Issue 48 AUG 25 web - Flipbook - Page 112
points the way for all cities to function differently, as softer,
calmer, more resilient and more sociable places.
because every city and most towns have a street like
Alfred Place and could benefit from change of this kind.
Residents, businesses, and interest groups helped to shape
West End Project, with an initial 1,300 responses to early
proposals. Follow up workshops and in situ pop-ups were
supported by online activity – all serving to capture
hundreds of meaningful conversations and comments
from the public.
The design features three distinctive but complementary
character areas and passing through now feels like a lovely
journey to be on. It starts in the north with a woodland
walk and winding spaces under a dense canopy, moving
on to a playful space under dappled shade and then finally
to a lawn, with space for community events. All twelve
mature trees have been retained to be joined by twenty
new multi-stem trees. The Gardens support active travel,
and new paths provide fast or slow routes on foot.
Alfred Place Gardens
Running parallel to Tottenham Court Road, Alfred Place
used to be a commonplace London back street, more busy
service road and car park than anything else. Large stores
back onto it, and with narrow pavements and nowhere
to sit, it was a place to hurry through.
Princes Circus
Heavily polluted and underused, Princes Circus was a
hostile, nowhere urban space, dominated by an electricity
sub-station and hemmed in by heavily trafficked roads.
By reclaiming a section of Shaftesbury Avenue and
Bloomsbury Street from traffic, the project team was able
to create two linked public spaces that are warmly lit and
have generous amounts of seating, making it a great spot
to meet before heading into the adjacent Shaftesbury
Theatre. Local cafés and shops now have spill out space
and have reported an upturn in business as a result.
Through West End Project, it has been transformed into
a welcoming linear park, a green oasis in one of the busiest
parts of the capital, all whilst ensuring essential access for
services and emergency vehicles is maintained. There
is a real shortage of play in this part of London, and
sculptural seating, stepping stones and climbing structures
support incidental play. it also delivers a substantial new
water catchment area.
The planting for Princes Circus creates a sense of refuge.
It also reinforces the character and identity of the different
spaces. The northern plaza includes a woodland glade,
Alfred Place Gardens has quickly become an exemplar
for how cities can change for the better, resonating
Below, Alfred Place Gardens, credit Neil Speakman for LDA Design
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