Bourne Amenity recently supported the restoration of London’s Finsbury Circus Gardens by supplying specialist soils, bark and materials for the soft landscaping works, providing the right foundation for the new planting and lawn areas.
Finsbury Circus Gardens is London’s oldest public park, situated in the City of London between Moorgate and Liverpool Street Stations.
The recent restoration of the gardens was needed to conserve the park's rich history while also making the space fit for modern use. Delivered for the City of London Corporation, with Realm as architect and Maylim as main contractor, the project focused on revitalising the landscape, improving accessibility for visitors, and creating a green space that encouraged biodiversity and wildlife.
Bourne Amenity supported the scheme by supplying specialist soils, bark and materials for the soft landscaping works, providing the right foundation for the new planting and lawn areas.
Background
The restoration formed part of the City of London Corporation’s Cool Streets and Greening Programme, which aims to improve the resilience of streets, parks and open spaces to mitigate the impacts of climate change. At Finsbury Circus Gardens, this meant creating a landscape that felt refreshed and more usable, while still sitting comfortably within its Grade II-listed setting.
The design introduced new planting spaces, accessible paths, and seating around the central lawn. These upgrades created a welcome contrast to the busy street environment in the surrounding areas. For a site with such a long history, the challenge was not simply to make the gardens look new, but to make them work better without losing their character.
Challenges
Finsbury Circus Gardens presented a number of practical challenges. Existing trees had to be protected throughout the works, with root systems influencing how areas of the site could be approached. The gardens had also been used during Crossrail construction, which raised additional considerations regarding soil conditions and drainage.
For the soft landscape elements to succeed, material selection needed to support both the design intent and the long-term performance of the finished gardens. New planting areas required a suitable growing medium.
Solution
Bourne Amenity supplied a range of specialist landscape materials for the Finsbury Circus Gardens project, including premium TS6 5mm BS3882 topsoil, free-draining subsoil, lawn topsoil and 0–10mm composted bark fines. Bourne Amenity also removed a proportion of the site-won soil and ameliorated it with 25% compost before returning it to the park. Reusing the material in this way reduced waste while improving the soil for the reinstated landscape.
Each material was selected to support a specific part of the landscape build-up. Free-draining subsoil helped provide a suitable base for planted areas where drainage performance was an important consideration, to prevent flooding and waterlogging in the park.
The ameliorated site-won soil supported the new planting scheme by providing a growing medium suited to the establishment and continued assurance of plant health.
For the grassed areas, including the central lawn, Bourne Amenity supplied lawn topsoil suited to areas of higher foot traffic. The team worked with Tim O’Hare Associates to meet the bespoke soil specification for the project, including the incorporation of TerraCottem within the soil mix.
Across the planted areas, 0–10mm composted bark fines were applied as a natural mulch layer. By protecting the soil surface and helping it hold moisture through hotter weather, the material supported the new planting during the early stages of establishment.
Outcome
Finsbury Circus Gardens has now reopened with the addition of 12 tree species, over 13,000 plants and more than 6,000 bulbs, which will support biodiversity and provide essential habitats for London’s wildlife, including bees, birds and bats. This project demonstrates how thoughtful material selection can contribute to the long-term success of urban greening projects for years to come.
Project information sources:
https://www.maylim.co.uk/projects/finsbury-circus-gardens-restoring-tranquillity/
https://www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/services/environmental-health/climate-action/climate-action-projects/cool-streets-and-greening-in-the-square-mile
https://news.cityoflondon.gov.uk/historic-city-park-reopens-after-major-transformation/
https://www.realmlandscape.com/projects/28-landscapes/276-finsburycircus-cityoflondon
