Revitalising London Thames Gateway's Waterways

The canals and rivers in London Thames Gateway are important, both for businesses and the local environment, and integral to the appeal of the local area for those looking to relocate or set up a company in the region. Gateway to London looks at the region's waterways' history and at how they fit into the London 2012 Olympics plans for increasing their commercial usage.

London Thames Gateway's waterways have a long and distinguished history in the industry of the region. During the reign of Alfred the Great, the River Lea formed the border between Saxon England and Viking controlled Danelaw and ever since, the network has been used for transport, mills and of course a water supply. 

Improvement works have taken place throughout the ages, with some of the most significant being on the Bow Back Rivers in Stratford, where remodelling to improve drainage and navigation was carried out between 1931 and 1935.

The rivers, which were linked together with a network of open ditches, had for centuries drained the area north of Stratford High Street. By the 1930s, the Back Rivers were vital to storm drainage but had become derelict and choked with rubbish. A scheme, which came with high hopes of improving the waterways for leisure use, was started and one contractor said at the time; "West Ham will be a fashionable boating centre. You will see the elite in blazers and straw hats, pulling their skiffs up and down and having a glorious time. Who knows? There may be motorboat racing and Henley will have to look to its laurels in the matter of regattas."

But by the time of the 1968 British Waterways Act, the Bow Back Rivers had declined to such an extent that they were classified as ‘Remainder Waterways' - effectively limiting investment in their future.

The first major catalyst for regeneration around the waterways was the construction of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link at nearby Stratford. Since then, a number of activities have been undertaken by partners including British Waterways, the London Borough of Newham, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the Lea River Trust and the Inland Waterways Association, to clean up the Bow Back Rivers and improve access and wildlife habitats.

Today, the waterways find themselves at the heart of the Olympic Park, and a crucial element of the sustainable promise for 2012. Work on the site includes decontaminating millions of square feet of land, demolishing hundreds of buildings, reusing materials and erecting world class sporting venues in their place. The Olympic Delivery Authority aims to use the waterways to bring in materials, machinery, workers and equipment. This could also be the catalyst for a new generation of post 2012 water-based businesses.

The first step towards revitalising the waterways has been secured with funding for a £18.9 million new lock and water control structure on Prescott Channel in Bow. Prescott Lock will control the river above Three Mills at a navigable depth and ‘lock-out' the tide. It will create a green gateway for barges entering the Olympic Park, helping to remove up to 1,000 lorry journeys a week from local roads - and up to 170,000 lorry journeys in total.

The lock will keep water levels to its north at a controlled level, allowing up to 1.75 million tonnes of construction materials to be brought in by barge. Water is greener, cleaner and more sustainable than road haulage, using less than a third of fuel and emitting less than a sixth of the pollution. The new lock will help to improve local air quality, saving 4,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide in the build up to the Olympics alone and creating a green transport network for future movement of waste and recyclables by barge.

The lock will be 62m long and 8m wide, and will include sluice gates, a public footbridge, ‘fish pass' and a twin sluice on Three Mills Wall River.

It is hoped that the work will restore the Bow Back Rivers to their heyday, creating a green gateway for barges entering the Olympic Park and reviving water transport in the area for the first time in 50 years. This forms part of a wider strategy to maximise the use of the rivers in the area for wildlife, navigation and people, creating a thriving waterway legacy. 

Building work on the project managed, by British Waterways, began in March 2007 and is due to be completed in time for the main construction phase of the Olympic Park later on this year.

Beyond the Olympics, it is hoped that the number of businesses using the waterways will increase. This could include transporting recyclables from new homes established in the area, as well as attracting increased leisure boat activity - trip boats, water taxis, floating restaurants, houseboats and visiting craft. Wildlife habitats will be enhanced and protected,  and access to the rivers will be improved, with new paths and signage, plus links to parks and other rivers in the Lower Lea Valley.