Elevated green spaces in London now cover 371 acres – an area larger than Hyde Park as developers look to provide more open spaces and to combat climate change.

There are a wide variety of spaces being created on top of commercial buildings, private residences, and mixed-use developments with green roofs dotted across the London cityscape. These roof terraces and roof gardens are often used by developers as a marketing tool, with outdoor space being regarded as a major boon, especially with many of the new developments being in some of London’s most sought-after areas. This rise in the number of roof terraces and roof gardens means that London has overtaken Singapore and Tokyo – both cities well known for their roof gardens – in terms of the amount of space which these gardens occupy.

Some notable developments which are making significant use of green space include Barratt London’s Fulham Riverside Development which has an award winning roof garden featuring 108 trees, 6,600 plants, and a 10 ft waterfall. In addition, the Battersea Roof Gardens which is a new Norman Foster designed building under construction near Battersea Power Station is 12,000 ft long and will have trees, large plants, hedgerows, and a sun lawn. In addition, in another part of the Battersea Power Station Development, the roof has been designed specifically as a home for black redstarts, an endangered bird species.

Speaking with Managing Director Antony Antoniou, he stated “we welcome these efforts by developers to create new outdoor space in Central London. With space at a premium there were always going to be difficulties finding suitable areas. However, we are pleased to see developers finding innovative solutions in order to create new space for Londoners and to help make their developments more sustainable and resilient to the threat of climate change.”

For further information, take a look at our article about things you should consider when developing a rooftop venue.