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Lot's Ait is an ait (island) in the River Thames. It is on the Tideway near Brentford, in the Borough of Hounslow, London, England, and its size is approximately 51,000 square feet (4,738 m2).
Contents
Map of Lot's Ait, Brentford, UK
HistoryEdit
Lot's Ait is often grouped with the adjacent Brentford Ait. It was formerly used for the growing of grass and osiers: basket willows, used for basketry, furniture, and cart-making, as well as cattle fodder. It was once known as Barbel Island, as this was a particularly fruitful area for fishing. It contained a yard where barges were repaired until 1980, when it was sold. It acquired a wild character with naturalised willows, rotting boats and rusting dock roofs and became a haven for wildlife. In 2002, the island was offered for sale with outline planning permission for a restaurant, a leisure facility and boat storage. It is accessible by footbridge and at low tide when it is possible to walk across from the Brentford shore, and is accessible by water from the nearby slipway street of Goats Wharf off Brentford High Street.
In 2011, a lease on the island was granted to a local company, John's Boat Works, who has commenced boat building works on the island for the first time in over 30 years and put it back into use. In January 2012 a new footbridge was installed to link the island to the Brentford bank of the Thames at Smith Hill. The bridge was designed by Beckett Rankine and built and installed by MSO Marine.