Occupied mainly by the Pura Foods Depot on the Leamouth Peninsular was a brown field site crying out for re-generation and proposals were soon put forward for high-density housing, offices, river walkways and even a cultural centre but unfortunately this somewhat remote area really needed far better communication links to Canning Town on the other side of the River Lea because people visiting, living in or working in the area required more links to public transport. An idea was put forward for a pedestrian and cycling bridge linking Tower Hamlets and Newham and this plan met with universal approval. Any old bridge would not do of course; this is the 21st century after all and so what we need nowadays is stunning architectural designs packed full of cutting edge materials to produce not only practical objects but also works of art which fit in with the whole ethos of the region. That is the theory, anyway.

In order to select the best possible design a competition was thrown open to top bridge designers and the public at large were encouraged to take part in the decision-making process through workshops and school activities. Finally a futuristic design featuring light boxes of crushed glass, ornately sculptured staircases, and bright aluminium decking which was supported by a huge mast and which tilted to open and allow traffic to pass underneath was chosen. An application for full planning consent was put forward and granted in 2005, financing was put in place so all systems were set to go!

There was just one minor problem. The proposed method of lifting the bridge by tilting it on one axis was an extremely inefficient way of lifting such a structure and very expensive not only to put in place but also to run and maintain. A more careful look at costings revealed that many of them have been a little, shall we say, over optimistic and so it was concluded that some redesign work would be necessary. A suspicion that the bridge would not be able to last as long as it was designed for was probably the killer; funding was withdrawn and the project was cancelled.

Plans continued for the regeneration of the peninsular with work expected to begin in late 2007 on nearly 2000 homes, arts and community centres, and a primary school but we now have a credit crunch and what effect this will have upon the viability of the entire project still remains to be seen.

Copyright leamouthbridge.com 2009