SDMBHA
South Dock Marina Berth Holders’ Association
We are a community of boat owners and people who live on boats on South Dock and Greenland Dock, and a wide range of start up businesses working in South Dock Marina’s Boat yard, which is owned and managed by Southwark Council.
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Established in 1996, the aim of the association is to protect and promote South Dock Marina and to maintain its status as publicly owned and managed land whilst also benefitting the local community.
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SDMBHA are committed to preserving the historic past of our local area whilst also promoting the evolution of a vibrant , diverse and sustainable environment in which to live and work.
As part of this development, we are developing exciting proposals for the transformation of the current working boatyard into an outstanding Marine Centre of Excellence - designed and equipped to serve the current and future needs of our marina, wider river boat communities and future Thames infrastructure ambitions.
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We are committed to co-designing a sustainable future for these communities and our marina's resources through a co design partnership with Southwark Council and key stakeholders.
South Dock Marina
— then and now
Greenland and South Dock have seen many changes over the years. Follow the timeline to find out about the fascinating past of this historic area and how this thriving community is re-imagining its future.
As residents of South Dock Marina, the heritage of where we live is vitally important. Our aim is to preserve this historic past whilst also creating a modern and sustainable environment in which to live and work.
Sustainability
South Dock and Greenland Dock are both very special places, teeming with wildlife. Bream, carp and perch fill the water ways and aquatic birds such as swans, grebes and coots find safe haven on the floating platforms that are dotted around.
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As a community living here, we have a responsibility to safeguard and enhance the immediate marina environment. One of the ways that we are achieving this is with the creation of more floating platforms, specifically designed to be safe habitats for aquatic birds to raise their young. But we are also investigating the possibility of creating reed and samphire beds which would become natural habitats for a range of aquatic wildlife whilst also cleaning the water to facilitate open water bathing.
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SDMBHA recognise that the development of green spaces in the wider surrounding area is also a priority. To achieve this, we are investigating the feasibility of re-wilding parts of the dock side which are currently more grey than green - a scheme that would benefit wildlife, the boat community and the local community alike.
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Our ambition is to broaden our sustainability remit to include the development of a Marine Centre of Excellence that will champion the use of greener technologies. There is the potential to harness wind, solar and tidal energy. For instance, SDMBHA chair, Charlie Murphy, is currently researching and developing concepts for using tidal water as a counterbalance lifting mechanism to lift and move vessels and cargo - a net-zero concept that would be both sustainable and future proof the boat yard lifting capability.