On Thursday, 21 May, in partnership with St John's, Thames Estuary Partnership and the Environment Agency, our neighbourhood sustainability and climate resilience programme Sustains Us co-hosted the Reimagining the River event.
The morning discussion brought together 70 local landowners, organisations, businesses, residents and statutory bodies, and formed part of St John's Rivers of Life Festival. In particular, this reimagining exercise explored how the need to strengthen local flood resilience – through raising our Thames River Wall – can be reframed as not just an infrastructure challenge but an opportunity to think more creatively about the river and riverside.
South Bank’s watery history
David Sweetland of A London Inheritance blog opened the morning, grounding the discussions in South Bank and Waterloo's rich history and connection to the river; from the discovery of a Roman boat beneath County Hall dating back to 300 AD and the swampy Lambeth Marsh, through to reclamation, flooding and post-war rubble before the Festival of Britain 75 years ago.
He shared a tale of remarkable transformation, showing our riverside as an ever-present landmark that is always evolving.
Looking to our adaptation needs
Following this introduction to the historical context of this changing environment, three speakers provided a look at the national, regional, and local strategic framework underpinning Thames resilience.
Sarah Smith from the Environment Agency shared key insights into the Thames Estuary 2100 strategy.
She outlined the role of the Environment Agency, the long-term risks posed by the river, and the steps needed to mitigate them. This includes the requirement for local authorities to develop riverside strategies by 2030 to integrate localised defence raising and flood protection into placemaking and growth strategies.
Nicole Gonzales-Tarrio of Arup provided a tangible example of how this can be brought to life.
She shared insights into what is happening with the Lower Darent Riverside Strategy, delivered alongside Dartford Borough Council and the Environment Agency. This contextualised what our local councils, Southwark and Lambeth, will be developing in the coming years alongside our local communities.
Benedita Moniz Baroseiro also introduced the Joint Thames Strategy work underway through the Thames Estuary Partnership.
She explained how findings from the Reimagining the River event will feed into the Thames Strategy London Central, a strategy bringing together a collective vision for the protection and improvement of the Thames riverside, anchored in managing flood and climate resilience alongside protecting historical and social value.
River regeneration precedents
To spark bold thinking about the future, Ole Schrøder of Third Nature showcased flood resilience and public realm projects in Copenhagen alongside other standout examples of global waterfront regenerations.
In a rapid world tour we jumped from Venice to New York, Paris, Seoul, Berlin, Toronto, Basel, Bordeaux and Dortmund, hearing inspiring examples of reimagined spaces before arriving back in London and examining the ‘what if’s…’ of futures closer to home.
These inspiring examples highlighted how infrastructure and resilience challenges have unlocked wider benefits in placemaking, biodiversity and local identity.
Beyond the wall – exploring our future vision
Building off these presentations, attendees were invited to join in this visioning through workshop activities and art.
Alice Angus, artist in residence at local Topolski Studio, led a collective drawing capturing attendees’ hopes for the river. This forms part of Alice’s wider work exploring common wealths like clean air, water, ecosystems and healthy communities on this 75th anniversary of the Festival of Britain.
Through these conversations, a shared hope for a cleaner, greener, and healthier river and riverside was resounding.
Many spoke of this landscape at the heart of the city as London’s largest open space. As a place of sanctuary, a place of connection - both with nature and with other communities along the riverside - and a place of exploration and play across generations.
At the heart of these reflections was a strong local interest in helping shape this next chapter of resilience and transformation for the river and South Bank.
The insights shared from the day will be collated together, and a detailed summary fed into strategic processes, including the Thames Strategy London Central and upcoming local riverside strategies and community-level next steps.
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