Bazalgette Embankment is part of new embankments across London.
The River Thames is getting a long-awaited new embankment, Bazalgette Embankment. Located in Blackfriars, it will open in September. Announced in 2020, it is the largest of seven new public embankments.
Covering 1.5 acres, Bazalgette Embankment sits on the Blackfriars Bridge foreshore and features a new walkway and open space for leisure and recreational activities. To bring life to the area, 71 trees and 3,000 plants have also been planted on the embankment.
The new embankment is named after the engineer Sir Joseph Bazalgette, who pioneered London’s original sewer network. His legacy dates back to the 19th century during the time of The Great Stink, when he devised an innovative sewage system that greatly improved the city’s hygiene. His work prevented raw waste from flooding the streets, stopped cholera outbreaks, and kept London clean for generations to come.
Bazalgette Embankment forms part of a wider rollout of seven new public embankments across London – also known as mini-parks. The Thames Tideway Tunnel, a 25-kilometre-long sewer completed last year and fully connected in February, made all of them possible.
Sir Peter Bazalgette, great-great-grandson of Sir Joseph, said: “There’s a special magic about canals and rivers. People love being beside water, and they appreciate having the room to enjoy waterside recreation, so to have seven new areas beside the Thames that can be enjoyed and explored while walking is going to be a marvellous thing. Specifically, the one next to Blackfriars Bridge, which will be named after good old Sir Joe, makes my heart beat proud.”
Albert Embankment, Chelsea, and Putney already host some of the newly opened embankments. More are due to open at Heathwall Pumping Station in Nine Elms and at Victoria Embankment.
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GO: Visit www.tideway.london for more information.