The Thames Gateway, London
2003-ongoing

Shifting perceptions to think 'Space Positive' has been a key concern of TFP's through a number of initiatives over the past decade. These initiatives are not the Grand Projets advocated by certain people in the late 1980's, but more of an 'intellectual framework' for Petit Projets'.

The Thames Gateway is currently seen by some as 'The Cockney Siberia' (Jonathan Glancey) or 'The Land that God forgot' (Steven Norris) – yet it has all the potential to be 'a new kind of National Park' (Terry Farrell). It is an area rich in history, with a diversity of landscape typologies, celebrated in art and literature and great potential as a place to live, learn and work in an environment that celebrates a more leisure orientated lifestyle. Isolated in parts yet with its own sense of 'splendid isolation' running right in to the heart of the capital.
All English landscape is man made. The nation's parks, squares and gardens are our elderly legacies. We are living off the visionaries of the past and not creating anything new. 'We are pawning the environmental silver”. Living in London, our nearest national park is the Norfolk Broads, 120 miles away. Residents of Greater Manchester, Sheffield and other towns and cities all enjoy the beauty of the Peak District literally on their doorstep and visible from the heart of the city.

A deliberately, proactively and committedly designed 'Thames National Park' reaching right through the heart of the city to the limit of the tide at Teddington would truly celebrate London's urban/rural relationship. A high quality of stewardship and maintenance planned for and built in from the outset would provide greater certainty for investment and return.

90% of the amount of planned development could be delivered in the Thames Gateway within the M25. If the remaining 10% were built in the outer Thames Gateway this would still leave over 60% of the land unbuilt or 85% of the Thames National Park (including the water) unbuilt.

The Thames National Park proposals show that The Thames Gateway is not just about urban growth and regeneration – it must also be about a 'rural renaissance' where the Thames itself – ' the bluefield' is as important as 'the greenfield' or 'the brownfield”.

This intellectual framework, first proposed by TFP in mid 2003 and launched with English Heritage, CPRE and DEMOS in December 2003, is now beginning to influence policy proposals for the Thames Gateway region.