Tranquil memorial to Elizabeth II
Garden designs for Regent’s Park are unveiled
Friday, 22nd December 2023 — By Tom Foot
A NEW garden commemorating the life of Queen Elizabeth II is to be bedded in Regent’s Park.
Designs have been unveiled by the Royal Parks for the two-acre garden that will be tucked behind the Espresso Bar in the Broad Walk close to Avenue Gardens.
The public are invited to respond in an online survey to the plans that will see the demolition of a former “plant nursery” that was shut down in 2018.
It once grew plants for the eight royal parks but was decommissioned after a new one opened in Hyde Park.
The Royal Parks charity said the new space would “deliver significant benefits to nature” when it opens in 2026 on what would have been the late queen’s 100th birthday.
Royal Parks chief executive Andrew Scattergood said: “The garden’s design will deliver horticultural excellence, along with significant benefits to nature. It will be a tranquil and reflective garden, the antithesis to the hustle and bustle of the city, and we hope that people will come and spend some quiet time there, enjoying the natural landscape and the wonderful year-round colour that the garden will provide.”
Architects HTA have come up with the designs that include a pergola and climbing plants. A disused water tower is going to be transformed into a viewing platform.
The charity said it would aim to use “a substantial amount of demolition material in the new garden, such as crushed concrete, brick and steelwork”.
A deadline for the public to respond to the survey is January 28.
