:00:56. > :00:58.or British taxpayers' money, into this project.
:00:59. > :01:01.I know that money has been lost, but I would cut your losses now,
:01:02. > :01:06.because there are too many risks, there are too many uncertainties,
:01:07. > :01:11.and there is no clarity to me that the money can be raised
:01:12. > :01:16.The bridge was meant to be an oasis of calm above the Thames,
:01:17. > :01:20.funded mainly by private donors with ?60 million coming
:01:21. > :01:25.It had big backers, including the previous mayor,
:01:26. > :01:29.Boris Johnson and the then Chancellor, George Osborne.
:01:30. > :01:33.Procurement, the costs, the previous mayor, deputy mayor,
:01:34. > :01:39.TfL officials, are all criticised in this withering report.
:01:40. > :01:49.It also reveals that the cost of the Garden Bridge could now be
:01:50. > :01:52.more than ?200 million, and there's a shortfall
:01:53. > :02:00.It says the trust's finances are in a precarious state.
:02:01. > :02:03.Opponents always said the Garden Bridge was in the wrong place,
:02:04. > :02:09.It would be very difficult for them to pull something out
:02:10. > :02:13.We think that Boris has left us with the ultimate frippery
:02:14. > :02:15.and Sadiq Khan has it in his power to refuse the guarantee.
:02:16. > :02:18.I think it's hugely damning and it shows what many of us
:02:19. > :02:20.felt for a long time, that all the money that's been
:02:21. > :02:23.spent on this project has not been well spent,
:02:24. > :02:25.and that it's not good value for public money.
:02:26. > :02:28.The report also says that the procurement of the bridge
:02:29. > :02:33.was not open or fair and recommends the project should be cancelled,
:02:34. > :02:38.even though it could cost the taxpayer up to ?60 million.
:02:39. > :02:42.Others say that this whole review process is nothing more
:02:43. > :02:49.The Garden Bridge Trust says it is more determined than ever
:02:50. > :02:53.The big question now is - what will the mayor do?
:02:54. > :03:01.Our reporter Alpa Patel joins us now.
:03:02. > :03:10.Clearly a scathing report - is the Garden Bridge doomed?
:03:11. > :03:18.It's not looking very good, is it? There's several reasons for that.
:03:19. > :03:22.Number one, mentioned in the piece, the outstanding price tag. ?70
:03:23. > :03:25.million still to be generated for this project through private
:03:26. > :03:29.investors, but the argument is that the bad publicity surrounding the
:03:30. > :03:34.project and this damning report, is just going to put them off.
:03:35. > :03:38.Secondly, planning permission. If you can believe it, it's due to
:03:39. > :03:42.expire at the end of this year. There's no guarantee that Lambeth or
:03:43. > :03:45.Westminster Council will extend permission, because they had worries
:03:46. > :03:49.over the maintenance of the bridge in the first place. Finally,
:03:50. > :03:55.something called the Tideway Tunnel. That's otherwise known as the Thames
:03:56. > :04:01.super sewer. Keep parts of that project could class with the
:04:02. > :04:03.construction of this bridge. The London Port authority says that key
:04:04. > :04:07.bits of infrastructure needs to go up and down the Thames will stop if
:04:08. > :04:11.the bridge was granted today, there would be significant problems. It
:04:12. > :04:17.doesn't look like this bridge is going to be built at all.
:04:18. > :04:19.It's an industry worth nearly ?2 billion a year -
:04:20. > :04:21.generating skilled, highly-paid jobs.
:04:22. > :04:23.But the head of British architects has today warned that
:04:24. > :04:26.a badly-handled Brexit will cost hundreds of jobs.
:04:27. > :04:30.A quick headcount at one of London's biggest architecture firms.
:04:31. > :04:44.They not only build our homes and offices, but architects
:04:45. > :04:46.could be seen as one of the capital's secret weapons.
:04:47. > :04:49.The industry's worth ?1.7 billion a year.
:04:50. > :04:51.That's more than the capital's industrial design, fashion
:04:52. > :04:55.And it's growing faster than London's economy.
:04:56. > :04:59.Plus, we sell ?400 million more of our services
:05:00. > :05:04.But around a quarter of our architects are from the EU,
:05:05. > :05:06.so what happens when Brexit kicks in?
:05:07. > :05:09.If we have a hard Brexit and our economy collapses,
:05:10. > :05:12.we're going to have to look abroad, much more than we do already,
:05:13. > :05:16.and then if we have taxes imposed on our fees that we don't have
:05:17. > :05:19.already, it's going to be that much more difficult.
:05:20. > :05:22.Two years ago, the industry's president could not have dreamt
:05:23. > :05:24.she would be fighting her corner at the Government's table.
:05:25. > :05:28.If we can't keep the skills that we need here, then
:05:29. > :05:32.we are going to lose our competitive edge, our innovative edge.
:05:33. > :05:36.We're going to have practices who perhaps have projects around
:05:37. > :05:39.the world who will not have the staff.
:05:40. > :05:42.We're already seeing people change the way they work.
:05:43. > :05:44.This practice employs fewer than 20 people.
:05:45. > :05:48.When Brexit gave some companies cold feet about building
:05:49. > :05:52.from scratch, this lot offered refurbishments instead.
:05:53. > :05:55.Could you be one of the firms that thrives from uncertainty?
:05:56. > :05:58.We're a practice that founded in the recession of 2009,
:05:59. > :06:02.when there was a lot of uncertainty around.
:06:03. > :06:07.And it feels like that climate exists again now, post-Brexit.
:06:08. > :06:12.We feel quite positive that a lot of work in the States, Canada,
:06:13. > :06:16.Might be more difficult in Europe, but we worked
:06:17. > :06:21.But there's a clear enough message from the sector itself -
:06:22. > :06:25.the people whose job it is to make more lives more liveable say
:06:26. > :06:28.they might have to look for a new life themselves.
:06:29. > :06:36.Time to wish you goodnight and hand you over to Jay Wynne,
:06:37. > :06:50.A balmy weekend on the way. We're looking at a very pleasant weekend,
:06:51. > :06:53.with strong sunshine on Saturday and Sunday. Temperatures creeping up day
:06:54. > :06:56.by day. It is turning a bit chilly overnight tonight. By the end of the
:06:57. > :07:04.night we will be in the single figures. Some places down to 5-6 and
:07:05. > :07:08.a few patches of mist and fog. Mist and fog won't last long.
:07:09. > :07:12.Temperatures will rise rapidly. By the afternoon, the high teens or low
:07:13. > :07:16.20s. We will go a bit warmer than that for the second part of the
:07:17. > :07:21.weekend, as the winds come in from Spain. So yes, a fresh start of the
:07:22. > :07:26.day on Sunday, but lots of sunshine and with that southerly breeze
:07:27. > :07:31.temperatures get up to 21-22 or 23 degrees. Let's look at the Outlook.
:07:32. > :07:34.Sadly, it's not going to last. By Monday, and north-westerly wind will
:07:35. > :07:35.drag in more cloud and temperatures will
:07:36. > :07:42.drag in more cloud and temperatures will be down by 8-9 .
:07:43. > :07:46.Hello, my advice would be to make the most of the weather this
:07:47. > :07:51.weekend, if you can. Because there will be a good day love sunshine on
:07:52. > :07:55.offer and it will continue to warm up as well. This picture was taken
:07:56. > :07:58.in Cumbria, at Workington, later in the afternoon. We got the sunshine
:07:59. > :08:02.eventually in northern England but it's in the Northwest we have the
:08:03. > :08:05.lowest temperatures at the moment. Under clear skies, it's turning
:08:06. > :08:09.quite chilly. There's some cloud but most is sitting in the far North
:08:10. > :08:14.West of Scotland and we will see some patchy fog affecting parts of
:08:15. > :08:17.the M4 and M5. A chilly night under the skies in the countryside.
:08:18. > :08:21.Temperatures not far away from freezing. It will warm up very
:08:22. > :08:26.quickly in the sunshine. The fog won't last long. It will be a lovely
:08:27. > :08:28.day across England and Wales. More sunshine today than we had in
:08:29. > :08:29.northern England and