Bringing the 'Wild West' to the West End

Despite being the home of some great public parks, the West End of London isn't renowned for its green spaces. However, an ecology project entitled Wild West End aims to change that by promoting green infrastructure throughout the city.

Supported by Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London and the London Wildlife Trust, the project is organised by the Crown Estate, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, Shaftesbury, the Howard de Walden Estate and The Portland Estate. As part of the first phase of the project, the Crown Estate are creating a green corridor across the organisation's holdings in Regent Street and St James's, linking Regent's Park and St James's Park.

As a result, over one hectare of new green space will be created which will integrate with gardens at street level and on rooftops. The project will also involve the installation of bird and bat boxes, beehives and green walls. The overall aim is to create a network of 'green stepping stones' to connect areas of parkland across the West End.

"With the trend towards urbanisation continuing across the world, it's important for big property owners, businesses, government and charities to consider carefully their impact on plants, habitats and wildlife in major cities,” commented James Cooksey of the Crown Estate.

Amberol work with a range of London councils including Westminster and Waltham Forest to help maintain public spaces through the installation of recycling bins. They also supply self-watering planters to London in Bloom.

“As suppliers of self-watering containers to a number of inner city local authorities, we wholeheartedly support initiatives such as Wild West End,” says Amberol's MD Patience Atkinson-Gregory. “It's important to extend and improve our green spaces, particularly in more urban areas where a few well-placed floral displays can make a massive difference to a street or communal area.”