Newspaper
BDP in Lewisham
BDP Landscape has just received planning permission for a new 1.3ha public park within the heart of Lewisham, south-east London. The proposals for Lewisham, one of the Mayor’s 100 Public Spaces, have been developed through a series of public consultation events and include major ecological improvements to the River Ravensbourne. Martin Savage, landscape architect at BDP, spoke to Vista about the scheme. “BDP was appointed in April last year by the London Borough of Lewisham and our brief was to design a park that would respond to new residential and leisure developments that are planned for the area and also give the space a contemporary, modern feel, setting the precedent in terms of design and materials. A quarter of a billion is going to be invested in the town centre over the next ten to 15 years – Lewisham is undergoing a major urban renaissance and this park is the first part of the initiative.” The BDP team undertook a series of consultation events in the town centre, meeting the local user groups and putting together concepts with the help of residents. Savage said: “Lewisham is a very urban environment and although it is quite close to Greenwich park, it suffers from a lack of green spaces. One of the things that came out of the consultation process was that people wanted to see a very green space with the emphasis on soft landscape. They wanted to be able to see the River Ravensbourne, which at present cuts through the site in a concrete channel and is barely visible.” Discuss this article
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