When the 176 acres of Claybury Park were officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 2010, this became the largest new public park created in London for more than a century. Yet, if the M12 motorway had been built as planned in the 1970s, the park would not exist. Instead, the land would have disappeared under an eight-lane motorway. In the end, the motorway was not built and the land remained available for other uses. Claybury Park comprises ancient woodlands, an orchard, former farmland and Humphrey Repton-designed parkland. The once arable land has been re-landscaped to create an area of undulating open grassland and scattered trees with water features and permanent paths. The whole area also has a management plan to achieve a balance between public access, habitat value and historical landscape.
When the 176 acres of Claybury Park were officially opened by the Duke of Gloucester in 2010, this became the largest new public park created in London for more than a century. Yet, if the M12 motorway had been built as planned in the 1970s, the park would not exist. Instead, the land would have disappeared under an eight-lane motorway. In the end, the motorway was not built and the land remained available for other uses. Claybury Park comprises ancient woodlands, an orchard, former farmland and Humphrey Repton-designed parkland. The once arable land has been re-landscaped to create an area of undulating open grassland and scattered trees with water features and permanent paths. The whole area also has a management plan to achieve a balance between public access, habitat value and historical landscape.