Three blocks of Council homes in Blackheath have had green roofs installed as another initiative towards a greener, cleaner Greenwich.
The pilot was launched after consultation with tenants and leaseholders, and after the Council had studied the impact of similar schemes in Birmingham and Milton Keynes.
Encouraging biodiversity
The turfs of hardy, drought-resistant plants called sedums have been rolled out using a small crane on the blocks in Coombe Avenue, Coombe Mews and Vanbrugh Park Road.
The “living” roofs absorb the rain and snow so they help immensely with drainage, and the greenery transforms carbon monoxide, the main greenhouse gas, into oxygen. It also helps to insulate the properties, thereby conserving energy, and encourages biodiversity.
The roofs come with a 20-year guarantee, maintain themselves and the sedum never grows unwieldy.