The Roding Rises

The Roding Rises is a transformative project that aims to kick-start the restoration of the River Roding, helping communities reconnect with and enjoy London’s third-longest river.

From rural Essex to Barking Creek, the River Roding has suffered decades of pollution and neglect. The three-year project (2026-2029) aims to improve water quality, enhance natural habitats and reconnect communities with their local river.

Historically, the River Roding has been heavily modified – straightened, widened and deepened – resulting in the loss of vital habitats and ecosystems as well as restricting fish movement. The river has also been subjected to pollution from agriculture, industry, road run off and sewage. Large sections of the river have been left inaccessible to the public, leaving communities disconnected from the natural spaces it provides. Surveys conducted by Thames21 have shown many people living within walking distance of the Roding in the London boroughs of Newham, Barking & Dagenham and Redbridge are unaware of the river’s existence.  

Thanks to funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund, Thames21 via the Roding, Beam & Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership will work with the local community, volunteers, environmental organisations, local council,  the farming community and many others will help to improve water quality on the River Roding, restore valuable habitat, and reconnect people to their local environment.

The project will deliver on three critical areas:  

Habitat Restoration: Two capital river improvement projects (one in the rural upper catchment, and one in the urban lower catchment) will be selected for delivery funding through The Roding Rises project. These projects will be delivered alongside local communities and with support of relevant members of the Roding, Beam and Ingrebourne Catchment Partnership. Through their delivery, these projects aim to inspire the wider restoration of the Roding catchment by acting as replicable case studies.  

Citizen Science: Communities will be empowered to collect data on the condition of the Roding, and supported in using this data to evidence the biodiversity the river supports and the priority pollution sources that impact the river’s health. The data collected will be used to advocate for positive, evidence-led change on the river.  

Connecting Communities: Targeted community outreach, volunteering and engagement events aim to introduce and involve a wider range of communities that live around the Roding to the river, whilst supporting individuals with developing the confidence and skills needed to speak and act on its behalf. As part of this work, an access masterplan will be developed for the lower river, which aims to set out an achievable vision for an accessible, revitalised lower Roding.    

These activities will help build stronger connections between people and their local natural spaces.

Keep an eye on our events page for upcoming opportunities to get involved.

The Roding Rises is made possible with The National Lottery Heritage Fund. Thanks to National Lottery players, we have been able to develop this three-year project, which aims to kick-start the restoration of the River Roding, helping local communities reconnect with, care for, and celebrate London’s third-longest river.