...on the view from Langdon Hills...
'One of the most astonishing prospects to be beheld breaks out almost at once upon leaving one of the dark lanes. Such a prodigious valley, everywhere painted with the finest verdure, and intersected with numerous hedges and woods, appears beneath you, that it is past description; the Thames winding through it, full of ships and bounded by the hills of Kent. Nothing can exceed it except that which Hannibal exhibited to his disconsolate troops, when he bade them behold the glories of the Italian plains!... I beg you will go and view this enchanting scene... I never beheld anything like it in the rest of England'
Arthur Young, a writer in the early nineteenth century
Greengrid is an exciting long-term project to encourage the development of a network of open spaces and green links throughout Thames Gateway South Essex.
It is not just about new development and attracting new people to the area, it is about making the area nicer for all those who already live there. Over the next three years, a number of projects will take place to achieve the following for local people:
- the creation of greenways for cyclists, pedestrians, horse-riders
- improvements to marshland areas on the border with London and south of Basildon
- improving access and landscape to military and industrial sites along the riverside
- improvement projects at country park.
The Strategy for the Greengrid has been developed to allow people living, working and visiting the Thames Gateway South Essex area to be able to enjoy and make use of open space, recreation areas and local country life.
It is about conserving wildlife and open spaces and making sure that they play an integral part in the regeneration of the Thames Gateway South Essex area. In doing this, we make the area a more attractive places to live and work.
It is not just about planting flowers and trees and clearing spaces: it is about working with natural structures such as flood defences, management of reed beds through to promoting health living.
One of the most important aspects of the Greengrid strategy is the role for local people and community groups. Greengrid actively encourages participation in a whole host of projects from community gardening schemes, through to involvement in schemes such as Rainham Marshes.