Tideway Project at Carnwath Road Approaches Completion
Riverside area restored after being site where tunnelling began
The ventilation column and the seating area are part of the above ground legacy of the project
April 14, 2025
Construction work at Carnwath Road Riverside relating to the Tideway Tunnell is coming to a conclusion.
Located next to Wandsworth Bridge in Fulham, Carnwath Road Riverside was one of the three 'main drive sites' from which tunnel boring machines began building the main tunnel for the Super Sewer. The Frogmore Connection Tunnel also joins the 36m-deep drop shaft and main tunnel at this site.
The site included Whiffin Wharf, Hurlingham Wharf, Carnwath Road Industrial Estate and an area of the River Thames foreshore. The works have now substantially completed, with the former site offices due to be removed from site over the coming weeks.
The above-ground legacy at this site includes a ‘pocket park’ which provides a new route to the river, permanent seating and a community space. The Thames Path has been extended to create a 6m-wide walkway across the entire riverside section of the site and the 15m-high ventilation column has been set back to enable the continuation of the walkway along the frontage of Hurlingham Wharf in the future.
The design of the space was based on a ‘flowing bands’ motif, which is a visual reference to the currents in the river bend and nearby reeds. These bands can be seen in the ventilation column, operational kiosk building and the wall to Hurlingham Wharf.
Heron in Flight depicted as a celebration of local birdlife
The space integrates a series of artworks that respond to the area’s heritage of the river, commerce and nature. Sarah Staton researched the site’s history, exploring Tideway’s Heritage Interpretation Strategy (HIS), which for the West section of the tunnel is themed around ‘Recreation to Industry: Society in Transition’. The site-specific history of Carnwath Riverside identifies a trajectory from the low-lying riverside common land becoming private land, giving over to industry, and returning again to a new public space.
Sarah conceived the two-part artwork Standing Heron and Heron in Flight in celebration of the herons that can be seen flying upstream or wandering here on the foreshore. The artist discovered that the heron features as a recurring motif on 19th-century de Morgan ceramics. One bird is placed at the river end of the site, and the other, is directly visible when approaching the site from Carnwath Road.
Sarah Staton in front of a depiction of a heron in flight
The site has a slip-resistant surface and the seating on the Thames Path has backs and arm rests for those with additional needs.
The foreshore area is within a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation and includes: 16 semi-mature trees; shrubs, ornamental grasses and perennial planting; a 150m2 brown/biodiverse roof on the ventilation building; and a nesting feature for Black Redstarts.
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