New rolling bridge regenerating East London’s Cody Dock

This bold and exciting community led project aims to provide East London with a new landmark that enables its residents to play an active role in their neighbourhood’s regeneration and reactivate the Lea, London’s second river.

With support from the RSA, the Mayor of London, and over 7,000 volunteers, local residents, schools and businesses, the charity Gasworks Dock Partnership has reopened Cody Dock and secured planning permission for a giant steel rolling bridge that will enable the Dock to re-open to boats for the first time in over 50 years and provide the entrance to Cody Wilds and the new Lea River Park that links Canning Town and Newham to 26 miles of towpath walks along the Lea Valley. 

Designed by Tom Randall-Page, this contemporary bridge design is an architectural first that provides an exciting new twist on a moving bridge whilst celebrating the area's rich historical links with Edwardian industrial design and local iron production. 

The Cody Dock Rolling Bridge campaign target is £197,972 and ends 13 August 2019.

Meet the team 

Simon Myers FRSA, CEO Gasworks Dock Partnership

In 2009 Simon was one of the founding trustees of Gasworks Dock Partnership, the charity that is behind the Cody Dock development and became the charity’s CEO in 2013.  With over 25 years of event and arts production, Simon gave up his career in the arts to concentrate on reactivating the Lower Lea River and helping to put local people at the heart of the area’s extraordinary regeneration story.

“The realisation of Thomas Randall-Page’s bridge design will mark a significant turning point in the realisation of our dream to reactivate Cody Dock and help breath life back into the Lower Lea River for the first time in a generation”

 “Thomas Randall-Page’s rolling bridge design helps put Cody Dock and the Lea river on London’s map whilst providing everyone who pledges a unique way to record their support for this unique project (all funders will have their names cast into metal to commemorate their support)”

Thomas Randall-Page

Thomas Randall-Page is a Hackney based architectural designer, and a lecturer in architecture at Oxford Brookes University and the Architectural Association in London.

“Seeing the potential for public spectacle inherent in the opening of a bridge, I set about adding to this list of motions”.

“Rolling parallel to the channel it crosses, this unique bridge design owes much to its Victorian forbears. They knew that moving large heavy structures efficiently requires a balanced system and my design works on this principle”.

“Finished in painted steel, the bridge design aims to be understated in its rest position but celebratory and playful in its movement creating a spectacular and memorable event when operated. Part of an ambitious footpath and cycleway project to run the full length of the Lea River, we hope this rolling bridge will become an important landmark and a symbol of the dynamic creative community which is growing here”

Support the project 

The RSA supports the Cody Bridge Rolling Dock campaign. You can help make the Cody Dock Rolling Bridge a reality by supporting the project on their Spacehive page. For more information about the project please visit their website.