Thames Gateway Parklands £10 million projects underway

The London Development Agency (LDA) today announced that the vision for a series of major revitalised parklands along the Thames Gateway is becoming a reality.

The LDA has agreed a grant of nearly £2 million with the London Borough of Lewisham to revamp Waterlink Way & Deptford Loop. This is part of the Thames Gateway Parklands plan, a new scheme backed by £10 million that the London Development Agency has secured from the Department for Communities and Local Government’s Parklands Fund.

The Thames Gateway Parklands plan will transform five parklands in east and south east London - at Three Mills Green in the Lea River Park, Dagenham Washlands, Rainham Riverside, Erith Marshes and Waterlink Way & Deptford Loop. The LDA developed the plan with its Thames Gateway partners and the parklands will form an integral part of the regeneration of the Thames Gateway. The ambition is that these revitalised green spaces will play the kind of positive influence on the neighbouring areas as Hampstead Heath and Greenwich Park exert on their surroundings.

The scheme agreed with LB Lewisham will enhance a walking and cycling route from the Thames to outer London, with the creation of wetlands and backwaters along the route at Ladywell Fields and other open spaces.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said:

"The re-development of the Thames Gateway will only succeed if we create green and open spaces to enrich existing and new communities, attract investment and raise spirits. I am determined to see the development of a series of green links to form the East London Green Grid, across this region.

“So it is great news that Ladywell Fields and the Waterlink Parklands in Lewisham are set to receive a £2 million grant from the London Development Agency for a spectacular revamp. This will help to make the area easier to enjoy on foot and two wheels, whilst also creating more pleasant spaces where people, plants and animals can thrive harmoniously.”

London Development Agency Group Director for Design, Development and Environment Peter Bishop said:

“The Thames Gateway Parklands are a vital investment in renewed parks and green spaces - a key part of the Thames Gateway’s redevelopment. Having got this additional £10 million for London, the LDA is working with the boroughs and others to revitalise these open spaces in some of the capital’s more neglected areas. The improved parklands will have improved access - attracting more people to visit, enjoy and travel through them - and will generate environmental benefits from better biodiversity to improved flood risk.”

The Thames Gateway Parklands project is part of the East London Green Grid. The Mayor of London, Transport for London, the LDA and the east London Boroughs have developed the East London Green Grid to plan and deliver a network of multi-purpose, high quality open spaces to connect the places where people live and work, to public transport nodes, the countryside in the urban fringe and the Thames.

Along with Waterside Way & Deptford Loop, the other four Thames Gateway Parklands projects are:
- Dagenham Washlands, an area north of the A13 near the Ford works, will have new cycle and footpaths introduced to connect with the Thames and will create a new flood storage area.
- Rainham marshes, the Parklands project will deliver increased public access to the Thames waterfront and expand the marshland wildlife habitats - in an area known as “Wildspace” - as part of a wider investment to restore public spaces from Rainham village to the river, over an area designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest.
- Three Mills Green in the Lea River Park - the setting of the medieval Three Mills complex - a park will be created that includes sports pitches, communal gardens, a community orchard and an outdoor cinema.
- Erith Marshes will enjoy improved access, increased biodiversity and animal welfare - including the protection of grazing horses that are vital to maintaining the grazing marsh. The scheme will create better access to the Thames Path.