RIVERS AND COMMUNITIES How Rivers Can Breathe Life into Communities

Glen Richardson

Glen is an Associate Partner, Masteplanning & Urban Design at Carter Jonas. He has 35 years of experience managing and preparing a range of planning and urban design projects, including preparing design codes and development frameworks, providing expert evidence on design and planning matters at appeal, and managing the delivery of regeneration and public realm projects. He has worked for Carter Jonas since late 2016, before which he was the Urban Design and Conservation Manager at Cambridge City Council for 12 years. He has worked internationally, including in Canada and Spain, together with 22 years’ experience working in the UK.

Glen explains why rivers are so important and how it is possible to overcome challenges to ensure they can be part of a regeneration scheme. 

Early settlers often built communities near rivers for practical reasons such as for a fresh water supply and transportation. During the Industrial Revolution, rivers were vital for transporting goods including coal and iron. Today they remain equally as important, but the reasons have changed. Most rivers are now more about providing space for wellbeing and recreation. 

Carter Jonas has worked on several projects reconnecting people to waterways and recently created a regeneration plan for the Vale of White Horse District Council, for Abingdon-on-Thames. Its particular focus was the regeneration of the city centre and its relationship with the River Thames, which provided the opportunity to breathe life into the town. 

Part of the aim of the Central Abingdon masterplan, the Central Abingdon Regeneration Framework (2023), was to celebrate the town’s link to the River Thames, use it to highlight Abingdon’s rich culture and heritage, as well as make it a more attractive space for residents and visitors. Here we explain why rivers are so important and how it is possible to overcome challenges to ensure they can be part of a regeneration scheme. 

What rivers bring to a community 

It is important to encourage the public to utilise the River Thames’ wonderful natural resource for both residents and visitors. Everyone wants access to nature and a chance to connect with it. Water, in particular, is a vital cultural and natural asset. 

In Abingdon, for example, there is a need to reconnect because, despite the attractive green spaces and historic buildings along parts of the riverside, the main town centre was built north, away from it. And so, people don’t feel a connection to the River Thames when they are in Abingdon town centre. 

As rivers lost their historic uses, people started to forget about them as an asset or resource, it seems – but rivers are being rediscovered. People are not using the river for the same purpose as in the 18th and 19th centuries when it was about transporting goods for economic reasons. But there is a lot of evidence proving that waterways have health benefits. 

Rivers can also bring people, and therefore income, to a town or city. People are naturally drawn to scenic, riverside locations, often instinctively choosing them for social outings when available. 

Making rivers more attractive to people 

In Abingdon, we were keen to better connect existing walking routes along the river and redevelop plots of land that are not just for private use or road space, for example, but could be used for communal spaces such as a pub/restaurant, play area or cafe. Sometimes there are plots along a river that are publicly owned or, in some case cases, can be compulsorily purchased to create a community asset. 

In central Abingdon, we found the land alongside the river was mainly being used by joggers and dog walkers and so not to its full potential. Through consultation, it was found there was a lot of local support for walks that could link the historical part of the town and recreational facilities with the river. The walks could be signposted from key locations in the town in order to create an “historic walk” and, in so doing, include the River Thames. 

Some of the narrow roads alongside the Thames could be pedestrianised, at least some of the time. These are not always essential as through roads, as long as property access is maintained. 

There is a myriad of uses for a river, from living on a narrow boat, to cold water swimming and rowing or taking river tours. Other ways of bringing people to the river are events, such as festivals and races. 

Recreation and culture opportunities plan  

Source: Vale of the White Horse (Central Abingdon Regeneration Framework) 

The challenges and how to overcome them 

Abingdon has grown away from the river because historically it was prone to flooding. In centuries gone, the town builders avoided the floodplain of the Thames because of regular flooding of the banks of the town. It is to be expected when living along a river which is prone to seasonal changes in level. 

Builders clearly have to raise floor levels to avoid regular flooding. In Richmond, for example, land has been raised along the Thames for this reason. When you seek planning consent you must also prepare a flood risk analysis and identify a method of building with raised floor levels, and avoid ‘sensitive’ uses of the land, such as care homes or detached homes on ground floor levels. 

You identify which sites work in areas of flood risk, and which just will not. Clearly, planning and environmental regulations make clear that you can’t have sensitive uses like residential living or at least, if you do, have requirements for raised floor levels in order to be considered habitable and safe. Although with requirements to plan for one in 100-year flood levels plus climate change, it can be challenging for engineers and architects to design in such scenarios. The key is you have to assess fully and understand the risk and manage it. 

While reconnecting to rivers is not a quick and easy thing to do, it is worth it. This is underscored by the splendid views and settings which often exist along a river, especially when spots that are unused or derelict are replaced with something more attractive and accessible. 

Is it always appropriate to use the river in a regeneration scheme? 

No. If you are in more of an industrial-based town that never really used or connected to a river culturally, or one which hasn’t historically developed around the river, it will probably be very challenging to reconnect to it. 

But for towns like Abingdon, you should seek to capitalise on your strengths. And the idea of reconnecting to the River Thames is really just doing that. While we proposed several other important strategies to improve the town centre, reconnecting it to the river seemed like one good idea long term. 

Successful use of a river in regeneration 

An opportunistic and highly creative approach is necessary, one that involves working effectively with a variety of local groups and authorities. Any strategy to 'rediscover' a local asset like a river needs to be a joint venture between councils, including collaboration between local and environmental councils, such as a Rivers Trust, the community, and affected landowners. 

Carter Jonas has also developed strategies to better connect to waterways such as in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, and at the same time improve disadvantaged areas of the town. One example was Hall Quay in Yarmouth where, historically (even back to Saxon times), herring used to be unloaded along the River Yare. Another involved redeveloping a route from the rail station to the town centre using a bridge link over the river. Norfolk County Council was also keen to improve connectivity to the town, and central government provided funding to do so. Last year a new bridge, the Herring Bridge, over the River Yare, was opened in Great Yarmouth. 

Newcastle stands as another good example of the River Tyne being used well, with its numerous walkways, restaurants and bridges. It is a particularly interesting part of the city. Beyond its well-known historical importance for shipbuilding and industrial heritage, people today are naturally drawn to the river to connect with it, enjoying its sights, views, and the opportunity for a pleasant walk. 

Ultimately, the potential for a town to reconnect with its river lies with local authorities taking the lead. In so doing, they need to work closely with the community, river authorities, conservationists, and with landowners, developers and experienced consultants, as Carter Jonas did in Abingdon. Following such an approach, towns may have an opportunity successfully to breathe new life back into their centres and reconnect with what perhaps was once, and can continue to be, one of their most important resources.