Woodberry Wetlands to Walthamstow Wetlands Newnton Close Proposals

Overview

The Council is committed to improving the quality of life for people who live and work in the borough. To achieve this, the Council will from time to time fund projects that encourage people to enjoy the green spaces in and around the borough.

The Council has secured some funding from the Mayor of London’s Big Green Fund to help kick start a 3km long walking and cycling greenway to link Woodberry Wetlands in Hackney with Walthamstow Wetlands in Waltham Forest.

The Woodberry Wetlands is a nature reserve located Stoke Newington East Reservoir. It spans 17 acres and is made up of reed beds, meadows and wildlife. It also provides valuable foraging and roosting habitat for bats.

The Walthamstow Wetlands consist of ten reservoirs positioned in the heart of the Lee Valley. The site is highly important for biodiversity, and in particular a wide range of bird life.

Both wetlands have remained closed to the public since their construction in the 19th Century and will shortly be opened to the public for the first time.

The greenway will encourage visitors to walk or cycle between the wetlands by linking parks, marshland, quiet roads and towpaths, avoiding busy roads such as Amhurst Park and Seven Sisters Road. The greenway will be linked to several other quiet way routes to Central London, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and Walthamstow.

Proposals for the greenway have been developed after identifying suitable locations on the highway that can be converted into green spaces or pocket parks where pedestrian / cycle path can be easily installed.

This consultation seeks the views of local residents on proposals for Newnton Close

Why your views matter

Proposals

The proposals at Newnton Close include:

1. Adopting a piece of land between Bethune Road and New River and converting it into a pocket park with trees, shrubbery and soft verges
2. Installing a walking / cycling path with a gentle ramp at both ends using free draining materials and permeable block paving
3. Installing a swale as part of sustainable drainage and shrubbery
4. Replacing the gate at the Bethune Road junction with a lockable bollard and two fixed bollards
5. Replacing the fixed barrier next to the New River footbridge with fixed bollards to improve cycle /
6. Replacing the fixed barrier next to the New River footbridge with fixed bollards to improve cycle / pedestrian accessibility
7. Improving the existing lighting facilities by installing three new lamp posts along the route
8. Installing wayfinding signs and branding along the whole route.

Other proposals along the wetlands to wetlands route

Consultation for proposals to install a cycle path at Clapton Common is in progress.

Subject to approval, these improvements will be carried out during the 2015/16 year

What happens next

Your views will be taken into account as part of the detailed design process. Works are expected to start in January 2016 should we get a positive response. May we take this opportunity to thank you for replying to this consultation.