Remembering Summer 2024: The Brentford Project plays host to popular ‘Summer on the Water’
After decades of being concealed from view and inaccessible to the public, the new streets and waterfront public spaces of The Brentford Project have been a hive of activity over the summer with a new landscape destination for the city.
The lanes and unique public spaces of The Brentford Project, designed by Grant Associates as part of Ballymore’s regeneration of this West London waterfront, hosted a number of hugely popular and versatile community gatherings over the summer months.
Residents and visitors gathered together at The Brentford Project to enjoy a series of outdoor cinema screenings at Brentford’s new Workhouse Dock hosted by ‘Everyman on the Water’- from the latest Hollywood blockbusters to Wimbledon to family favourites.
Floating musicians, paddle boarding, street food and classic car boot sales also added to the summer line-up hosted at Workhouse Dock along and along the lanes, which seamlessly blends residential, retail, cultural and leisure uses into one new neighbourhood.
The vibrant ‘Summer on the Water’ events ran from June to August, beginning with Festival on the Water. This free-day long event offered a variety of market stalls, delicious street food and the chance to sit at the water’s edge whilst enjoying some rare summer sun and basking in the sounds of live musicians playing on a floating barge. A very special ‘Brentford’ car boot sale offered up rare finds in vintage clothing, automobilia, artwork and vinyl, all sold from classic cars and supercar, together with street food and music.
The popularity of the summer’s events at The Brentford Project demonstrates the rich possibilities for the area and our neighbourhoods to serve as a lively social hub for the community – one that looks forward whilst also being respectful of Brentford’s rich industrial and cultural heritage.
Workhouse Dock, a previously neglected mooring on the River Brent, has now been fully rejuvenated with 24-hour moorings, planted terraces, restaurants, pubs and cafés, alongside seating terraces for local events and access to the water for kayaks and paddleboards.
Since 2011, Grant Associates has been working closely with Ballymore and the project team to deliver a masterplan and public realm strategy that reinforces a sense of place and offers an inclusive and welcoming environment for local residents, Londoners and visitors to come together.
We have been involved with The Brentford Project for almost 15 years and it has been fantastic to see the waterfront and lanes opened up and support such great community events. This is the first phase of The Brentford Project, a new neighbourhood, evolving and transforming this former industrial site along the waterfront into a place, reconnecting the existing High Street and community with the river and its ecology.
