Grand Union is a vibrant new canalside neighbourhood from St George Property Developers built on a 22 acre derelict site in Alperton, London.

The overall scheme, which will be delivered over 5 phases, will provide new apartment homes with 11 acres of extensive public open space comprising plaza, informal garden spaces, water feature, canalside pathways and water side meadows. Residents will enjoy roof gardens, terraces and community gardens.

Randall Thorp’s commission for the first phase, includes refining existing designs for the external public and private areas to provide detailed landscape layouts for planning. Our responsibilities extended to coordinating the technical details working closely with co-consultants BDP, Patrick Parsons and Cooper Homewood to produce a comprehensive landscape construction package. The project includes both podium and numerous roof garden landscapes requiring close co-operation with the design team to ensure the structural requirements of the building are sensitively accommodated within the design.

A prominment part of this scheme was intergrating a permanant canal boat as a focal point within the landscape. This presented a unique set of challenges and required meticlulous planning and consideration over placement, planting styles and maintance. Coordination with consultants to overcome logistical hurdles resulted in a feature which conveys a harmounous balance between biodiversity, local heritage and art for the community to enjoy. With the end result being a testament to the creativity and determination of the project team.

This phase of the project is complete and it’s great to see how it has evolved from sketch to real life.
Randall Thorp has been appointed Grand Union Phase 2, in which the scheme continues along the canal and joins the river brent, creating new recreational routes for the local community.