Exclusive first look: London's £4.2bn Thames Tideway super sewer is an unprecedented planning victory to build into the river

London’s new £4.2bn super sewer will create acres of new public space on platforms built out into the freshly cleaned-up Thames.
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Anna White6 September 2018

The Thames Tideway Tunnel, the capital’s new £4.2 billion super sewer, is set to create acres of new public space in central London.

As our exclusive new pictures reveal, for the first time planning permission has been granted to a developer to build out into the river.

The project is creating seven paved platforms over the Thames at Putney Bridge, Albert Bridge, Chelsea Bridge, Victoria and Blackfriars Embankments, at the King Edward Memorial Park in Shadwell and replacing the Heathwall Pumping Station in front of Nine Elms at Vauxhall.

Thames Water says the platforms will celebrate the capital’s watersports, arts scene and ecology, while also paying homage to the city’s industrial past.

The 15.5 mile-long Thames Tideway sewer, which will run from Acton in west London to Stratford in the east, will prevent 39 million tons of raw sewage from seeping annually into the Thames.

London’s ageing sewer system was built by the famed engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette in the 1860s to cope with a population of four million people rather than today’s eight million.

The landscaped platforms will cover shafts that will collect raw sewage before it can reach the river, diverting it to the new Tideway Tunnel 60 metres below and on to a treatment plant in east London.

For lead architect Clare Donnelly of Fereday Pollard, the huge engineering project is not just about modernising a creaking sewage system but reconnecting people with the river.

“The new platforms are in such prominent places — opposite the Oxo Tower and the London Eye for example — so the design became very important early in the process. Our aim is to bring more people to the banks but without barriers between them and the water.”

These public spaces will create new views of London’s landmarks and in some cases allow people to dip their toes into the newly clean water at the highest tides. Building is expected to begin in 2020 and take two years.

PUTNEY: A SPORTING LEGACY

The new 5,381sq ft platform at Putney will be accessible year round but is designed as a viewing station for the annual Oxford v Cambridge university Boat Race.

The starting line will be denoted on the river wall in a strip of bronze, while oars from historic races have been cast to make the handrails.

New homes: a 10-minute walk from the river, close to East Putney station, 58 one-, two- and three-bedroom flats by developer Fabrica are on sale in Carlton House, including 15 for shared ownership. Prices start from £595,000 and completion is due next year. Call the sales team on 020 3930 4449.

CHELSEA: A MEETING POINT

The 1,614sq ft Chelsea Embankment platform will become a meeting point outside the Royal Hospital gardens, decorated depending on the event. For the Chelsea Flower Show it will be dressed with foliage and colour.

New homes: flats at nearby Chelsea Creek start from £890,000, with a residents-only spa and gym and a round-the-clock concierge service. Call St George (020 3582 4574).

VICTORIA: DIP A TOE

Opposite the London Eye and within the formal context of Whitehall Palace, terraced seating will be built down to the river overlooking Westminster. The lowest terraces will flood at highest tide, letting people splash in the newly clean Thames.

New homes: 12 bespoke Adelphi Terrace flats, between Strand and Victoria Embankment, start at £999,950. Call CBRE (020 7182 2477).

ALBERT EMBANKMENT: NEW VIEWS

Two new platforms will be built at Albert Embankment totalling 32,291sq ft of public space. The first will widen the Thames Path and provide a viewing station towards the Palace of Westminster.

The second platform will give new views of Grade II*-listed Vauxhall Bridge and its statues of allegorical figures fixed to each pier. The statues that will be visible from the platform symbolise agriculture, architecture, engineering and pottery.

New homes: prices for an apartment in the 595-home Keybridge development by Mount Anvil in Vauxhall range in price from £690,000 to £4 million. Call 020 3930 4121 for more information.

Thames Clipper commute: Mike Mellor and wife Sian live at Keybridge, SW8

Entrepreneur Mike Mellor, 50, has bought a three-bedroom duplex apartment at Keybridge with his wife, Sian.

Mike, who commutes on the Thames Clipper, loves travelling to and from work along the river and the flexibility the location of his home provides for him.

EXTENDING THE RIVER WALK: NINE ELMS

An old Thames Water pumping station will make way for new river frontage at Nine Elms, opposite new residential scheme Embassy Gardens.

The old station blocked the towpath but the new 10,763sq ft public realm will reopen it to walkers, commuters, joggers and cyclists.

Winemaker Gavin Monery has opened a new store and restaurant at Battersea Power Station, also on the Nine Elms site.

“The Thames is an incredible resource and we welcome plans to clean it up and improve public access,” says Monery, founder of Vagabond Wines.

New homes: there’s a two-bedroom, ninth-floor flat with views over the river for sale in Embassy Gardens for £1,499,950 and a one-bedroom flat with balcony at Riverlight, both through Foxtons. Call 020 3841 4200 or 020 7801 1111.

Blackfriars: largest Tideway public space will have planted terraces and sculptures

BLACKFRIARS: NEW GARDEN

With 50,000sq ft of new public space to be created at Blackfriars, this will be the largest Tideway site, marked by planted terraces and decorated with new sculptures as a tribute to 19thcentury engineer Joseph Bazalgette's historic network of sewers.

"The riverfront at Blackfriars comprised narrow, dark walkways and subways so we've been working with the Metropolitan Police to ensure the new civic space opens up the area, prevents any isolated spots and entices people over to this side of the river," says lead Thames Tideway architect Clare Donnelly.

As part of the scheme a new pier was built at Blackfriars and launched in July for the Thames Clipper service. The 275ft-long pier was towed from Holland and installed so commuters and tourists could continue to travel via the river even when construction of the new super sewer is under way in central London. Both Blackfriars and Victoria platforms will have coffee kiosks and pop-up shops. New homes: towering behind the site is the new 50-floor skyscraper One Blackfriars — dubbed The Vase — by St George. Made with 5,746 curved glass panels and with a gym and spa in the basement, prices for a onebedroom flat start at £1.15 million and on the top of the building is the prized 17,000sq ft penthouse. Through CBRE (020 7182 2477).

"Proper riverbank": the Thames Tideway platform at King Edward Memorial Park, Shadwell E1, will include terraced seating and newly created habitats for water wildlife

SHADWELL: AN ECOSYSTEM

The new platform at King Edward Memorial Park in Tower Hamlets will add 21,527sq ft in an area short of public open space.

On the bend of the river, terraces and seating will be created and will flood at high tide. Water plants such as the common reed will be imbedded in the river wall to create new habitats for invertebrates in the water. "We want to create proper riverbanks in this part of town," says Clare Donnelly.

New homes: a 10-minute walk from the site is London Dock, the redevelopment of a former industrial site into homes, restaurants and shops. The latest phase to be launched is Cashmere Wharf, where two-bedroom flats start from £1.27 million. Call 020 3797 8680. Cheaper period properties can be found close to Shadwell station, including a big, open-plan warehouse flat with a terrace, on sale through Keatons for £800,000. Call 020 8115 1424.

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