RTPI Planning Awards 2009

27-Jan-10

London Rivers Action Plan - Environment Agency

Climate Change Award Winner

Sponsored by Berwin Leighton Paisner

Summary

The London Rivers Action Plan (LRAP) aims to raise the profile of river restoration as a key feature of sustainable development. It’s innovative and imaginative use of the planning process has already achieved positive results and is helping to create a more sustainable London.

Background

River quality in the River Thames has improved greatly in recent years, but 70% of the River’s tributaries still flow though culverts or concrete channels. While in the past fifteen years, twenty two kilometres of Thames tributaries have been improved or restored the ambition is to step up the rate of river restoration. The London Plan has a target of restoring 15km of river by 2015.

Project Description

LRAP aims to support this vision of river restoration by providing a practical guide to improving London’s rivers to manage flood risk, support sustainable regeneration, improve wildlife habitat, help adapt to a changing climate and contribute to a better quality of life for Londoners. LRAP develops and combines the existing North London and South London river restoration strategies. Whilst these strategies were successful in stimulating thinking about river restoration across the London area, the new plan goes further by identifying the restoration needed to meet targets and to highlight the importance of river restoration in adapting to climate change. LRAP comprises an information resource in hard copy, with an interactive webpage hosted by the River Restoration Centre for planners, developers and designers showing them the opportunities for river restoration and helping to influence the solutions they devise. It showcases the positive benefits of river restoration in Greenwich, southeast London, where a section of the River Quaggy has been brought out of its underground culvert. The river now flows across Sutcliffe Park, creating wetlands with cycleways, footpaths and open spaces which have become a valuable community asset and a haven for many forms of wildlife including kingfishers and dragonflies. LRAP was produced in partnership by the Greater London Authority, the Environment Agency, Natural England and voluntary organisation including the Thames Rivers Restoration Trust, London Wildlife Trust and WWF UK.

Planning Achievement

• It links into and builds on the success of existing river management plans and green infrastructure initiatives, including the Thames river basin management plan and the East London green grid;
• The guidance provides a one-stop-shop of advice and information for planners, developers, landowners and others to help them recognise the benefits of restoration, including case studies of existing schemes. The web page will be updated on a six monthly basis, to enable new opportunities to be included and enable completed projects to be documented;
• LRAP is helping to dispel the myth that flooding of public open space reduces amenity value. It supports the idea that ‘Making Space for Water’ creates more natural floodplains and wetland habitats;
• It shows that everyone can benefit if rivers that are currently lost beneath the streets and open spaces of London are released from their subterranean world to flow on the surface once more;
• It is well produced and inspiring set of materials that make a real contribution to raising the profile of planning that helps to adapt our urban environments to climate change.

Representatives from the Environment Agency receiving their award for Climate Change from Ann Skippers, President of the RTPI, and awards host Justin Webb.

Key Participants

Environment Agency, Greater London Authority, Natural England, River Restoration Centre, Thames River Restoration Trust and London Wildlife Trust.