The pathway at the Greenwich end of the Ridgeway was refurbished in 2010[20][21] and the pathway at the Bexley end of the Ridgeway was refurbished in 2017.[22][23][24]
The Ridgeway is incorporated in to the Thamesmead 5K and family 1 mile runs organised by the Thamesmead running club and Peabody Trust.[25][26]
In 2018, the Plumstead entrance to the Ridgeway was refurbished, with public art work installed by local artist Sam Skinner and Ninth Seal.[30][31] Further changes to the Plumstead entrance and surrounding public realm are planned in 2024 as a result of issues highlighted in the Plumstead Area Framework conducted by Greenwich council in 2016. [32][33][34][35]
In 2018, the American artist Duke Riley installed a temporary art installations at the end of the Ridgeway, on land previously used as the driving range for the Thamesview Golf centre. The event organised as part of the London International Festival of Theatre (LIFT) 2018 was called 'Fly By Night' and featured 1,500 LED-lit, trained pigeons flying above the River Thames.[39][40][41]
In 2023, the Ridgeway featured in the 'Thamesmead Light Festival: Light The Way' which incorporated a number of light sculptures on a walking trail between the Lakeside Arts Centre, Crossway Park and Sporting Club Thamesmead.[42][43] That year, the Ridgeway was also included as one of the 22 sites selected by the Mayor of London for the second round of his Rewild London Fund.[44] The funding aimed to create a 'Thamesmead Pollinator Corridor' and was led by the North West Kent Countryside Partnership in collaboration with the BumbleBee Conservation Trust, Bow Arts, University of East London and the Ridgeway Users community group.[45][46][47] As part of the Thamesmead Pollinator Corridor project, the artist, Ellen Strachan was commissioned to create two interpretation boards on the Ridgeway.[48][49][50] These boards were unveiled by the Mayor of Bexley on 8th April 2024. [51][52]
In 2023, the Belgium artist and film-maker, Elise Guillaume held a 'Listening to the Bees' workshop on the Ridgeway organised as part of the Three Rivers Bexley Alliance with the BumbleBee Conservation Trust and the Ridgeway Users community group.[53][54][55][56][57]
Between 2024 - 2029 the Ridgeway Biodiversity Project will be undertaken. It is funded through a biodiversity offsetting agreement between Thames Water, the landowner and Cory Riverside Energy. It will involve 'removing denser areas of scrub and non-native species, while restoring and extending the areas of more open habitats such as grassland, wildflowers and bare ground' and will take place in two phases over five years.[58][59]
At the western end of the Ridgeway, the housing association Peabody Trust have applied to build 930 homes adjacent to Plumstead bus garage.[68][69] Improvements to existing public spaces around the development will include improvements to pathways that pass the Ridgeway.[70] Proposals have been put forward by the Pharaoh Project to create a 'biodome' within the underpass at Pettman Crescent adjacent to the Plumstead entrance of the Ridgeway.[71][72] Planning applications have been submitted for the construction of film studios opposite the entrance to the Ridgeway and Kellner Road,[73] and within the disused Plumstead power station on White Hart Road to the South of the Ridgeway.[74]
Peabody Trust have been working to open up access to the Ridgeway from the Thames Path and have partnered with Sustrans to work on proposals to develop a route from Southmere Lake via the Ridgeway through the former Thamesview Golf Centre to the River Thames.[75][76]
The Ridgeway was the subject of a radio show on Resonance FM in 2011.[78] It also features in an app produced by London Borough of Bexley to promote heritage walking trails. To celebrate the launch of the Elizabeth line on 24 May 2022, the YouTuber Runderground Matt featured the Ridgeway in his run across the core section of the line from Abbey Wood to Paddington.[79] The Ridgeway is featured in the book, Everything from the Egg, by the British artist Stephen Turner and published by The Artist Agency in 2023.[80][81][82] The book describes the journey of his art installation, the Exbury Egg, including its residency at the Lakeside Centre in Thamesmead in 2019, next to the Ridgeway.[83][84]
^"Plumstead's dingy underpass could get pop-up markets in council revamp". 23 November 2023.
^Morrow, Matt (18 October 2017). "Pleased to present petition on behalf of @RidgewayUsers at full Council in #Greenwich calling for instillation [sic] of litter bins on the Ridgeway #Plumstead".
^Users, Ridgeway (17 November 2017). "@Ridgewayusers hand in a petition to @tpearce003. Thanks go to all who signed. @LBofBexley @thameswaterpic.twitter.com/tH2jCkNYYy".
^"Agenda for Council on Wednesday, 31st January, 2018, 7.00 pm". committees.royalgreenwich.gov.uk. 31 January 2018.
^"8 shows you should see at this year's LIFT Festival". 22 June 2018.
^"1,500 glowing pigeons, a new Punchdrunk show, and a party in the Tower of London moat feature in the 2018 LIFT Festival". 28 February 2018.
^"16/02241/FUL | Installation of a narrow gauge railway and modification to an existing industrial building for use as depot facilities for the railway. | The Old Works Crossness Sewage Treatment Works Bazalgette Way London SE2 9AQ". Pa.bexley.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
^"Support a new steam railway for South-East London". www.ianvisits.co.uk. 19 December 2018.
^"New light railway approved for South-East London". Ianvisits.co.uk. 11 March 2017. Retrieved 27 November 2022.
^"Volunteers build 700-metre track to historic Victorian pumping station". Evening Standard. 25 January 2019.
^"Plumstead and West Thamesmead Public Consultation - Peabody". Peabody.
^"Ridgeway user group created to promote Plumstead to Thamesmead cycle link". Fromthemurkydepths.wordpress.com. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
^"A trip from Plumstead on the Ridgeway as thousands of homes rise". Fromthemurkydepths.wordpress.com. 28 July 2022. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
^Plumstead, Pettman Underpass Social Space Garden Creation Biodome Pyramid. "Building BioDomes for everyone. The Pharaoh Project: Change.org Petition". Pettman Underpass Social Space Garden Creation Biodome Pyramid Plumstead.