Lewisham town centre park to see £3.5 million in funding

Lewisham’s Riverdale sculpture park is set to see an injection of funding totalling £3.486 million from the Mayor and Lewisham Council as part of the Civic Partnership Programme.

The park once housed 16 pieces of art with just one piece now remaining dating from 1993 as part of the Lewisham 2000 event.

Work was commissioned by Citibank who owned a tower beside the shopping centre. Future funds comprise £2.486m from the Mayor of London with an additional £1 million match-funding from Lewisham Council.

Other projects

It sits to the south of the town centre near Lewisham library which itself is seeing an upgrade, though plans have been scaled back with a recent council report stating a rooftop bar and space for events was being dropped. That is a separate £24 million project mostly funded via central government and a “levelling-up” scheme.

As for work now set to be undertaken at the park, the announcement states:

“The funding will support the transformation of the existing Riverdale Sculpture Park by creating a riverside public space that is safe and enjoyable and connected to active travel routes; engaging with groups historically under-represented in shaping the Town Centre; and including tree and shrub planting and drainage solutions that provide an alternative to the direct channelling of surface water through networks of pipes and sewers to nearby watercourses.”

Mayor of Lewisham, Brenda Dacres, said: “We are absolutely thrilled that we will receive £2.5m in funding as part of the GLA’s Civic Partnership programme to drastically improve a public space that is underused and needs some love.

“With match funding from Lewisham Council of around £1m, the project will include co-designed public art with the local community, new play equipment and park facilities alongside restoring the river Ravensbourne within the park to increase biodiversity.

“We know how well loved our parks are across the borough, so are delighted to be able to deliver a space our residents deserve as well as have a positive environmental impact on the local area.”

Civic Partnership Programme

A total of £12.85 million is in the spending pot for various projects in the program which runs until 2026/27.

So far 12 of London’s borough’s have been awarded funds. South east London boroughs Greenwich and Bexley have yet to see any funds.

Projects that have seen funding announced so far include Tower Hamlets with plans to improve “public realm within the busy Whitechapel Road traffic corridor between Aldgate and Whitechapel”.