99
CONSERVATION
&
MANAGEMENT
Habitat Creation in the Lee Valley Park
TIM HILL
Nature Conservation Officer, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority
Myddelton House, Bulls Cross, Enfield, EN2 9HG
Introduction
The River Lea has played an important part in the development of London, providing a major
transport route for both people and goods into and out of the city. Urban spread followed the course
of the river north, with some industries such as furniture-making becoming established on the river.
During the 20th century sand and gravel have been extracted from large areas of the lower Lea
Valley. Following extraction the holes in the ground were either filled with waste materials or allowed
to fill naturally with ground water. At Chingford and Walthamstow huge reservoirs were constructed
and north of Waltham Abbey a thiiving greenhouse industry developed on the rich alluvial soils of
the valley sides.
By the 1960s the Lea Valley had changed beyond recognition. Lying on the boundary of the riparian
boroughs and county councils it had become London's backyard - a dumping ground used by all and
cared for by none. This may have been the case today had it not been for the vision of Sir Patrick
Abercrombie who in 1944, in his Greater London Plan, proposed that the Lea Valley should be
managed as a,"... great regional reservation" The idea lay dormant in the post war years until 1963
when resurrected by local authorities who commissioned the Civic Trust to prepare an appraisal of
the River and its adjoining lands as a recreational park. Their report, published in 1964 and entitled,
"A Lcc Valley Regional Park" was accepted by the local authorities and under the Chairmanship of
HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, the scheme was launched. It was agreed to promote a Bill in Parliament
for the establishment of a separate statutory authority to develop the area. Following Royal Assent
to the Lee Valley Regional Park Bill in December 1966, the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority was
formally constituted on lsl January 1967.
The Regional Park stretches along the River Lea from Ware in Hertfordshire to east India Dock
Basin on the bank of the River Thames, opposite the Millennium Dome. The Park occupies an area
of some 10,000 acres. Of this, the Authority owns or manages over a third. The Park Authority has
a remit to regenerate the valley for leisure, recreation and nature conservation.
Essex Naturalist (New Series) 17 (2000)