• Beckton Meadows has been chosen as one of the 22 London projects to receive funding as part of the Mayor’s plan to deliver more rewilding in London
Newham Council has been announced as one of the beneficiaries of further funding from the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, as he reiterated his support for restoring London’s natural biodiversity by committing a further £1m to re-wild the capital.
This is the second year running that Newham Council has received funding from the Mayor of London’s Rewild London fund. Last year, the £50,000 fund received was added to Council investment and saw the creation of the Greenway Pollinator Trail. This project enabled the council to establish a wildflower trail over 6km in length with educational feature areas along the Greenway, a traffic-free pedestrian and cycle route that forms a green corridor across the borough.
£38,500 grant funding has been awarded for 2023/24, which alongside further Council investment, will enable the creation of Beckton Meadows, a species-rich wildflower meadow, covering approximately 3,000 square metres at the heart of Beckton District Park, one of the first steps in the realisation of the Beckton Parks Masterplan.
Councillor James Asser, Cabinet member for Environment and Sustainable Transport said: “We are very grateful to be one of the recipients of a second round of funding from the Mayor of London which will support one of our key projects to improve Newham’s green spaces.
“The Beckton Meadow project is a key component of the wider masterplan which will deliver community green spaces for all residents to enjoy while also supporting the Council’s priority to create a sustainable borough at the forefront of addressing climate change. This will be another boost to our plans to increase the number of wildflowers across Newham to help support bees, butterflies and other wildlife.”
“I am looking forward to seeing the project start soon, for residents to be able to enjoy another space where they can unwind and appreciate nature in the borough.’’
Beckton District Park is the largest area of local authority-managed green space in the borough. It is also the largest Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) managed by the borough.
Newham Council has been working with the local community to develop a vision for the parks which culminated in the publication of the Beckton Parks Community Vision in July 2022, this vision has formed the foundation for the co-design of the Beckton Parks Masterplan.
The Community Vision presents six key principles one of which is ‘Harnessing Green Spaces as Learning Places’. This highlights how important Newham residents feel it is for children to become familiar with nature and wildlife. The creation of Beckton Meadow will enable the Council to continue to work with the community to explore new methods of managing the creation of wildflower habitats and to engage the community in understanding, appreciating and participating in the management of these spaces.
The meadow will be the first of a network of spaces and places of outdoor learning in Beckton Parks, designed to inspire the next generation to care for natural habitats as well as maintain and enhance the biodiversity of the park in the face of the climate emergency.
The meadow will sit alongside the new woodland area which was planted by Newham Council in partnership with Trees for Cities in 2019 and saw 8,000 saplings planted by residents in a community planting day.
For more information about Beckton Meadows and the wider masterplan, visit the Newham website.