A local charity, East London Waterworks, has less than 90 days to earn approximately £80,000 in order to reach their Crowdfunder target to turn an abandoned waterworks site in Hackney into a public park.
East London Waterworks are attempting to purchase land located on the border of Hackney and Waltham Forest, via a Crowdfunder, to create a new park in east London. They have raised around £420,000 of the £500,000 needed to secure the purchase but have a deadline of the end of February next year to reach their target.
If the development is successful, the park created would be the country’s first public park with self-cleaning biodiverse swimming ponds, done so via self-cleaning reeds, aquatic plants and by re-connecting the lower Lea Valley. The development would also include community centres and a forest school for local children. Around three-quarters of Hackney’s residents do not have access to a garden.
The plot was previously a filter bed that provided clean drinking water to East London. It is now a derelict concrete site in the middle of Lee Valley, separating existing greenspaces of Lee Valley Park and Millfields park.
The land is currently owned by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and managed by LocatED, the Department for Education’s arms-length property company.
The Department now wants to dispose of the land. The £500,000 from the Crowdfunder is half of the £1million down-payment the group need to show the legitimacy and public interest in the park to the owners. The other half of the money is being sourced from corporate donations and grant funding. The land is priced at around £2million and the overall cost for the project will be £3million if approved.
Abigail Woodman, chair and spokesperson for East London Waterworks, said: “We’re excited to have reached 84% of our crowdfunding target (£500,000). In such a difficult economic climate, this is nothing short of amazing and it’s incredibly heartening for everyone working on the project to see the strength of support. We now have to dig just a little bit deeper to get us over the line.”
The Mayor of Hackney Philip Glanville said in a statement: “We warmly welcome this vision of sustainability, decarbonisation and nature recovery… this project would set a truly inspiring precedent.”
The charity is made up of local volunteers. Daniel Okwi, a volunteer, described the potential of the project saying, “it is about more biodiversity, an opportunity for learning and creativity in arts and science spaces, something for anyone from any community to come and leave their mark. I’m proud to have come onboard.”
Kate Clarke is another volunteer who said: “I want my son to grow up dreaming about creative and sustainable solutions in his community. I hope he’s influenced by my involvement in this project over the next decade.”
The charity is fundraising by donations through Crowdfunder. A donation of £50 will get you a button badge and a postcard whilst a £1000 donation will let you name a small part of the park.
The site does face some issues in becoming a park. Like many brownfield sites, the land has ground contamination. East London Water works said that the Expedition Engineering’s pre-feasibility report suggests the contamination is not insurmountable.
The time limit put in place was part of the demands of the landowners, it creates a sense of urgency and means the importance of public interest is throughly reflected according to East London waterworks. If their goal of £500,000 is not reached by the deadline of February 28th, 2023, donations will be used to support related local charities that align with the group’s environmental objectives.
