MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE PARK

19 May 2009
For immediate release

Local community invited to view developing park plans

Residents and businesses throughout Bromley by Bow and East India Dock Basin will have the opportunity to see the emerging plans for the new Lea River Park at special events this May and June. The Lea River Park – a brand new two mile park for East London, will transform this area but input is still needed from the local community to help shape the park’s design, feel and style.

The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC), the regeneration agency managing and funding the park’s delivery, recently organised two consultation and activity days with Thames21, London’s leading waterways charity. This event on Tuesday 26 May will give attendees the opportunity to see some of the results from those suggestions made, as well as join a guided walk and discussion to hear more about the plans for the Lea River Park.

Multiple award-winning landscape architects Latz + Partner are leading the design for the park but there is a continuing opportunity for people to get involved in helping shape the park’s design through ongoing consultation and engagement work and a specially created website. 

www.myleariverpark.org has information on the proposed park, a discussion forum and an events calendar. Residents and businesses can sign up to receive a free e-newsletter which will keep them updated on progress, can put forward their thoughts and ideas and register their interest in becoming a member of the ‘Consultation Board’. It is anticipated that the site will become a lively hub of activity with information and opinions aired and shared.

The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC), the Government’s lead agency for regeneration in East London, will invest £28m in the next three years to create the new park in the Lower Lea Valley, which will stretch from the Olympic Park in Stratford, south to the Thames at East India Dock Basin.  LTGDC is working with partners Design for London and the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority.

Peter Andrews, Chief Executive of LTGDC, said: “The scarcity of high quality open space in East London is well known but in our efforts to realise the Lea River Park idea we want local communities to be with us every step of the way. By involving local people in the design we will have a park that genuinely meets the needs and aspirations of local people along with creating a place that is actively cherished.”

MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE PARK
Tuesday 26 May | 6.00-8.00pm
House Mill, Three Mills Green, E3 3DU

Tuesday 23 June | 6.00pm-8.00pm
East India Dock Basin (exact venue tbc)

For further information please visit www.myleariverpark.org

- Ends -

For further press information please contact:

James Aldous (Thames21)
Tel: 020 7248 7171, Email: james.aldous@thames21.org.uk

or Emma Cassidy (London Communications)
Tel: 020 7612 8478, Email: ec@londoncommunications.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

About The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC):
LTGDC is the lead regeneration agency for the Lower Lea Valley and the London Riverside - the two areas with the greatest potential for growth in London and the Thames Gateway.

LTGDC will invest £237 million in these areas by 2011. This will create 8,200 new homes and 7,900 new jobs, along with the necessary infrastructure to support growth. In doing so, we will attract a further £1.8 billion of private sector investment.
LTGDC has committed to deliver the necessary infrastructure to support a total of 40,000 new homes and 28,000 new jobs by 2016.
For further information please go to www.ltgdc.org.uk 

About Thames21:
Thames21 is an environmental charity (registered number 1103997) working to bring London’s waterways to life.  Dirty rivers and canals reduce the quality of life for all, harm and kill wildlife, damage the environment and drive people away from vital open spaces. London’s rivers and canals are precious natural resources providing green spaces for urban communities and habitats for wildlife.
 
Each year, with the help of around 4,000 volunteers, Thames21 removes over 1,000 tonnes of harmful litter from the River Thames, its tributaries and the canal network. Thames21 is supported by, and works closely with, the Port of London Authority, Thames Water, Environment Agency, Corporation of London, Encams and British Waterways. www.thames21.org.uk

About Lea River Park:
Lea River Park will connect the Olympic Park in the north of the Lower Lea Valley to the River Thames in the south.  The two mile park will unlock valuable new green space and leisure facilities in an area that suffers from high levels of deprivation and a lack of public amenities. It will provide an improved environment that will encourage the creation of high-quality business and residential space. The park will promote health benefits and vastly enhance what’s currently an underused and unloved natural environment.