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Garden Bridge designer Thomas Heatherwick has revealed his sadness and frustration after Mayor of London Sadiq Khan cut off a key funding stream for the controversial project.

The Heatherwick Studio founder said 鈥渆ndless political wrangling鈥� had brought the project to a standstill. He insisted that the kind of tranquil space the bridge proposed was vital for the city and vowed the Garden Bridge would become a reality one day.

Last week Khan announced he was withdrawing a crucial City Hall funding guarantee for the proposed bridge, after a report by MP Margaret Hodge criticised the procurement process for the structure, championed by former mayor Boris Johnson and actress Joanna Lumley.

Khan said a funding shortfall of 拢70m for the bridge, and planning permission set to expire this year, meant providing mayoral guarantees for the structure鈥檚 ongoing maintenance would 鈥渆xpose the London taxpayer to too much additional financial risk鈥�.

Reflecting what has been widely perceived as the final nail in the coffin for the project, Heatherwick defended his 鈥渆xtraordinary design for the city鈥� that he said had the support of a 鈥渉uge number鈥� of people.

Writing in the Evening Standard, Heatherwick said he had first become excited about the idea of a garden bridge when someone pointed out to him that the 鈥渉uman experience鈥� of the existing Thames crossings tended to involve being 鈥渂uffeted鈥� by wind, cars, lorries, buses, and motorbikes.

鈥淐reating calm, walkable and connected public spaces has become an urgently needed glue to hold city centres together,鈥� he said.

鈥淎nyone who has experienced the magic stitching of New York鈥檚 dislocated West Side by the raised High Line Park created on a disused railway 鈥� whose creators have been advising the Garden Bridge Trust line 鈥� can envisage what this can do.

鈥淥ur north bank hides an amazing wealth of medieval history, but new developments of luxury apartments risk cutting it off and creating a dead zone for pedestrians.

鈥淭he north and south banks feel like two different countries. Standing on Aldwych you feel a million miles from the relaxed energy of The Queen鈥檚 Walk.鈥�

Heatherwick said the creation of a 鈥渓iving bridge鈥� at the Garden Bridge location had been a talking point for decades, and that Sir John Soane had proposed a design more than 200 years ago.

鈥淢uch of the funding has been in place for some time. Large sums of public and philanthropic money have been pledged and spent,鈥� he said.

鈥淏ut endless political wrangling has now brought it to a standstill. Whatever the politics, to me as a Londoner this is saddening; for a project so close to reality to be abandoned is such a missed opportunity and waste of resources.鈥�

Heatherwick said it was 鈥渁lways easier鈥� to stop an unusual new idea than to make it happen, but spoke of his belief that the project would eventually be realised.

鈥淚 just hope we don鈥檛 have to wait too long,鈥� he concluded.

Scheme promoter the Garden Bridge Trust has yet to publish a full response to Sadiq Khan鈥檚 letter informing the charity that City Hall funding was being pulled from the project.

But a holding statement from trust chairman Lord Mervyn Davies expressed 鈥済reat regret鈥� at the decision and insisted the organisation had been 鈥渧ery confident鈥� that the remaining cash required for the bridge could be raised.