Southwark Cathedral is an important open space for service goers, and as a green space for visitors to Borough Market, and the area.

The churchyard is landscaped to provide a serene green space at the heart of historic Bankside. The East Churchyard herb garden, constructed around the ruins of the medieval Lady Chapel and vault, recalls the Cathedral's past as a monastic foundation and connections with the nearby St Thomas's Hospital herb garret.

The South Churchyard has been designed using plants with Shakespearean and biblical resonance. The Millennium Courtyard contains a row of liquid amber trees, under-planted with a mixture of aromatic shrubs.

Beside the Thames and next to Southwark Cathedral is Cathedral Square.  It is a small open space with a wonderful river view where many local employees stop for lunch, and tourists rest on their way along the Thames Path.  The square is predominantly a York stone surface with some planted areas and London plane trees, it is one of the few park areas along the riverside.  The Council's Parks Department who own the square in partnership with the Regeneration Department have redesigned planted areas and plan to implement the new scheme which will be formal in style in September 2006.  Additional seating and a new lighting Scheme is also being proposed.

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