Environmental projects in Streatham, Brixton and Norwood awarded £215,000

One of the projects will be led by the council and four others by community groups in the borough, including two housing estates and Tulse Hill adventure playground.

Raising Streatham Stream, Streatham Common

Lambeth Council has been awarded Green Roots funding to create a new stream habitat in Hilly Four Acres on Streatham Common.

The council’s funding will help bring to the surface 120m of buried stream on the border of Hilly Four Acres and Norwood Grove. Lambeth will work in collaboration with local groups Streatham Common Cooperative (SCCoop) and Friends of Streatham Common (FoSC), and environmental charity Thames21 who are also contributing funds.

The stream marked an old parish boundary with Croydon. It currently runs through a buried pipe about 60cm beneath the surface. The project aims to redirect water into a new seasonal stream through the local park, creating pools and cascades that make Lambeth’s only accessible small watercourse. Raising the stream will also help drain water from the nearby main path, making it more accessible during wetter months.

SCCoop and FoSC will host volunteer community digging and planting days to bring local residents together to help with the build. Residents can help dig out the new stream, install leaky dams and improve biodiversity with new planting.

Word from Cabinet

Deputy Council Leader Cllr Rezina Chowdhury, Cabinet Member for Sustainable Lambeth and Clean Air said:

“Lambeth is leading the way in restoring nature to our neighbourhoods.

This project will uncover a historic stream, boost biodiversity, and bring our community together in a brilliant example of partnership and environmental stewardship.

I’m incredibly proud of what we’re achieving here both for nature and for residents through reducing flooding and improving accessibility in our parks.

Word from the Greater London Authority

Mete Coban, Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy said:

“I am delighted we are supporting these important projects through the Mayor of London’s Green Roots Fund, enabling many more communities in Lambeth to get closer to nature. These five projects will help to create greener, more climate resilient neighbourhoods with better local spaces that people can use and enjoy every day to help build a greener, fairer London for everyone.”

Other Lambeth projects

Lambeth Council was one of five organisations in Lambeth to receive grants from this round of the Green Roots Fund. These have also been funded:

Dads Kids Club CIC will be running a Dads Kids Growing Club to build growing planters for every class at Jessop Primary School, introducing young people to the power of nature and climate resilience.

High Trees Community Development Trust has secured over £70k to create a dedicated biodiversity area at Tulse Hill Adventure Playground, featuring native planting and wildlife houses.

Lambeth Living Streets will be working with volunteers on the Brockwell Park Estate to divert 750,000 litres of annual rainwater into sustainable drainage systems around the estate.

Social Landscapes Community Interest Company will be working with the Roupell Park estate to boost biodiversity and water resilience through green roofs, gardening workshops, and rain gardens.