Posted by Fiona on September 20, 2006 at 12:16:37 from 213.78.67.147 user Fiona.
In Reply to: "London's Lost Rivers" (was Death of a Pirate / Wandsworth Canals?) posted by Jock on September 20, 2006 at 08:05:52:
I know that this is somewhat off topic....... Though the Thames Landscape Strategy is a brilliant idea - to restore the old vistas in, around and across the Thames - it is not without its own complete blunders! So anxious to remove some of the later trees on the river edge of the Syon House watermeadows, they took large moving equipment down onto the foreshore and blasted their way right through what I seem to remember was the substructure of the Tudor jetty, still extant. We had photographed this, previously, returning later to the foreshore to draw/plan it and in between kerpow! The tractors markings on the ground (shades of Big Six) were still there, unashamedly, to be seen! Another project that resulted in major blunders was the construction of the Millennium Bridge in the City Reaches and I'm not referring to its wobble! The 2 stanchions supporting the bridge were carefully designed using hydrological modelling to cause least impact to the flow of water - very good intentions! BUT - in order to build them two massive square coffer dams were built which caused what can only be described as havoc to the environment/ecology and archaeology on the river, resulting in a flurry of damage-limitation exercises needing to be undertaken! Although roads cause damage where they are constructed, other more 'well-thought out' schemes can equally do so if not carefully monitored.