unique opportunity to revitalise the Lower Lea Valley, transforming one of the most underdeveloped areas of London The project is about harnessing this potential to create one of the largest new urban parks in Europe for 150 years. In addition to world-class facilities for sports including athletics, cycling, hockey, swimming and tennis, there will be homes for a new community, and green spaces in and around the Olympic Park

1. Restoring London’s rivers
The Olympic Park –
a case study
Mike Vaughan, Atkins Limited
25 October 2012
NLA breakfast talk

3. Timescale: 2005 to 2012 = 7 years

4. Back in 2005 B.C
(Before Clean-up)

5. Industrial site in a state of urban decline,

6. Contamination
Site clean up, remediation of soils and groundwater

7. Little access to the watercourses
River walls repaired, restored or replaced

8. Invasive species
8

9. Park and Public Realm
(Ecological restoration)

11. River edges and wetlands:
Integrating the river
environment into the Park
11

12. River Restoration ?
• Restoration options constrained
• Obviously “complete” restoration
philosophy can not be applied here
• Constraints of the Olympic Park
• Restoring biodiversity to river margins

13. River Enhancement
• Restoring biodiversity to the river
margins
• Enhancement of the river as a
feature
• For people:
• Aesthetic
• Engaging people with the river
environment
• For wildlife
• Intrinsic habitat value
• Habitat diversity with connectivity
• Target species and habitat
13

14. Challenges
.

15. Contamination Silt
Weeds Plant performance

17. Wetland channels

18. Wet Woodlands
18

23. Waterside margins

24. River Edge Engineer
• River engineers
• Ecologists
• Hydrologists and hydraulic
experts
• Geomorphologists
• Soils and geotechnical
• Landscape architects
• Botanists / horticulturalists
24

25. Collaboration
• Parnerships vital
• Environment Agency
• Lee Valley Park
• Rivers & Canal Trust
• 4 London Boroughs
• ODA
• CLM
• Designers
• Contractors and suppliers
25

26. So what have the Games
done for the River Lee?

27. 2005 BC:
Overgrown & low value

28. 2012 AD (Atkins Design):
Colour structure, habitat with value

29. Sustainability
Accessibility
Remediation

30. A place for recreation and biodiversity –
a site of metropolitan importance
2.3ha of wetland habitat
An important wildlife corridor

31. “We believe that our work on London 2012 will
showcase the Games as a feat of engineering
excellence, demonstrating the breadth and quality
of career opportunities in engineering and design”

32. End