Barbican Estate gardens
Communal areas are available to all residents however, a few simple rules should be observed.
Gardens
Speed House, Thomas More, the Barbican Wildlife gardens and the Igloos are for the use of Barbican residents and their accompanied guests only. Young children playing in the gardens or play areas should be supervised. To avoid noise nuisance, we would prefer if large numbers did not play in the garden.
If uninvited users are found they will be asked to leave, as will residents found abusing the garden facilities.
Also note:
- Dogs and barbeques are prohibited
- Ball games are not allowed on the lawns (there is a facility in the Thomas More play area)
- Please do not feed birds
- Fishing in the lakes is prohibited
- No radios or music should be played
- Please take your litter away with you
Gardens and lakes in the Estate are maintained by the Open Spaces department.
The Barbican Estate Office in no way wishes to stop the residents enjoying the private gardens facilities with their friends, but these gardens are not suitable for parties. The communal gardens are for all residents, some of whom may wish to bring visitors, but please keep these to small gatherings. Please be respectful of your surroundings and keep noise to a minimum.
Play areas
There are two children’s play areas on the Barbican Estate, located on Speed House Lawn and underneath Seddon House, adjacent to Thomas More Lawn.
They are for the use of Barbican Estate residents and their accompanied guests.
The Play equipment is designed for younger children to enjoy. At the Thomas More play area there is also a hard surface area marked out for tennis, basketball and football, alongside the cricket wicket.
The play areas and hard surface area for ball games are only for use 8am to 8pm. Please respect that the play areas are in a residential area.
Lakes and Fountains
The fountains in the lake in front of the Barbican Centre will only operate out of City of London School for Girls hours and in school holidays. Their hours of operation will vary according to the time of year and will approximately follow this timetable:
Summer
- Weekdays 4pm to 7.30pm
- Weekends 10am to 5.30pm
Winter
- Weekdays 4pm to 6pm
- Weekends 10am to 6pm
Igloos
Please do not use the igloo space after 10pm
Window boxes
Under the terms of the lease residents must cultivate their window boxes. For those living in terrace blocks, window boxes are available from the Barbican Estate Office.
Wildlife garden
The Barbican Wildlife Garden is dedicated to the encouragement of wildlife and biodiversity. It is tended by local residents, supported by City Gardeners, who focus on the creation of habitats for wildlife. To date, more than 300 species of birds, mammals, amphibians and invertebrates have been recorded in the Garden. For more information please visit the Barbican Wildlife Garden website or follow us on X.
Birdlife
Most residents welcome the annual arrival of the ducklings but in some cases nests are constructed in areas which give residents concern and cause problems for the ducklings on leaving the nest.
The Barbican Estate Office has to comply with the Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981 and nests and eggs may only be removed (for very specific reasons) between certain dates and/or under a special or general licence (depending on the bird species) issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
Residents can assist by calling the Barbican Estate Office at first signs of Feral Pigeons nesting on their balconies. Effective management controls have kept the Feral Pigeon numbers low which in turn keeps maintenance costs down.
To assist in the control of pigeons and seagulls do not feed the birds on the lawns or in the lakes, and especially not from your balcony.
Herring Gulls nesting on high buildings can sometimes cause a problem when the adult birds protect their nests. Providing that it can be established that the Herring Gulls are causing a health and safety hazard by their behaviour (and not just a nuisance) then eggs/nests can be destroyed under a General licence from DEFRA.
Contractors visit weekly to control pigeon nesting and use a Harris Hawk to control pigeon numbers.