Canal towpath overlooking Three Mills Wall River

The Lower Lea Valley is the southern end of the

Lea Valley The Lea Valley, the valley of the River Lea, has been used as a transport corridor, a source of sand and gravel, an industrial area, a water supply for London, and a recreational area. The London 2012 Summer Olympics were based in Stratford, in ...

which surrounds the

River Lea The River Lea ( ) is in South East England. It originates in Bedfordshire, in the Chiltern Hills, and flows southeast through Hertfordshire, along the Essex border and into Greater London, to meet the River Thames at Bow Creek. It is one of t ...

. It is part of the

Thames Gateway Thames Gateway is a term applied to an area around the Thames Estuary in the context of discourse around regeneration and further urbanisation. The term was first coined by the UK government and applies to an area of land stretching east from ...

redevelopment area and was the location of the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. A 2005 documentary ''What Have You Done Today,

Mervyn Day Mervyn Richard Day (born 26 June 1955) is an English former professional footballer who played in the Football League as a goalkeeper for West Ham United, Orient, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Luton Town, Sheffield United and Carlisle United. H ...

?'' focused on the history and landscape of the Lower Lea Valley. The film was made by Paul Kelly in conjunction with British pop group Saint Etienne.

Geography

The Lower Lea Valley can be described as the part to the south of the long chain of reservoirs which end with the

East East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and

West West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...

Warwick Reservoirs. The

Lea Lea or LEA may refer to: Places Australia * Lea River, Tasmania, Australia * Lake Lea, Tasmania, from which the Lea River flows * RAAF Base Learmonth, IATA airport code "LEA" England * Lea, Cheshire, a civil parish * Lea, Derbyshire, a set ...

changes course at this point, changing from a SSW to a SSE direction for the last five miles before its confluence with the

Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...

at Blackwall and

Canning Town Canning Town is a district in the London Borough of Newham, East London. The district is located to the north of the Royal Victoria Dock, and has been described as the "Child of the Victoria Docks" as the timing and nature of its urbanisation ...

. The north-west of the area is in the

London Borough of Hackney London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, the south-east is in the

London Borough of Newham The London Borough of Newham is a London borough created in 1965 by the London Government Act 1963. It covers an area previously administered by the Essex county boroughs of West Ham and East Ham, authorities that were both abolished by the s ...

, the south-west is in the

London Borough of Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London boroughs, London borough covering much of the traditional East End of London, East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former Metropolitan boroughs of the County of London, metropol ...

, and the north-east is in the

London Borough of Waltham Forest The London Borough of Waltham Forest () is a London borough in north-east London, England. Its population is estimated to be 276,983 in 2019. It borders five other London boroughs: Enfield to the north-west, Haringey to the west, Hackney to th ...

Parkland

The Lower Lea includes Hackney Marshes and the Lea River Park, a collection of six parks which connect

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...

to the

Royal Docks Royal Docks is an area and a ward in the London Borough of Newham in the London Docklands in East London, England. The area is named after three docks – the Royal Albert Dock, the Royal Victoria Dock and the King George V Dock. They are mo ...

and the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

; linked by the Leaway. Three Mills Lane view across the water

The redevelopment of the Lea River Park opens up 45 acres of new space creating walkways and cycle paths. The project completes the 26-mile long

Lee Valley Regional Park Lee Valley Regional Park is a long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire from the River Thames to Ware, through areas such as Stratford, Clapton, Tottenham, Enfield, ...

which connects Ware in Hertfordshire to the River Thames. It takes an hour to walk the entire Lea River Park with the opportunity to stop off and learn about some of the area's rich history, including: * Dane's Yard – the first phase of Vastint's 26-acre Sugar House Island project. Dane's Yard is a Conservation Area sensitively being refurbished into a business hub for creative industries. The Sugar House, a Victorian warehouse on site, is one of the development's buildings being refurbished. *

Three Mills The Three Mills are former working mills and an island of the same name on the River Lea. It is one of London’s oldest extant industrial centres. The mills lie in the London Borough of Newham, but despite lying on the Newham side of the Lea, ...

– a beautiful and historic area which is home to the world's biggest

tide mill A tide mill is a water mill driven by tidal rise and fall. A dam with a sluice is created across a suitable tidal inlet, or a section of river estuary is made into a reservoir. As the tide comes in, it enters the mill pond through a one-way gate ...

(which was listed in the

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

). The mills were originally used to grind grain for flour (Stratford bakers were renowned and mentioned by Chaucer). Later the mills ground grain to make gin, and a large distillery was set up on Three Mills Island. Owned at the time by Nicholson, it fuelled the gin graze in London. The distillery is now 3 Mills Studio, an independent film studio, home of MasterChef and many British-made films. * Bow Ecology Park – a thriving wildlife sanctuary with newts, water scorpions and flocks of wading birds. *

Trinity Buoy Wharf Trinity Buoy Wharf is the site of a lighthouse, by the confluence of the River Thames and Bow Creek on the Leamouth Peninsula, Poplar. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The lighthouse no longer functions, but is the home of ...

– home to London's only lighthouse. * Cody Dock – a formerly derelict dock which is being transformed into a thriving creative community space. * The banks of the Lea at the Bow Brewery where India Pale Ale was first brewed.

Redevelopment areas

Responsibility for the redevelopment of most of the area was under the remit of the

London Thames Gateway Development Corporation The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation (LTGDC) was a non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Communities and Local Government, with directors appointed by the Secretary of State, including some democratically elect ...

until 2012. The area around the Olympic site is now under the control of the

London Legacy Development Corporation The London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) is an organisation established in 2012, replacing the Olympic Park Legacy Company. It was formed as a mayoral development corporation under the powers of the Localism Act 2011. The ''mayoral develo ...

. It forms part of the

Green Enterprise District The Green Enterprise District is a regeneration project of Boris Johnson, then the Mayor of London in east London, England, with a stated aim to create a low-carbon economy region in Greater London. It coincides with the Lower Lea Valley and ...

. Part of the area is an enterprise zone including Silvertown Quays, Royal Albert Dock and Royal Albert Basin. Current areas identified for redevelopment are: * Bromley-by-Bow, led by

Tesco Tesco plc () is a British multinational groceries and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Welwyn Garden City, England. In 2011 it was the third-largest retailer in the world measured by gross revenues and the ninth-largest in th ...

, Tower Hamlets * Canning Town and Custom House, Newham * Chobham Manor, Newham * East Village, the former Olympic village, Newham * East Wick, Hackney * Marshgate Wharf, Newham * Pudding Mill, Newham *

Silvertown Quays Silvertown Quays is a redevelopment scheme of of former London docklands warehousing in the East London district of Silvertown. It is situated on the northside of the River Thames, the southside of the Royal Victoria Dock on the opposite quay ...

, Newham * Stratford City, led by Westfield, Newham * Sugar House Island, led by Vastint, Newham * Sweetwater, Tower Hamlets *

Bromley-by-Bow gasholders The Bromley-by-Bow gasholders are a group of seven cast iron Victorian gasholders in Twelvetrees Crescent, West Ham and named after nearby Bromley (now Bromley-by-Bow) in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Built between 1872 and 1878 to store ...

, led by St William

References

External links

London Planning Dept. - Lower Lea Valley Master PlanDetails: on the London Development Agency websiteblitzandblight.com / Lower Lea ValleyBBC: Lower Lea & Thames GatewayMap of the Lea River Park
{{authority control Geography of London Areas of London Redevelopment projects in London Geography of the London Borough of Newham Geography of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets Thames Gateway River Lea London sub-regions