Unveiled - the landscape ‘masterplan’ for Rochester Riverside
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STRIKING new images of the future have been unveiled for the Rochester Riverside regeneration site.
They reveal the vision for public open space on the riverfront and across 27 hectares (66 acres) of prime development land.
Key artist’s impressions show Crescent Park, St Clement’s Park and a section of the proposed River Walk.
The watercolour images are taken from the Landscape and Open Space Masterplan for the site, produced by Armstrong Bell.
Founder Diana Armstrong Bell said: “My first memory of the site as marshland covered in reeds and grasses, cut by muddy creeks and the skeletal forms of old boats abandoned in the mud, remained as a strong image which was the main inspiration for the new landscape. Other inspiration came from the tight grain of historic Rochester and the almost sculptural defensive earthworks at Amherst, Upnor and the castle.
“The new landscape uses crisp earth embankments mass-planted with drifts of native ornamental grasses in memory of the former grazing marshland. Hard materials derive from those found on the site - chunky timber, steel, gravel and glass the colour of a sea-washed bottle.
“The landscape is designed to connect new neighbourhoods with the river by leading pedestrians between buildings to sheltered spaces on the River Walk.”
The 50-page masterplan was commissioned by the site’s joint owners - Medway Council and SEEDA, the South East England Development Agency.
Rochester Riverside - a flagship site in the Thames Gateway regeneration zone - is being cleared, cleansed and flood-proofed for the creation of a new waterfront community of 2,000 homes, a hotel, school, medical facilities, shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes.
Medway Council and SEEDA are currently short-listing developers bidding to build phase-one of the project.
Cllr Jane Chitty, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Development and Economic Growth, said: “Publication of this masterplan is an important landmark. It is a commitment to landscape design and public space management of the highest quality. Rochester Riverside must have a physical environment that is admired by visitors and loved by those who call it home.”
They reveal the vision for public open space on the riverfront and across 27 hectares (66 acres) of prime development land.
Key artist’s impressions show Crescent Park, St Clement’s Park and a section of the proposed River Walk.
The watercolour images are taken from the Landscape and Open Space Masterplan for the site, produced by Armstrong Bell.
Founder Diana Armstrong Bell said: “My first memory of the site as marshland covered in reeds and grasses, cut by muddy creeks and the skeletal forms of old boats abandoned in the mud, remained as a strong image which was the main inspiration for the new landscape. Other inspiration came from the tight grain of historic Rochester and the almost sculptural defensive earthworks at Amherst, Upnor and the castle.
“The new landscape uses crisp earth embankments mass-planted with drifts of native ornamental grasses in memory of the former grazing marshland. Hard materials derive from those found on the site - chunky timber, steel, gravel and glass the colour of a sea-washed bottle.
“The landscape is designed to connect new neighbourhoods with the river by leading pedestrians between buildings to sheltered spaces on the River Walk.”
The 50-page masterplan was commissioned by the site’s joint owners - Medway Council and SEEDA, the South East England Development Agency.
Rochester Riverside - a flagship site in the Thames Gateway regeneration zone - is being cleared, cleansed and flood-proofed for the creation of a new waterfront community of 2,000 homes, a hotel, school, medical facilities, shops, restaurants, pubs and cafes.
Medway Council and SEEDA are currently short-listing developers bidding to build phase-one of the project.
Cllr Jane Chitty, Portfolio Holder for Strategic Development and Economic Growth, said: “Publication of this masterplan is an important landmark. It is a commitment to landscape design and public space management of the highest quality. Rochester Riverside must have a physical environment that is admired by visitors and loved by those who call it home.”