Wildlife trust makes splash with plans to open up Hackney reservoirs to visitors

One of the reservoirs that will form part of the Woodberry Wetlands scheme. Photograph: London Wildlife Trust.

Plans to open up two massive Victorian reservoirs in north Hackney and improve habitats for bats and birds will be outlined at a wildlife charity’s event next month.

The London Wildlife Trust is running a series of open days to consult with residents about its Woodberry Wetlands project – part of long-running efforts to regenerate the wider Woodberry Downs area.

The East and West Reservoirs, which are situated on either side of Woodberry Grove, Stoke Newington, have been largely inaccessible to the public since they were created in Victorian times.

Now the Trust wants to use cash from the Heritage Lottery Fund to clean up the water and improve habitats for rare birds like bitterns, which migrate to the reservoirs in the winter months.

Conservationists also want to make the reservoirs more accessible to human visitors, and their plan involves the creation of a bridge over the New River and the refurbishment of a Grade II listed Gas House for use as a visitor and volunteer centre and café.

Funding for the scheme will also come from Hackney Council and Thames Water as well as housing developers Berkeley Homes, who have been responsible for new blocks of private flats built on the Woodberry Downs Estate.

The next open day will take place on 7 July between 10am and 4pm at the East Reservoir Community Garden, 1 Newnton Close, N4.