An Inspiring Community Campaign: The East London Waterworks Park

I have written a lot since starting this blog about many of the amazing green spaces in London. They often have fascinating histories, some going back centuries, some going back just a few years. Some of my favourites are places such as the Phoenix Garden near Seven Dials and the Onion Garden in Westminster, that exist because of either an individual or a community who has created an oasis from an unloved patch of land. 

I think London and probably all cities, need green space to thrive and be pleasant, enriching places to live. I was therefore delighted to visit somewhere that has the potential to be a new green biodiverse pocket of London.

The East London Waterworks Park is currently a large patch (14.03-acre) of concrete, once part of the Lea Bridge Waterworks. There is however a campaign to turn it into a community park. It will be a home for wildlife but also as a place for wild swimming, learning and community events. 

You can find their website here as well as their Instagram here.

You can see the site on the map below. 

Below a couple of photos of the site currently.

The Origins Of The Waterworks

Currently being used as a Thames Water depot, this area, until the 1960s, was part of the Lea Bridge Waterworks.

The history of watermills at Lea Bridge goes back to at least the 14th century, with the power of water being used predominantly to grind corn and other grains. The River Lea was the main route for grain into London.

From the 18th century Lea Bridge also started to become a source of drinking water for East Londoners. The mills were used to power pumps to transport the water to other locations.

Cholera And The Construction Of The Filter Beds

In 1829 the mills at Lea Bridge were purchased by the East London Waterworks Company. The water, at first, was untreated and a series of terrible cholera epidemics took place in the 1840s, when around 13,000 East Londoners were killed from drinking contaminated water. From 1852 the filter beds were therefore constructed here to purify the water. A complex of 25 filter beds were served by an aqueduct bringing water from the Walthamstow reservoirs further north.

By 1903 the waterworks were supplying water to over 1 million Londoners in the East End. In 1904 the eight private water companies supplying water to Londoners were absorbed by the Metropolitan Water Board.

The Waterworks Closes

The site was closed after technological advancements and the new Coppermill Water Treatment Works opened in 1969 slightly further North.

The Lee Valley Park Authority took over part of the site: the Middlesex and later Essex and Leyton Filter Beds. Today, the Middlesex and Essex Filter Beds are both wonderful nature reserves. The whole site, including the proposed park area, was designated as ‘Metropolitan Open Land’, in theory protecting it from inappropriate development. 

The area for which the park is proposed was once occupied mostly by the ‘Essex Number One Beds’. These were kept by Thames Water and concreted over, with lots of the characterful old buildings demolished. The Government purchased the land back in 2017, thinking they may use it to build two schools. Plans were rejected by Waltham Forest Council in 2019 and the government have continued to lease it to Thames Water to use as a storage depot. 

An Alternative Emerges

The idea to try to rescue and rewild the Lea Bridge Waterworks was first discussed at a Save Lea Marshes meeting in 2019 and a vision came together, one that benefits the local community and wildlife. It is the missing piece of the puzzle linking up many other green and blue spaces from the Walthamstow Wetlands to the Hackney Marshes to the Olympic Park. 

The East London Waterworks Park campaign was founded by Save Lea Marshes and CPRE London. Since then they have raised over half a million pounds from around 5000 different donors to acquire the site. Hundreds of volunteers from all walks of life from scientists, to inclusivity experts to architects. 

In 2024 the Government announced plans to build a secure children’s home on the site, a proposal that the campaign is against. They say that ‘The East London Waterworks site is the only place for East London Waterworks Park, a unique nature-rich space co-designed and led by the community for the community. The site is Metropolitan Open Land and, as such, its only credible future is one involving minimal development and open public access for all, reconnecting the marshes and nature reserves of the Lower Lea Valley.’

The Vision

The plans for the space look incredible. They intend to uncover two of the old filter beds from their current concrete prison and create wild swimming ponds for the community.

It will consist of 3000 square metres of swimming ponds that could accommodate 1200 swimmers a day, on par with London Fields Lido and Hampstead Heath. There would be 5300 square metres of reed bed filtration and 1600 square metres of beach. Rainwater will be harvested and it will be a fantastic site for water storage and preventing flooding. 

Much of the concrete will be left to create really interesting and rare environments for wildflowers and animals. 

The existing buildings will be utilised for a cafe, a community kitchen, a walled garden, bookable community spaces, arts/science studios and community workshops. 

In 2024 the project won the People’s Choice award in competition to Reimagine London. Abigail Woodman, one of the key figures in the campaign, said, “The vision for East London Waterworks Park has captured the hope of many people in East London and beyond. We want to work together to turn our dream into an actual park for all the community.”

A Glimpse Of What It Could Become 

As part of my visit, I wandered around the nature reserves and public spaces that currently surround the desolate, fenced off concrete. It gave a sense of what it could become: a wonderful place for people but also wildlife.

You can still see lots of leftovers from the area’s industrial past. 

Below is an installation called Nature’s Throne by an artist called Paula Haughney.

It, I think, is a very inspiring project that has garnered a huge amount of public support and momentum. I would love to, in a few years time, be able to visit the East London Waterworks Park and see this vision become a reality. 

You can find out more on their website here about volunteering, donating as well as lots of extra information.

Thank you for reading, more fascinating historical London sites below…