Background
The Thames Gateway is the UK’s largest regeneration programme. The East London Green Grid is one of the four sub-regional landscape frameworks developed to deliver the government’s Greening the Gateway vision of integrating economic growth with environmental enhancement.
The East London Green Grid is one of the first spatial frameworks of its kind to use a landscape and human-centred green infrastructure approach. The initiative won the Landscape Institute’s Strategic Landscape Planning and President’s awards in 2008.
The East London Green Grid is based on an extensive partnership involving:
- central government
- third-sector organisations
- Greater London Authority
- City of London
- 10 London boroughs.
Its vision to develop a multi-functional network of strategic open space is designed to respond to two key drivers – climate change and future development.
The framework considers new green spaces as well as enhancements to existing green spaces. A strong emphasis is placed on green space connectivity, most notably by using strategic green corridors to link town centres and transport nodes to major employment and residential sites. The role of river corridors, their adjacent environment and links to the green belt are central to the project’s delivery.
The vision is supported by bespoke polices in the London Plan and two key documents:
- East London Green Grid primer (2006) – a communications document
- East London Green Grid Framework Supplementary Planning Guidance, formally adopted and incorporated in the London Plan in early 2008.
Leadership is provided by a partnership body called the East London Green Grid Project Board. Its membership includes:
- London Development Agency
- Department for Communities and Local Government
- the 10 East London boroughs covered by the project boundary
- Thames Gateway London Partnership
- the Thames Gateway delivery vehicles
- Environment Agency
- Natural England.
