Thamesmead's landscapes

Thamesmead’s landscape is remarkable. Its 240 hectares of parks and green space, 7km of canals, five lakes, 5km of river frontage and 53,000 trees, sets it apart from any other urban area in the UK. Here, residents enjoy more than double the amount of green space than the average Londoner. As a major landholder in the area, we’re investing in maintaining and enhancing Thamesmead’s green and blue spaces to benefit people now and for years to come. 

Living in the landscape, our long-term plan, sets out five themes:

1. 1. The big blue – to see the full potential of Thamesmead’s lakes and canals realised. 
   2. Wilder Thamesmead – maintaining and creating habitat for wildlife. 
   3. A productive landscape – the landscape is used to educate; from outdoor classrooms to learning environmental skills such as food growing. 
   4. Active Thamesmead – enjoying an active lifestyle which improves people’s health and wellbeing. 
   5. Connected Thamesmead – improving the connectivity within Thamesmead and into central London. 

Click here to read the Living in the Landscape executive summary.

Click here to read the full Living in the Landscape plan.  

Thamesmead Biodiversity Action Plan 

Our Biodiversity Action Plan complements Living in the Landscape, providing guidance on how local people can protect and enhance Thamesmead’s priority habitats and species. We aim to create a stronger ecosystem in the neighbourhood. 

We’re working with the North West Kent Countryside Partnership to deliver a series of regular volunteering sessions for local people at our community gardens across Thamesmead. Activities include habitat creation, woodland coppicing, wildflower planting and general tidying and maintenance which will help to increase the amount of wildlife in the local area. You can find out more about these sessions here.  

Click here to read the Biodiversity Action Plan in full. 

Making Space for Nature  

Thamesmead’s parks and public green spaces are great places to exercise, socialise or just enjoy some fresh air. Together with Groundwork and the Mayor of London we’re working in partnership with the local community to introduce new ways to help people make the most of them. We’re doing all of this through our Making Space for Nature programme which was created by CLEVER Cities and is now embedded into our wider work.  

You’ll get the chance to meet our dedicated gardener-in-residence, Georgiana (pictured), at different events throughout 2022. Georgiana is knowledgeable, helpful, obsessed with all things gardening, and always keen to share her expertise with residents! 

Find out which activities she has planned for Feb-April here. 

South Thamesmead Garden Estate 

The South Thamesmead Garden Estate project is all about investing in the open spaces around South Thamesmead to make them greener, more accessible and welcoming for the local community. Our plan is simple. It’s about getting people closer to nature by improving outdoor areas and encouraging residents to design and create these spaces with us.   

We’re investing £3.9million into the South Thamesmead Garden Estate project so that we can bring more nature to our streets while improving biodiversity. 

Find out more here.  

If you have any questions about the work we’re doing to enhance Thamesmead’s landscape, please contact [email protected].