Marking 30 Years at Bedfont Lakes: A Legacy Landscape

In July 2025, the London Borough of Hounslow marked the 30th anniversary of Bedfont Lakes Country Park. It is a rare milestone for a public landscape that began life as a contaminated landfill and now stands as a thriving ecological haven on the edge of west London.

Blakedown was proud to be part of the team that delivered the original transformation. Working alongside landscape architects LUC and The Rutland Group for the London Borough of Hounslow, we helped turn a once-derelict site into an award-winning public space of open water, meadows and wetlands. Today, Bedfont Lakes remains one of the most significant early examples of environmentally led landscape regeneration in the capital.

The wider project to restore the site took place over more than a decade, with Bedfont Lakes officially opening to the public in 1995. As part of the original delivery team, Blakedown contributed to major earthworks and planting and helped implement sustainable construction techniques that were ahead of their time, including the reuse of crushed concrete from demolition to support soil structure, form footpaths and establish low-fertility grasslands.

The anniversary event, held in July 2025, brought together contributors past and present, including the Mayor of Hounslow, former colleagues from LUC and Rutland, and our own CEO Steve Buckingham. It was a thoughtful celebration of both the place and the people who helped shape it. Two memorial benches were formally dedicated to Mark Lintell, former Chairman of LUC, and Jim McAllister, founder of The Rutland Group, both of whom were instrumental in bringing the vision to life.

For Blakedown, the event marked not only three decades since the completion of one of our most enduring public realm projects but also a reminder of the impact that carefully designed and well-built landscapes can have. Bedfont Lakes continues to serve as a much-loved local space, rich in biodiversity, and proof that even the most damaged sites can be reimagined for public good.

Images: The Rutland Group (Group Shots) and LUC (other images)