Last month, ACAN Ecology visited Cody Dock, London, as part of the Open House weekend 2025. The rejuvenated docklands area has been the focus of some media attention recently due to its impressive levels of biodiversity within an urban environment.
Located in Newham, East London, the dock was created in 1871 by the Imperial Chemical Company for unloading coal used in the gas industry but later fell out of use. In 2009, a charity, Gasworks Dock Partnership, was set up to regenerate the dock and reopen 2km of walkways to the public. The Ecology group were given a tour of the site from Gino, an entomologist from the Gasworks Dock Partnership. The site was once considered barren, with no ecological assessment available, but now boasts over 1000 new and returning species.
We began with a tour of the small “brownfield” beds recently planted. Above ground habitats in the form of wood cuttings, rocks and hardy plants create topographical changes ideal for insect and plant life. Growing on the site is a constant experiment, sometimes not going to plan, as was seen with the planting of fruit trees in pots too shallow to properly support them. A medicine garden has been planted and is maintained by a herbalist. The garden, containing sensory plants and herbs has been allowed to become slightly overgrown to encourage species back to the site. New reed beds have been planted. These establish themselves quickly, essential as the dock will soon be reconnected to the Lea River to be used as a dry dock and houseboat dock. The plan is to complete the construction of a gabion style wall, supporting a raised bed level with low tide, and to migrate the reed bed there. Sand martins who have started breeding on the site are being housed in the recently restored brick dock walls. Many of the projects the charity have undertaken have been completed in conjunction with their industrial neighbours.
The constant struggle with its harsh surroundings, the construction expected nearby (up to 55,000 new homes), the industrial estate and its effluent, as well as the wider pressures arising from climate change, mean the dock will need to adapt over the next 900+ years. The Gasworks Dock Partnership are applying for £500,000 of funding from the Mayor’s Green Fund to allow them to expand their focus along the Lea River, eventually reconnecting the banks all the way to the river’s mouth.
We have created a pamphlet covering some of our findings.
