Objector plants High Court legal challenge on bike-free Garden Bridge

Michael Ball, from Tulse Hill in south London, says that some of the best views of the City and St Paul’s Cathedral will be compromised by the proposed £175m Garden Bridge. The Guardian reports that he believes that the London Borough of Lambeth unlawfully granted planning permission, arguing that it has a duty to protect the historic settings of listed buildings in the area.

Ball, a former director of Waterloo Community Development Group (WCDG), a community planning organisation, will challenge the plans in the High Court.

“The impact of the garden bridge will be devastating. The best views of the City and St Paul’s will be compromised from Waterloo Bridge and entirely blocked along the South Bank, one of the great promenades of Europe and London’s most popular walking area.

“In return for this we get a private bridge with no right of way, closed once or twice a month, and with restricted access.”

It has previously been reported that the bridge, which will receive £60m of public money, will be closed between midnight and 6am with groups of more than eight people having to apply for permission to visit. Cyclists would also be banned, with Joanna Lumley somewhat bizarrely claiming sole responsibility for that particular decision.

“Being a Lambeth resident and using the Tube, I walk a lot. I don’t walk in cycle lanes and that’s the reason why I – and I’m the only one you can blame for not having cycles on this bridge – I said that I believe that cyclists speeding over the bridge would stop it being a peaceful place to walk and a safe place maybe to take a wheelchair.”

The London Cycling Campaign has reported how Caroline Pidgeon, deputy chair of the London Assembly Transport Committee, has pleaded for bikes to be allowed. “At the very least cyclists should be able to use it as a safe route across the Thames. It would be appalling if so much public money was spent on a new Thames crossing which totally excluded cyclists."

However, Lambeth council’s planning report explained why cyclists would be able to push bikes over, but not ride. It is apparently because cycle lanes or wider paths “would result in a much reduced planted area” – a sentiment which has since been reiterated by the Garden Bridge Trust on Twitter.

The lack of cycling provision was given as a key reason by many respondents who opposed the project during the initial consultation at the end of 2013.

Ball’s solicitor Richard Stein, from the human rights team at law firm Leigh Day, said:

“This seems like a poorly thought-through project which, although attractive at first glance, on reflection is seriously deficient in a number of important respects. This is reflected by the growing public concern expressed about the bridge.

“We are asking the court to quash the planning permission and to send the project back to Lambeth for much more careful consideration before such a significant change is made to the historic heart of London.”