Editing Joanna Lumley (section)

===London Garden Bridge===
{{Main|Garden Bridge}}
Lumley first lobbied for a garden bridge across London's [[River Thames]] in the late 1990s as a memorial to the late [[Princess Diana]]; this campaign was unsuccessful. In 2002 she presented detailed plans (produced by engineering group Arup) for the bridge to then [[Mayor of London]] [[Ken Livingstone]]; this bid was also rejected. In 2012 days after the re-election of [[Boris Johnson]] as Mayor of London Lumley sent an effusive congratulatory letter to him outlining her proposal for the bridge.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2015/may/24/joanna-lumley-role-boris-johnson-thames-garden-bridge-london-thomas-heatherwick|title=How Joanna Lumley charmed 'dear Boris' to back her garden bridge dream|last=Townsend|first=Mark|date=23 May 2015|work=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref> It was later revealed that she felt confident of a favourable response from Johnson as she had known him "since he was four years old".<ref name="Cockburn" /> [[Thomas Heatherwick]] was proposed by Lumley as the designer for the bridge; he is mentioned favourably in her 2004 [[autobiography]].<ref name="Cockburn" />

The Johnson-chaired [[Transport for London]] body initiated a competition for a new central London cross-river footbridge. Three firms were invited to submit proposals and Heatherwick Studios won the competition despite having never previously built a bridge on the proposed scale unlike the losing practices which had built very many. This outcome proved highly controversial.<ref name="Cockburn" /> Equally the subsequent funding arrangements for the bridge attracted criticism. These included: "Unorthodox" circumvention of official procedures for public money use by then [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] [[George Osborne]]. A £10,000 taxpayer-funded trip by Johnson, Heatherwick and Sir [[Edward Lister, Baron Udny-Lister|Edward Lister]] to [[Apple Computer]] in [[San Francisco]] seeking sponsorship for the bridge (the bid failed). Escalating cost estimates for the project topped out at around £200 million<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/13/why-is-londons-garden-bridge-worth-as-much-as-five-lancashire-museums-ask-joanna-lumley|title=Why is London's Garden Bridge worth as much as five Lancashire museums? Ask Joanna Lumley|last=Jack|first=Ian|date=13 February 2016|work=The Guardian|location=London}}</ref> leading to withdrawal of pledged private sponsorship.<ref name="Cockburn" />

This together with strong opposition from local residents created ever-greater scrutiny of the proposals. It became clear that the bridge would be closed at night, involve the felling of 30 mature trees and effectively privatise long-held public space in central London. Lumley also reversed her position on cycleway provision for the bridge.<ref name="Cockburn" />

Johnson continued to support the failing project until his very last day in office; attempting to shore up its funding with last minute manoeuvring to guarantee public money for the by then £70m shortfall.<ref name="Cockburn" />

Following the election of [[Sadiq Khan]] in 2016 Mayoral support for the project was withdrawn (finally in August 2017) in the face of lack of funds and persistent planning issues.

£46.4m of public money had been spent.<ref name="OCeallaigh">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel/the-next-big-thing/10120636/A-Garden-Bridge-across-the-Thames.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130615011002/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/ultratravel/the-next-big-thing/10120636/A-Garden-Bridge-across-the-Thames.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 June 2013|title=A 'Garden Bridge' across the Thames|last=O'Ceallaigh|first=John|date=14 June 2013|work=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=31 July 2013|location=London}}</ref> A Khan-commissioned report concluded that the "business case for the bridge was flimsy and that the procurement process in which Heatherwick Studio won the contract was “not open, fair or competitive”.<ref name="Cockburn-7672156">{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/garden-bridge-review-scrap-london-thames-project-dame-hodges-review-loss-46-million-cancel-a7672156.html|title=Boris Johnson's Garden Bridge project should be scrapped at cost of £46m, damning independent review finds|last=Cockburn|first=Harry|date=7 April 2017|work=[[The Independent]]|access-date=5 August 2023|location=London}}</ref>

Lumley made little comment on the fiasco until in 2017, interviewed by ''The Times'' newspaper she stated that the cancellation was “absolutely shattering, devastating... The negativity troubles me in my heart. I hope we’re not turning into the sort of country that instantly says no before it considers saying yes. A nation that just pulls the shutters down. The silent majority still love the bridge, but of course they were not asked what they think."<ref name="Morrison">{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/article/lumley-fights-on-for-her-fabulous-bridge-5mt70xmqm|title=Lumley fights on for her fabulous bridge|last=Morrison|first=Jonathan|date=29 April 2017|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=5 August 2023|location=London}}</ref> Murdoch was on record as having supported both Johnson and the bridge project.