The River Thames is London’s largest public space, so why aren’t we using it? Swimmable Cities co-founder Chris Romer-Lee calls for us to make the river swimmable in today’s Notebook

It’s time to make the Thames swimmable

London’s shiny new super sewer has reduced the impact of Thames combined sewage overflows by 96 per cent, promising to dramatically restore the health of the waterway and giving a huge boost to the riverine ecosystem. But what opportunities does a cleaner Thames offer?

In 2013 a similar question was posed by the Royal Academy of Arts and the Architecture Foundation’s ‘London As It Could Be Now’ Open Call. The practice I co-founded in 2003, Studio Octopi, responded with a vision for a post-Tideway family of swim sites along the central London section of the River Thames.

Some floating, others simpler sheltered and protected swim zones, all dressed in estuarine planting, providing privacy and natural filtration for the pools. Central to the response was offering equitable access to the foreshore and water. The proposition was in direct response to the high flood walls and elevated embankments that physically separate and deter Londoners from any engagement with the lifeblood of the city.

I’m often asked why we need to swim in or on the river – why not just build a lido?

Firstly, there’s the long history of swimming in the Thames. The Baths and Washhouses Act of 1846 brought in new places to bathe,........

© City A.M.