The secret garden: Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve to open after nearly 200 years

Wildlife haven: Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve. Photograph: Penny Dixie

Stoke Newington’s East Reservoir will reopen as a nature reserve after being sealed off to the public since the early 19th century.

The East Reservoir was constructed in 1833 but has been inaccessible to the public ever since, developing instead into a hidden wildlife haven. Now the London Wildlife Trust is reopening the site as Woodberry Wetlands nature reserve.

A 19^th-century coal house on the site is being restored as a visitor centre. The Grade II-listed building was built shortly after the reservoir as a coal store for a nearby boiler house, although there are no records of the exact construction date.

But the coal house was disused for many years and has suffered from significant structural damage. Now it is being restored by London Wildlife Trust, thanks to almost £40,000 of grants from the Association for Industrial Archaeology and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

The renovated building will house a public café and an education and training hub. Visitors will be able to look out across the water from the rooftop of the visitors’ centre.

David Mooney, regional development manager for London Wildlife Trust, says that Woodberry Wetlands is a “lush nature reserve, a haven for wildlife and people in Hackney”.

He added: “The contrast between the surrounding tower blocks and the wild wetland habitat with all the old oak trees is almost unbelievable.”

Woodberry Wetlands opens November 2015, with a special public launch in spring 2016.