Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

Arcadian Diary October 2006

The River Thames flows through such a varied landscape – around each bend in the river there is a new pleasure to be discovered and nowhere more so than in our stretch in South West London. One reach that is often overlooked but well worth a visit is Brentford – a lost world of narrow boats, canal repair shops, locks and industry. It may not have the natural beauty of other places but its industrial heritage is fascinating (and interestingly enough one of the only spots along London’s River Thames where seeing a kingfisher darting between the narrow boats is almost guaranteed).

Brentford is one of the UK’s most important waterway junctions and is London’s gateway to the canal network linking the River Thames with the Midlands via the Grand Union Canal. From Thames Lock, the Grand Union Canal makes its way through West London and on to Birmingham. In fact boats and walkers can journey as far north as Lancaster, Liverpool and York without leaving the canal – although with a speed limit of four miles per hour the boat journey would take quite some time to complete!

Back in the C19th an important inland port developed at Brentford junction and the area quickly industrialised with a variety of river related industries clustered around the River Brent and the railhead (now the Brentford Dock estate). Although the nature of industry has changed from freight transfer to boat repair, the gritty industrial character of the canal junction has been preserved and remarkably, modern Brentford is essentially still a water town. This is unique to London in that it retains a robust working riverside along the waterway just moments from the town centre. Other similar settlements such as Limehouse, Paddington and the East End have all now been lost to swanky new developments. Today, there is no question in my mind that Brentford is the most complete surviving working waterside community in London. That makes it a very special place indeed.

Brentford is not preserved in aspect though. It is a constantly changing place and we are very conscious that this unique remnant of our industrial past could be lost to development and once gone it could never be replaced. Luckily there is an increasing movement to keep Brentford as a working riverside town. This does not mean that the area would need to become a museum or be stuck in the past. In fact it would be quite the opposite. To protect the working nature of waterspace would actually make for a much more dynamic town centre, around which much needed regeneration could take place. It is important to keep one foot in the past when moving forward.

Traditional boatyards for example, work with the river and make full use of the tidal fluctuations thus making them an ideal industry for waterside locations. The employment created at these sites brings diversity to the local economy. The Thames Landscape Strategy is looking at the creation of a ‘waterspace employment cluster’ centred along the Grand Union Canal to Lotts Ait on the Thames. Here, traditional, small-scale water related industry would be safeguarded and encouraged as an intrinsic part of the wider redevelopment of town centre. Similar schemes such as the redevelopment of Gas Street Basin in Birmingham have proved extremely successful. This initiative demonstrated how a conservation led regeneration scheme could successfully transform a former waterway industrial site whilst retaining a connection with an areas industrial past. The basin now forms a much cherished visitor destination that attracts many tourists, generates activity and supports a range of both water related and other jobs.

Alongside Brentford’s working boatyards and slips new sections of towpath could be opened up and exciting new riverside quarters created. What a spectacle this would be. Squeezed between Syon House and Kew Gardens the potential to link this unique waterway heritage with tourism is considerable. Through the provision of a footbridge or ferry to link Kew with Syon via a new walkway up the canal visitors could watch the boats come and go along London’s last surviving traditional working canal junction. Wow!

These of course are just proposals at the moment but it is a way forward that we hope will be adopted. It would take the commitment of many different partners to achieve however, the boat builders, Syon Estates, Hounslow Council, British Waterways, the PLA and the local community and we need your help to make it happen. If you, like us, feel that this area is so special that it should be kept for water based employment write and tell us. We can pass these letters onto the right people. If you do not know the area, pop down there for a visit – you will be well rewarded. If you need help in navigating your way around the wharfs and slipways just contact us at Holly Lodge and we can send you a map.

Whilst our proposals for Brentford are still a long way off – a project that is already well underway is the Heritage Lottery Funded London’s Arcadia initiative for the riverside on and below Richmond Hill. The first year’s work is now complete and we are ready to start phase two. This said, there are some projects that are running alongside Arcadia that are on-going such as landscaping to the Thames Path next to the Three Pigeons Hotel in Richmond. The new access and landscaping has been designed by the excellent David Pope of Richmond upon Thames Council and is already looking rather good transforming what has been for years a really scruffy corner of the riverside. On the other side of the river we will be removing some crazy paving in Cambridge Gardens later this month to be replaced with grass. More work is proposed later in the year to put in place accessible ramps between the garden and the Thames Path.

The annual ‘draw-off’ between Teddington and Richmond Lock starts at the end of October and as usual we will be helping with the many riverbed clean ups that take place at this time. Organised by the Environment Trust for Richmond, the Ham and Petersham Association and London’s Arcadia the three volunteer dates planned are Sunday November 5th at Richmond (meet at the Slug and Lettuce Pub 9.30am), Saturday 11th November at Ham (meet at River Lane drawdock Petersham at 10.00am) and for Twickenham meet at Eel Pie Island Footbridge on Sunday 19th November at 9.30am. Children are welcome with an adult. Just turn up and gloves and rubbish bags will be provided. See you there or maybe down at Brentford enjoying our glorious Arcadian Thames.

Jason Debney is Co-ordinator of the Thames Landscape Strategy Holly Lodge, Richmond Park Richmond TW10 5HS.

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