An urban wetland for wildlife and people through private-public partnership

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by Kevin Peberdy, Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust

WWT London - Kevin Peberdy

London Wetland Centre is a re-creation of a historic wetland through an unusual partnership between the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) NGO, a water utility company, and a housing developer. Under this arrangement, around 3 hectares of the site was developed for housing, with proceeds used to create over 40 ha of natural wetlands. The site is managed by WWT, under a 125 year lease, as an important urban site for both wildlife and for people engagement

Last update: 02 Oct 2020

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Contexto

Défis à relever

Conflicting uses / cumulative impacts

Ecosystem loss

Lack of access to long-term funding

Lack of public and decision maker’s awareness

Scale of implementation

Local

Ecosystems

Wetland (swamp, marsh, peatland)

Urban wetlands

Tema

Restoration

Sustainable financing

Geodiversity and Geoconservation

Cities and infrastructure

Local actors

Urban planning

Watershed management

Culture

Ubicación

WWT London Wetland Centre, London, United Kingdom

West and South Europe

Impacts

Development of a site of national wildlife conservation value and engaging over 200,000 annual visitors with wildlife in the heart of a capital city, including over 40,000 school children. It is also a prime location for business events for London corporates and politicians, enabling WWT to engagement positively with these important sectors.
The utility realised the value of the asset by its deal with the housing developer, and also benefits from the ‘green’ credentials through its association with the project..
This ‘enabling development’ which unlocked prime building land by enabling development of a large area of natural wetland habitat and associated infrastructure, was a pioneering concept and also showed that housing connected to an urban wildlife reserve could be sold at a premium