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Landscaping in Greenwich

Georgian gardens,
and hillside plots.

Greenwich runs from a World Heritage town centre up onto the ridge at Shooters Hill. The historic core and the sloping suburbs need quite different answers.

Building in Greenwich

What we work with here

01

Georgian centre, Blackheath, and the climb to Shooters Hill

Central Greenwich is Georgian and early-Victorian, tightly built, much of it in a conservation area within the World Heritage site, with small walled town gardens behind. Blackheath adds substantial period houses on larger plots around the heath. Moving east and south — Charlton, Eltham, Kidbrooke — the housing becomes inter-war and post-war semis on regular plots, and the ground rises steadily towards Shooters Hill, so a good number of gardens have real fall across them. Woolwich and the riverside bring newer apartment development with balconies and podium decks.

02

Clay, chalk and slope in combination

The geology is mixed: London Clay across much of the borough, with sand and chalk appearing on the higher ground towards Shooters Hill and Eltham. Where slope and clay meet, retaining becomes the governing element of the design. Saturated clay pushes hard, so any structure holding back more than about a metre needs a foundation matched to the ground, drainage behind it and a release path for water; above certain heights it needs designing and building control involvement. On the flatter Georgian plots the issue reverses to drainage in a small walled space with nowhere obvious to send water.

03

World Heritage, conservation areas and access

Central Greenwich sits within a World Heritage site and extensive conservation area coverage, with a high concentration of listed buildings — so anything street-facing, any boundary wall, and any work affecting a listed property carries a consent requirement that should be established before design. Blackheath has similar protections. Rear gardens in the historic core are typically landlocked, meaning access through the house and a skip permit on the street. Further out in Eltham and Charlton, side access is common and machinery can reach the rear, which changes what is economic to build.

Our services in Greenwich

What we build in Greenwich

Garden Design

Bespoke garden planning, planting schemes, and 3D visuals.

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Porcelain Paving

Modern, stain-resistant paving solutions for contemporary gardens.

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Natural Stone Driveways

Elegant Yorkstone, Limestone, and Sandstone installations.

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Decking & Seating

Custom composite or hardwood decking with built-in features.

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Retaining Walls & Fencing

Structural walls and privacy fencing for defined garden spaces.

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Jet Washing & Rejuvenation

Restore old patios and driveways to look brand new.

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Questions we get asked

Greenwich, specifically

Does the World Heritage designation restrict garden work in Greenwich?
It raises the bar on anything visible and on listed properties rather than banning work outright. Central Greenwich combines World Heritage status, conservation area coverage and a high density of listed buildings, so boundary walls, railings, front surfaces and anything affecting a listed building need consent established early. Enclosed rear gardens are generally far less constrained. We confirm the designations for the specific address at survey.
My Eltham garden slopes — is terracing worth the cost?
It usually is, because it converts unusable ground into usable rooms. A sloping garden gives you nowhere flat to sit; cutting two or three level platforms gives you a terrace at the house, a retaining structure that can carry seating or planting, and a second space higher up. The cost sits in the retaining and drainage rather than the surface, which is why we survey the levels before quoting rather than estimating from a description.
How do you drain a small walled Georgian garden?
Deliberately, because there is rarely anywhere obvious for water to go. The paving is laid to a set fall away from the building, a channel drain picks up water at the threshold, and it discharges to a soakaway sized for the area and sited clear of foundations, or to an existing surface water drain where one is available and permitted. On London Clay in a confined space this needs designing properly — a fall alone will simply move the puddle.
Coverage

Areas we cover in Greenwich

  • Blackheath
  • Greenwich
  • Eltham
  • Charlton
  • Woolwich
  • Kidbrooke

Postcode districts: SE3 · SE7 · SE9 · SE10 · SE18 · SE28

All 32 London boroughs

Get a free quote in Greenwich.

Tell us about the site and we will arrange a survey. Written, no-obligation quotes for anywhere in Greenwich.

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