You know how when you come out of Canary Wharf tube station, main entrance, there's always been a big empty dock in front of you? Well, not any more.
A team of hardhatters and eco-engineers has been busy over the last few months and what's there now is a floating promenade surrounded by copious greenery and timber benching. It opened yesterday and is really very impressive. So long as you don't read anything about it.
What we have here is a wooden walkway just over 100 metres in length, and just a tad doglegged to give it some character. It allows you to step off the original dockside promenade and dawdle across the dock itself, maybe a metre above the water, via a series of larger pontoons. They've thought hard about access too so you can enter on the level, down a ramp or in a small lift as well as via steps. To either side are trees and flowers, some poking out of the water but the majority in little floating habitats, even adrift on the occasional island. Unsurprisingly it's already proving very popular.
There are a few benches below the DLR tracks, a larger bank of timber seating sprawled out to one side and a separate rack of seats resembling a grandstand facing the end of the dock. These are the ideal place to stop for a gossip, to sit and rest or (as I discovered when I turned up at lunchtime) to scoop a tub of food into your mouth while scrolling on your phone. During the first few weeks a dash of live music is being provided, yesterday a chanteuse called Charlotte wearing a red beret who strummed well-known standards for cheery foot-tapping. As interventions go it's going to be a huge hit.
For added wow they've added about 20 green sculptures in the shape of people, dotted here and there beside the walkways and out on the individual islands, each made from flowering shrubbery called ligustrum. The designers have also included several clusters of trumpet-like spotlights erupting from the water to aid passage after dusk, which should mean they don't have to lock the place away overnight. The barriers along the edge of the walkway are very low though, no more than ankle height, and I do wonder how long it'll be before someone has a very damp accident or a sign goes up saying children must be supervised.
You won't actually see any of this as you leave the tube station, however, because the largest bank of seating is elevated above the original dock wall and gets in the way. Rest assured that the fire exit from the Jubilee line is still down there, shielded below the highest platform, although the nearest security guard might shoot you a look if you show too much interest. A fair few security guards have been scattered about the place to keep decorum, plus on my visit a hi-vised chap with a very sniffy dog whose presence might have unnerved a few local traders.
What's impressive is how it already looks like it's always been here, like it was always meant to be.
It's hardly Eden, there are no apples for a start, neither is it an 'oasis' brimming over with sustainable greenery. I also bridled at mention of "rejuvenating with yoga" and letting nature "enhance your wellbeing", suggesting this might be some kind of verbose greenwashing. At least the actual Eden Project are involved, although it turns out they can write utter rubbish too.
» "Eden Dock – a first-of-its-kind urban oasis" (I'm unconvinced this is innovative on a global scale)
» "creating more opportunities for people to connect with nature" (to be fair, that's not exactly difficult)
» "Eden Dock will enhance the way people experience the Wharf" (they also say that about pizza restaurants)
» "providing access to beautiful waterside spaces and nature like never before" (they're very much overselling it)
» "the area now boasts floating forests" (floating forests my arse, more a few sparse saplings)
» "The figures show nature and people living together in harmony, reflecting how Eden Dock weaves nature into its urban surroundings through ecological innovation" (just like the guff they write in art galleries)
The press release also includes a lot of talk about "biodiversity gain", this being one of the new buzzphrases in urban realm planning. All you have to do is add some different trees, plant different flowers or attract different insects and hey presto you can justifiably claim to have increased the biodiversity, despite not actually doing much. In this case the dock was originally only water and now it has some plants - box ticked.
Canary Wharf also carried out some spurious research, surveying 2000 office workers last month to reach the following conclusions:
» 73% of office workers prefer to work in a location near water and green spaces.
» Over two in three office workers (69%) find creative and innovative ideas come easier if they’ve been around green spaces or water.
» Three in four (73%) people actively seek out green spaces or water to relax.
» 99% of people say engaging with nature helps them in some way, with 65% feeling more relaxed after spending time outside.
This is not the slamdunk they hoped for. Office workers at Canary Wharf were already "near water" before the greenery arrived, so providing statistics on "being around green spaces or water" tells us absolutely nothing new. Also the fact that "99% of people say engaging with nature helps them in some way" isn't a discovery, it's common sense, and all I'm saying is perhaps they wasted their money on the survey.
I also stopped to look at the three information boards along the dock, most of which were great, indeed it took a minute for the person in front of me to finish reading and get out of the way. However the 'Banana' Wall board has a go at raising the spectre of slavery and somewhat blows it.
Across the water from where you're standing is the 'banana' wall. However this fun-sounding name has a far darker history. Now known as Middle Dock, the 'banana' wall was once part of the West India Export Dock. This was built between 1803-1806, paid for in part with the profits of enslaved people.
It isn't the 'banana' wall that was funded by the slave trade, it was the entire docks. The board should really be pointing out that the whole of Docklands has a 'far darker history', not specifically a pioneering curved wall built by clever engineers, but has instead shoehorned in a tickbox slavery reference where it doesn't fit. I could show you where a reference would have been much more appropriate, on another board, but let's just move on and say this could have been done a lot better.
In summary the new walkway is excellent and you will likely love it when you see it. Just don't try reading about it because Eden Dock is best enjoyed in a state of innocence.
