About the Twickenham Riverside scheme

Parking and access 

We made the decision to remove parking from the Embankment in order to open up the riverside to all residents and prioritise people over cars. This decision was taken by Committee in November 2020. A plan has been developed to help mitigate the loss of these spaces and we continue to engage with local people on this. See the June 2021 Transport and Air Quality Committee report on this subject. 

Diamond Jubilee Gardens 

We will be re-providing the Diamond Jubilee Gardens. Open space is central to the scheme and the design will provide an increased amount of Public Open Space. The Gardens will be set out across the central space, starting with the top tiered lawns, children’s play area, pétanque pitches and seating areas and will then flow down the terraced lawns and terraced steps to the Town Square events space on the Embankment.   

Environment, sustainability and biodiversity 

The new riverside development is designed with a strong focus on sustainability and biodiversity, incorporating native planting, rain gardens, green walls, bird and bat boxes, green roofs, hedgerows, and a floating ecosystem. This floating ecosystem along the river will provide habitats for local aquatic plants and animals, enhancing biodiversity, improving water quality, and creating a resilient waterfront.  

Thorough ecological assessments, including a specific bat survey, have informed the design to ensure that it supports biodiversity and meets environmental standards and ecological considerations are integrated into every stage of the development process. The scheme will achieve a 19% net gain in biodiversity—well above the 10% benchmark—through features like wetlands, flower-rich planting, and urban greening.  

The scheme will plant 49 new trees and remove 66 trees within the development site, resulting in a net reduction of 17 trees.  The Black poplar is the most notable tree to be removed as it commemorates the Diamond Jubilee. The impact of losing this tree was recognised and every opportunity for retention within and off site was explored. However, after extensive efforts to retain or relocate it, including consultations on transporting the tree by road or barge, it was deemed logistically and financially unfeasible. In response, approximately 300 cuttings were taken from the Black Poplar, and these are being propagated at nurseries, with viable cuttings to be replanted across the borough to continue the tree’s legacy. We are relocating as many shrubs, plants and hedgerow as possible to enrich local green spaces.  

To mitigate flood risk, the scheme integrates a new flood defence wall and Sustainable Drainage Systems (SuDS) such as a rainwater attenuation tank, green roofs, and permeable paving. These measures will manage surface water runoff, improve resilience to extreme weather, and contribute to a secure, sustainable environment targeting a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating for non-residential areas.