Mayor redoubles efforts to safeguard London from climate change

Green and Resilient Spaces Funded Projects

 

 

·         Ealing – Southall Grand Union Canal Wellbeing Way (£700,000) 

The Canal & River Trust will lead this health and well-being focused project linking five green spaces along the Grand Union Canal towpath around Southall, working with Catalyst Housing and Ealing Council. This project will improve access to currently underused canalside spaces, by improving towpaths, particularly for cyclists and those with mobility difficulties, as well as revitalising public spaces. There will be more opportunities for exercise, learning, playing, connecting, looking after local wildlife habitat and food growing.  The project will also build climate resilience and create and improve wildlife habitats. 

 

·         Hackney – West Reservoir – Connecting Green Spaces (£700,000) 

This project aims to open up currently inaccessible waterside green space at West Reservoir for public access, allowing people to circulate around the perimeter of the water, as well as creating new reedbed habitats for wildlife. New bridges will link routes over the New River enabling more people to experience the natural and built heritage of the site. An improved open water swimming facility and other enhancements will also increase the number of visitors to the site.  The West Reservoir adjoins Woodberry Wetlands (previously known as the East Reservoir).  

 

·         Haringey – Chestnuts Park Rainscape Masterplan (£300,000) 

Large areas of Chestnuts Park are currently unusable during the winter and in wet weather due to drainage issues. This project aims to create new wetlands and swales to help with this, which will also help tackle flooding downstream. The project will also improve access to the park, add ‘play on the way’ features and new wildlife habitats. Plans will be co-designed with the local community.  

 

·         Hillingdon – Green Blue You: Connecting Communities to Healthier Places (£600,000) 

Groundwork London, in partnership with London Borough Hillingdon, are leading this series of inter-linked projects across the Pinkwell ward and ​surrounding green and blue spaces, greening housing, schools, parks and streets. Green Blue You aims to reduce flood risk and alleviate pollution to water courses, improving and creating habitats including woodland, meadows and rivers. The project will work with residents to create greener and more biodiverse estates and provide local young people and residents with opportunities to learn new green skills through volunteering and training. The neighbourhood will benefit from new sustainable drainage, new natural play areas and improved walking and cycling access to and within green spaces. 

 

·         Lambeth - Lambeth Bee Roads (£440,000) 

Lambeth Bee Roads is a vision to provide ten miles of green highways for bees, butterflies and other pollinators across the borough, connecting places, communities, and landowners. Lambeth Council working with local communities and volunteers, will deliver a series of roadside wildflower verges on under-used land in locations suggested by local residents. The project will continue to be developed in collaboration with local communities. The project will also help better manage rainwater through sustainable urban drainage, improve walking routes, and create natural play opportunities. The project will share ‘how to’ guides with other boroughs.  

 

·         Lewisham – Beckenham Place Park - Restoring Connections to Blue-Green Spaces (£700,000) 

This project will transform the east side of Beckenham Place Park and provide a green link for residents from the Downham Estate along a historic green route. Extensive new landscaping of the east side of the park will provide wildlife-rich ponds and lowland meadows with space to accommodate stormwater to reduce flood risk. Over 400 properties and critical rail infrastructure will be better protected from flooding. Across the park there will be new and enhanced opportunities for play and recreation for all.   

 

The project will engage and reconnect the communities of Bellingham, Downham and Whitefoot, reaching out to a greater diversity of users and participants as well as boosting blue-green conservation skills through volunteering and training.  

 

 

Green and resilient spaces - Project Development grants – £40,000 per project 

 

More information about the projects can be found here: www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/parks-green-spaces-and-biodiversity/green-and-resilient-spaces-fund     

 

• Barking & Dagenham – Gores Brook Living Landscape 

Ambitious project to restore the Gores Brook through Parsloes Park and Goresbrook Park. The project would create a riverside park area through Parsloes Park with enhanced recreational and biodiversity value for local residents from the nearby Becontree housing estates. Working with Thames21 and the London Wildlife Trust, development funding will support a community engagement process and technical studies to develop the project to planning stage. 

 

• Bexley – Crossness Urban Park 

Sustrans are leading this project to make a large underused green space more accessible and welcoming. Development funding will support community co-design of a plan for the site, community research into pilot interventions to improve entrances and access through the site along with ecological survey work to ensure the project protects and enhances the ecology of the site. 

 

• Camden – Kilburn Grange Park – neighbourhood park for the future 

This project aims to achieve an exemplar neighbourhood green space that responds to the challenges of climate change, helps communities to overcome health inequalities, and supports community cohesion and wellbeing. Key project elements include expanding the health offer of the park, improving entrances, creating sustainable urban drainage and extending green infrastructure into the surrounding streets. Development funding will support community co-design of plans for the site and updating the masterplan.  

 

• Hackney – Homerton Hospital and Community Green Integration Project 

The North East London Clinical Commissioning Group and partners aim to better link Homerton University Hospital with nearby green spaces and improve the green spaces and green infrastructure both within and surrounding the hospital and East London NHS Foundation Trust sites. Development funding will help develop a comprehensive masterplan co-designed with the community and linked to the work of a new ‘nature recovery ranger’. 

 

• Haringey – Down Lane Park Improvements  

A project focused on improving infrastructure, landscaping, biodiversity and tackling flood risk in this local park, serving Tottenham Hale’s emerging district centre. The project also aims to link up a network of nearby green spaces, helping to increase usage and cater for new and existing communities. Development work seeks to promote a focus on community participation, green skills development, and generate RIBA Stage 3 and 4 designs. 

 

• Hounslow – Hanworth Airparks Community Woodland Hub 

A project to open up a currently inaccessible area of woodland, scrub and brownfield land next to Hanworth Park. The aim is to create a new community cycle hub and restore a large orchard. Development work will include ecological surveys, heritage appraisal, topographical survey, soil testing, flood risk assessment and development of proposals to RIBA Stage 3 with involvement of the community.   

 

• Kingston – Rewilding Tolworth Court Farm  

The aim of the project is to investigate appropriate options for rewilding at Tolworth Court Farm Fields Local Nature Reserve and undertake community engagement to showcase the value of the site for people and wildlife. The project has the potential to highlight how rewilding can transform the landscape and reconnect people with the natural world, while also celebrating its rich heritage. Development funding will support ecological surveys, a management plan for the site, feasibility studies and costed proposals, and community engagement.  

 

• Lewisham – Grove Park’s District Park Masterplan

This linear park creation project aims to bring existing Metropolitan Open Land that runs along the Grove Park railway cutting into more active use. It is a key project supported by the community in the Grove Park Neighbourhood Plan. Development funding will support feasibility and technical studies, development of a masterplan and more detailed proposals for priority sites. 

 

• Merton - Morden Green Corridor 

The National Trust are leading this ambitious proposal to create a riverside green space in a currently inaccessible area near Colliers Wood. The project will provide access to new, nature rich, green space along this section of the River Wandle, enhancing the green route that runs alongside it. Development work is to include community engagement and co-design, ecological surveys, and obtaining relevant consents and permits for work. 

 

• Newham – Beckton Parks Masterplan 

This project aims to improve the accessibility and quality of a large underused series of green spaces in a very deprived area, helping to tackle public health issues. Development funding will support the creation of a comprehensive, costed masterplan for the site co-designed with the community. 

 

• Redbridge – Westwood Recreation Ground 

This project aims to tackle flooding at Westwood Recreation Ground, helping to better protect nearby properties, through restoring the river and creating new wetlands. Culverted sections of the river will be opened up and naturalised to run through the park. Improved green links will also be made to nearby Seven Kings Park and a local school. Development work to include community engagement and co-design, ecological surveys, and developing a landscape led masterplan. 

 

•  Redbridge – Improving Wanstead Park Wetlands

This feasibility project aims to help improve water levels and habitat in the lake cascade of the park. It will also improve access and integrate natural flood management, helping the park to be more resilient to climate change. This development funding will identify opportunities for sustainable urban drainage schemes and look at what habitat improvements could be made to the lake cascade itself by creating wetlands. It will also engage the community in the preparation of proposals for the landscape and habitat works. 

 

• Southwark – Greening Rotherhithe New Road 

This street greening project, greening the south side of Rotherhithe New Road, aims to include rain gardens, parklets, play spaces and a new walking and cycling route, which will contribute to a strategic ‘Greener Belt’ ultimately connecting the Old Kent Road to Southwark Park and Canada Water. Development funding is for site surveys, community engagement and design work to develop project to RIBA Stage 4. 

 

 

Climate Resilient Schools 

• Thames Water’s free Smarter Business Visits will address leaks and install water efficient fittings (for example tap restrictors, urinal sensors, converting single-flush to dual-flush). Water-saving measures have the potential to save 9,500 litres per day per school (equating to approximately £5,000 per year saving on water bills) while meters will help schools plan for further water-efficiency measures in future.
• For the second stage, we will install sustainable drainage rain planters which reduce the risk of surface water flooding by storing roof runoff, whilst also providing irrigation to the plants and relieving the sewer network during rainfall events. The planters are low maintenance and have wellbeing, heat risk, and air quality benefits. We also offer to install monitoring technology to provide the school with monitoring data on the amount of water diverted and provided for irrigation.
• We will create bespoke climate adaptation plan for the schools. This is not just for flooding but other climate risks such as overheating. It sets out options for additional measures the schools could pursue, as well as indicative costings and any potential sources of funding. This will provide an estimate of the scale of the adaptation cost in order that a funding case can be made to boroughs and government.
• Tailored climate education resources will also be provided to the schools. This final stage will draw on the interventions made through this programme to engage students, teachers, parents and school management in climate adaptation issues and measures to improve both personal and public resilience. This will be linked back to the rain planters and climate adaptation plans.
• Thames Water and the Department for Education will contribute £0.5m each towards the Schools Climate Resilience Programme. The GLA will also contribute £0.5m towards the programme.
• The most at risk schools are still being contacted to be part of this programme. The schools will cover 21 boroughs: Croydon, Hounslow, Ealing, Brent, Barnet, Lambeth, Southwark, Lewisham, Greenwich, Enfield, Waltham Forest, Merton, Wandsworth, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Camden, Tower Hamlets, Hackney, Haringey and Newham
• See the list of schools supported:  https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/environment/climate-change/climate-adaptation/climate-resilient-schools

 

Flooding report

• As there is no single authority with the statutory responsibility for surface water flood management at the London wide level, the Mayor called a roundtable meeting immediately after the July flooding to ensure that everything possible is being done to improve the response to, and reduce the impact of, these extreme events on our city.
• The roundtable includes senior leaders from those organisations with responsibilities for responding to or managing surface water flood risk in London. The roundtable has identified the need for more investment in surface water flood management, a more strategic approach to delivery, redoubling efforts in incident preparedness and response, improving communications and coordination, and improving community resilience. While the incident response has been led by London’s existing emergency management/resilience apparatus, the roundtable agreed to establish a task and finish group to examine the challenges of longer-term management of surface water flood risk in the context of climate change and recommend actions to address them. The task and finish group reported its findings in February and are summarised in the Progress Report.
• Actions already delivered include improvements in multi-agency incident planning and response, data sharing and communications; both between partners and also improved public communications both in advance of and during a flood incident. The report also sets out the task and finish group recommendations, which include the need for a more strategic approach to managing surface water across the capital; clearer and stronger governance arrangements for managing flooding, more funding and the need to urgently identify and reduce the most acute risks, such as risk of flooding to basement properties.
• The roundtable will continue to meet into the second half of 2022 to ensure its findings and that of the task and finish group are being taken by the relevant agencies. 

 

The full report can be found here: https://www.london.gov.uk/WHAT-WE-DO/environment/environment-publications/surface-water-flooding-london