PLANS to build a bridge connecting Greenwich to east London have been dropped by Mayor of London Boris Johnson.

The Thames Gateway bridge was one of a number of major projects not included in Boris Johnson’s transport improvement plan for London announced yesterday (November 5).

A planned extension to Croydon Tramlink which would have reduced journey times between Croydon and Crystal Palace to 18 minutes has also been dropped.

Other projects axed by the mayor are a cross-river tram linking Peckham to Camden and extension to the DLR.

Critics of Mr Johnson have slammed the decision to drop transport projects aimed at easing pressure on existing infrastructure.

Plans for the Thames Gateway bridge have been in development for 20 years and work was due to begin on construction of the bridge next year subject to final planning approval.

Private finance credits worth £350m, which had been promised to the project, will now be lost along with the potential for 42,000 new jobs, said Labour's London Assembly transport spokesperson Val Shawcross.

Ms Shawcross said: "The mayor has said a lot about the need to invest in major projects for the sake of London's economy.

“Yet here he is making a bonfire of much-needed transport schemes vital the economic regeneration of the city.

"The mayor's utter lack of commitment to public transport, to encouraging people out of their cars and to investing in London's future have been vividly exposed today.”

She added: “It seems that poorer areas of London and the outer boroughs in most need of public transport links just do not feature in the mayor's vision.

“I fear this could be the week in which London's public transport progress ground to a halt."

The bridge would have been only the fourth road crossing the Thames to the east of London between Tower Bridge and Dartford, compared to the 16 between Vauxhall and the M25 in the west.

More about Boris Johnson’s transport plan