The Thames Barrier Park

Category: Gardens

Location: London, England

The Thames Barrier Park is a 7-hectare park in Silvertown in east London, named after its location on the north side of the river Thames, next to the Thames Barrier. It is intended to aid the regeneration of the area by creating an attractive public space alongside residential and commercial developments. 

It was opened in 1995 and is considered the first largely postmodern park in London.

The park was designed by French landscape architects Allain Provost and Alain Cousseran, in tandem with British architects Patel Taylor. 

It was created on a site that once housed petrochemical and acid works on the Thames riverbank, as this was the location of the PRChemicals factory. 

The contaminated soil is still there but covered with a six-foot layer of crushed concrete, preventing it from coming into the new soil, laid on top. 

Since it was first opened, it has won several design awards, both in the UK and the US. 

The park features 32 fountains in a stone courtyard. It also has family facilities, including children’s play and picnic areas. 

One of the most eye-catching features is the “Green Dock”, a 130-foot-long sunken garden, running diagonally through the park. This is intended as a reminder of the park’s dockland heritage, while also providing a wind protected microclimate for a variety of plants and wildlife. 

Two bridges cross the Green Dock and reveal vistas across the colourful, scented garden. 

The park also boasts extensive lawns that are crossed by gravel pathways and bordered by yew and many green hedges.

The park is right next to the Thames Barrier, which is a retractable barrier system built to protect the floodplain of most of Greater London from exceptionally high tides and storm surges moving up from the North Sea. It has been operational since 1982. 

When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide; at low tide, it can be opened to restore the river’s flow towards the sea. Flooding in London has been a problem since Roman times. The concept of the rising sector gates was devised by Charles Draper. 

Work began at the barrier site in 1974, and today, the barrier divides the river into four 61-metre and two approximately 60-metre navigable spans. As of April 2023, there have been 208 flood defence closures. 

The barrier has survived 15 boat collisions without serious damage.