Green light for green corridor from Olympic Park to Thames

THE final jigsaw piece in post war city planners' ambitions to link London's green belt with the Thames will be realised in time for the 2012 Olympics, nearly 70 years after its initial inception.

The London Thames Gateway Development Corporation has given the green light to build the backbone for a new urban park in east London, linking the Olympic Park at Stratford with the Thames at the East India Dock Basin.

The development, affectionately dubbed the Fatwalk, will create a wide, green path running alongside the River Lea in the East End, linking up with the Lea Valley Regional Park which stretches all the way to Hertfordshire.

LTGDC boss Peter Andrews said: "Connecting London's green belt to the Thames has been the holy grail of city planners since 1944.

"We plan to overcome the challenges and obstacles such as roads and railways which have been making some of the most picturesque parts of London as accessible as buried treasure.

"The Fatwalk and the Lea River Park project will open up East London's riverside to Londoners, creating a truly special place, while unlocking the immense regeneration potential within."

The new �15 million two-mile long park will include new footpaths and cycle ways aimed at tackling the road, rail and river obstacles that get in the way of north-south movement.

The new links include creating a connection at Bow Locks, a new bridge over the River Lea at Poplar Reach and the construction of a series of walkways below the A13 road bridges at Canning Town.

Chief executive of the LDA Peter Bishop said: "With planning permission, the work on the Fatwalk can now go ahead and we can see the planned Lea River Park start to take shape.

"The Lea River Park is part of plans to build a lasting Olympic legacy in east London before the 2012 games.

"It will draw on the Lower Lea Valley's industrial landscape and heritage and be a central part of the area's regeneration.