We love Westminster’s Connaught Village, but have been hearing from locals and businesses that footfall isn’t what it should be (unless of course, you want to eat Basque cheesecake!) The main issues we’ve heard about are a constant flow of dangerous through-traffic, and nowhere to sit and relax. The council has developed a long-awaited proposal to improve the public space here, with a reported budget of £1.4 million. But the question on everyone’s lips is: What are they proposing, and WILL IT DEAL WITH THE TRAFFIC?!! We dived in.
Last week we saw the through-traffic here for ourselves, and the lack of places to sit and relax. We saw two people who had bought cheesecake having to lean against a car, which is, we think you’ll agree, not ideal. Plus we were shown a number of empty units. Residents told us that there were two lovely coffee shops here that closed down last summer- Le Pain Quotidien, and Abasto, and that both brought a real feeling of community.
A local residents association, Hyper, drew up plans for a piazza in 2020 that would go right across Connaught Street here, and locals have said they think one-way traffic that could loop down Kendal street here would really help – and that they need more space on the pavement for pedestrians.
A local architect has come up with this imaginative plan, which would treat people to a sumptuous visual feast and could also span across Connaught Street (allowing traffic to still loop onto Kendal street).
So what is the council proposing? Sadly, nothing like this. They plan to keep traffic two-ways on both Connaught Street and Kendal Street to the right here:
They do, however, want to remove these three car parking bays:
Around this area they’re proposing some planting, seating, and a water fountain is in the mix, amongst other things:
But in terms of the flow of motor traffic, there’s very little – just some proposed raised tables to slow it down. We wanted to know what locals thought of the plans.
Olivier Bouan
Olivier Bouan lives a stone’s throw from Connaught Street. He told us that he’s “Pleased that Councillors agree that the area needs attention”. But he’s feeling “underwhelmed and disappointed with this first effort”.
He feels that these proposals don’t solve the core problem of the high street- the traffic. “The traffic IS the problem here”, Olivier tells us. “It’s an unpleasant, loud, and unsafe place to be – because of the motor traffic- which is mainly through- traffic”. He says that because drivers are often just using this as a through-route, they want to get through as fast as possible. “We’ve got lots of antisocial driving, speeding, and not giving way to pedestrians. And as a result, you don’t want to spend any meaningful time outside on this street”.
A piece this week by the Editor-in-chief of the Evening Standard says “Sadly, Connaught Village was actually far more alive 25 years ago; these days it is in decline, its only relevance being as a rat-run for local traffic”.
Olivier said that as this is a shopping hub, pedestrians would want to zig zag across the road and back, but that here this is dangerous and difficult. “It’s just really hard to get across the street at all”, he said. “In a five-minute period last week, I saw two incidents” he continues. “A woman was hit on a zebra crossing- she was okay but it was still hairy, and a cycling delivery rider was hooted loudly by a driver behind them for slowing them down- ironically coming up to this same zebra crossing. Who’d want to come and hang out and shop here after seeing things like that?” He has taken photos and videos from his flat where the noise keeps him up at night, and then “starts up again at 5 AM”.
Olivier loves the Piazza idea, and likes Wyndham Place in nearby Marylebone. He also likes the creativeness of the architect’s design, and loves the colourful areas for people in Barcelona. He says, “there’s a whimsical nature about the shops here – it’s a colourful street and we should have a colourful public space”.
He also thinks St John’s High Street is a good template. It has just one way traffic now, wide pavements and plenty of space for pedestrians, and areas for eating outside and sitting down too.
He has a message for councillors – that he thinks people will be behind them going a lot further. “I think they expect to lose support by sensibly addressing traffic. But the reality is they would gain significantly more support I think, at the cost of a few loud voices.”.
“I think the council under-appreciates just how much people would get behind an overtly sensible scheme for traffic reduction- especially over time, and even from the current naysayers. Something like a piazza would be a great legacy for them. This is a once in a generation opportunity to make a difference here and to show what a local council can do.”.
Phil Kelvin
Phil has lived in the area for 46 years and loves it here. But like Olivier, hates the amount and the speed of the motor traffic. “Connaught Street is a cut through- from Edgware Road to Paddington station. Drivers often put their foot down when going down Connaught street” she told us, “because they want to make it past the lights. The noise bothers me, and also the proximity of the cars to the pedestrians. I feel vulnerable crossing the road. And I worry as there are so many nurseries and schools nearby”.
Phil also doesn’t think businesses win out to the through-traffic, given it is “just whizzing past. Cars aren’t stopping and so there’s no possibility of popping in”.
Phil told us that the balance is wrong between cars and pedestrians- she feels pedestrians need to have much more space. She agrees with Olivier that St Johns High Street is a good example- one way traffic with lots of pavement space.
She also has a message for Councillors, that when it comes to controlling traffic here, “Bold is beautiful. Please just go for it. This scheme isn’t going far enough. If there was a piazza here, it would attract people. If there was more space and more to do- people would spend more time on the street”
“I would love a piazza” she grins. “What would I do? I’d talk to strangers! People need to talk to each other! There’s a distinct loneliness in the capital- we need to get to know people in our local community- it’s a mutual support”. Phil loves seeing people playing chess and chatting outside, and thinks that vibe would be great for businesses too.
“I think they’re trying to please the loudest voice” she says. “But people against changes to the traffic are a minority. And if we do nothing about it, shops will end up all plastered up”.
Arno
We also spoke to a local resident called Arno- who says he thinks “these proposals are in the right direction, but nowhere near what’s required to change this little village- it’s not enough to entice a business owner to extend their lease”.
Arno would like to see a central focal public space- “anything that makes it more family friendly and you can see a vista”.
He’d also like a smart traffic layout- ideally one lane of traffic going in one direction, and eliminating through-traffic if possible. He doesn’t have a problem with local traffic, and thinks there should be some parking for those visiting.
Arno wants the area to be a destination people flock to. “When people are in nearby Hyde Park and they say – let’s grab lunch somewhere, I want them to think, ‘oh let’s go to Connaught village!’”
He thinks the money being spent is far too much for what you get. “This is our one chance to do it”, he says. “Let’s do it right”.
And “let’s do it right” involves tackling the traffic too. “We need wider pavements, tables outside for cafes, the area more people-centred, low through- traffic, and we need to do this all in one go”.
“I’d urge councillors to be a bit more brave” says Arno. “If you get the traffic right, the area will be a success. And let’s face it” he shrugs. “We don’t want it to end up like the mound”.
“If we had a a piazza here, with kids out playing on a sunny day” says Olivier, “a coffee in hand and low traffic, I can’t believe anyone would come here and think that it was the wrong decision to do this. It would be a wonderful thing”.
It seems that residents here think people-friendly streets are good for business and an election winner. Let’s hope councillors bring out some more ambitious plans soon.
Proposals
These are the council’s current proposals: https://connaughtvillagegreen.commonplace.is/en-GB/proposals/example-early-engagement/step1
These are resident association HyPER’s thoughts on those: https://hyper.uk/new-connaught-village-proposals-released/