Riverside Walk
Pictures of Riverside Walk Before the Works
Pictures of Riverside Walk After the Works
The Site
The Riverside Walk is located between Kingston Bridge and the Bishop Out of Residence public house. This part of Kingston's riverside is publically accessible, but owned by Canadian and Portland (owners of Bishops Palace House).
The Project
Working in partnership with the landowner (Canadian and Portland), and with design support from the Thames Landcscape Strategy to enhance the attraction of Kingston's Riverside Walk. The scheme aimed to clear away much of the clutter and the unattractive planted area outside Frere Jacques restaurant to make way for more attractive landcsaping and provide more room for visitors to use the riverside. The scheme included improved planting, more public seating and bins, enhanced lighting and a walkway surface appropriate to the riverside location and the setting for the Grade II* listed Kingston Bridge.
Canadian and Portland are the prinicipal scheme funders, with contributions from Kingston First, Transport for London, Kingston's Crime and Disorder Partnership and Kingston Council. The Council's property services advisor NPS, project managed the works which were undertaken by Pierse Contracting.
Work Completed
The works were largely completed in Autumn 2007, and comprised the following:
- removal of two very large Leylandi Cypress trees, and their replacement with five Liquidamber trees;
- new granite block planters filled with new shrubs outside the Frère Jacques restuarant;
- studs to identify the limit of the restaurant outdoor seating area;
- replacement lighting, seating and bins; and
- resurfacing of the old tarmac walkway with a golden coloured resin bound gravel.
The materials complement the new riverside safety railings installed at the location earlier in the year.
The only work outstanding is the introduction of a pourous bound gravel material around the trees. This cannot be undertaken until the earth in the tree pits has settled and the weather is sufficiently warm to allow the resin to set.