Until about the 1980s buildings along the banks of the Thames in London had private waterfront access.
I don’t mean centuries ago when houses had watergates – you can still see the remnants at Somerset House where there was/is (?) a good explanatory story-board. I mean blocks of flats with, by today’s criteria, excessive space set aside for parking and riverside access denied to the public. Fulham Reach, on my doorstep, is not a bad example of the way planners think today. There used to be town houses with a private car park on the river frontage. Now there’s a wide esplanade, a small Tesco, a boathouse with access to the river (obv), a deli, a pub, two restaurants, offices and above it all flats stacked high but not cheap – mostly with balconies. The Riverside Studios used to hog its river frontage too but no more.
Craven Cottage, the oldest football stadium in London, Fulham FC avers but that needs fact checking, abuts the river and as the stands face the pitch the river was a wasted amenity. Now a new stand has been almost completed and there will be a riverside path. Walkers will be able to look at the river or be tempted by retail outlets on the other side of the path. It’s not open yet.
The north side of Barnes railway bridge used to mean walkers had to make a small diversion to continue along the riverbank. No longer; a stylish bridge for walkers and joggers opened in January this year. It’s too narrow for cyclists to use safely apparently but that’s a rule that will be more honoured in the breach.
From Greenwich to Brentford new developments, for all their failings, have opened up the river. For once I shed my grumpy old man mantle and applaud the democratisation of access to the Thames.
The Riverside Studios have gone? I used to attend various photo shoots there many years ago when I worked in advertising.
It’s still there. It has been redeveloped with cinemas, stages, a cafe and a high-end restaurant all surmounted by flats. But now it is wrapped by a broad riverside path for walkers, joggers and cyclists.
The river path at Craven Cottage will be open except during football matches – and before and after hospitality events. It’s now the one ‘obstacle’ on the north side of the Thames path between Putney Bridge and Chiswick. The grandstand overhanging the Thames affects sailing and, this year (quite possibly), Cambridge’s win at the Boat Race.