“I expect that the Connaught Green project, on its own, will have no impact on the volume of traffic running through our high street. This is the single biggest issue facing our declining, cherished high street”.
“Without any meaningful change in traffic volume, this proposal appears set to become another “Mound” debacle”.
Westminster Council has released the results of the latest consultation for Connaught Village Green, and it has confirmed that the £1.4m scheme will go ahead in its reduced form. But the results of the consultation prove very revealing. Less than a fifth of respondents support the current scheme, and dozens of the comments showed people’s feelings about it. “I have to say that I am disappointed with (the) proposal compared with the original scheme sent to us” says one.
“The point of the scheme was to create a village centre and this does nothing of the sort. It is a complete waste of money. At the very minimum Kendal St should be narrowed”.
What is Connaught Village?
Connaught Village is an area in Westminster just five minutes walk from Hyde Park, famed for its lovely shops, nice cafes, and queues around the block for Basque cheesecake. It is mainly on Connaught street. We first wrote about it here.
It has a lot of potential to be a destination to visit, and a temporary parklet recently did very well here, but there’s one big problem that everyone talks about, the traffic.
It is two-way on both Connaught Street and Kendal Street, and notoriously busy. Local residents association HyPER have wanted a village square which would stop the traffic flowing down the whole of Connaught street and create a proper space for the local community to gather, relax and enjoy themselves. Many locals and businesses have called for the traffic to be reduced, which would make Connaught village a more pleasant place to spend time in, but also encourage footfall and help local trade, it is thought.
Connaught Village map
So what is the current, less popular, plan?
The current plan involves some planting, seating, and raised tables on the road, and a water fountain, but not a lot to deal with the traffic. Motor traffic will be kept two-way on Connaught street and Kendal street, with just a handful of parking spaces removed, as seen in the photo on the left here. (Not sure this is great use of over a million quid is it? – Ed).
There is a thorough write-up of the current plans, with lots of photographs, in this previous article on our website.
Less than a fifth of respondents supported the current scheme
The consultation, which was not widely publicised and did not have an online version, attracted 75 responses, showing that this is an issue local people really care about. But- only 19% of respondents, less than a fifth, supported this new watered-down scheme as is.
“Many reasonable individuals may be opposed on the grounds that this is too little value for the money — they would not be wrong”.
“I’m disappointed to see this scheme get scaled back at every iteration”.
Over half of respondents opposed the current scheme, and over 60% of those because they thought it wasn’t ambitious enough
Out of those who did the consultation, over half, 56%, opposed the current scheme as-is. And interestingly, over half of those who opposed the design (62%) opposed it because they wanted to see a more ambitious scheme which included traffic reduction. In other words, way over half of those who opposed the current plans did so because they wanted it to be more ambitious.
“It delivers almost nothing of substance to the businesses and the people who rely on Connaught Street to live and work and does not support the local businesses in generating a positive environment”.
There is one big problem with the watered-down scheme, say residents, and that is that it doesn’t deal with the traffic
Both Kendal street and Connaught street currently have two-way traffic, and with the current proposals, that will not change. There was comment after comment from local people saying they were unhappy about this.
“The proposal … does nothing to reduce the Rat Run of vehicles that use Connaught Village to drive at speeds all hours of the day. This is not a neighbourhood due to this road; it is simply a traffic highway”.
Residents hoped for something more like Westminster’s St John’s Wood High Street
A number of residents commented in the consultation that they were hoping that this scheme would be more like the design of St John’s Wood High Street, which has been roundly praised by those who visit. A one-way system has been implemented, with wide pavements and more seating. One says: “The new one-way system in St Johns Wood High Street has worked to improve the area, both for pedestrians and business, and it is of concern that we could not benefit from such a scheme for Kendal Street”.
You can read more about that the transformation of St John’s Wood High Street here.
The council’s previous plans that tackled the traffic were more popular
The council previously put plans forward that included reducing traffic to one lane and one-way on Kendal Street. (In fact, it looked in parts rather like the St John’s Wood High Street scheme above). This one-way would not only have achieved some traffic calming, it would also have left much more space for an increase in the pavements too. This plan was much more popular with locals- over half, 57% of respondents supported these plans. In addition, 35% more people supported this than opposed it.
Previous plans which tackled the traffic were nearly three times more popular with locals
Just to clarify, 57% of respondents supported the previous plans, whereas only 19% of respondents supported this new watered-down scheme as-is. In other words, the previous plans that included traffic calming were three times more popular. They also had majority support.
You can read a number of the comments from locals about what they thought of the previous plan here in this previous piece on our site, such as: “Best thing the Council can do. VITAL”, and “Taking back local urban spaces from cars is in my view positive”.
Why was the plan that had majority support dropped?
Good question!
The previous plan which included reducing Kendal street to one-way had majority support. But it was binned- why? We understand that last autumn, a meeting went ahead at lunchtime during the week, when some councillors discussed the previous plan to reduce the traffic, and it apparently got quite heated.
In a previous piece we wrote this: “We understand that it got quite heated and there was some anger. …”A lot of the folks at this meeting just want Connaught Village to be a road” says one local who went … “some appeared to be non- locals who just wanted to still drive through the area””
After this “heated” meeting, Councillors sent an email to local residents. “Generally, the project has been very well received” they said. “However, a large number of residents raised concerns about the traffic impacts from the proposed one-way working on Kendal Street. We held a drop-in session …. As a result of the very strong views expressed, we have asked the Highways Team (to maintain) two-way traffic along Kendal Street”.
So just to be clear, in the council’s own words, they have said they dropped the plans to tackle the traffic because people were angry at a meeting. A meeting held in the middle of the day that only a handful of local residents could attend. This was despite getting majority support, and many comments of people supporting it.
Freshminster’s view, is that many dozens of people are clearly angry that the traffic is NOT being tackled now. And that by trying to please everyone, the council are pleasing no-one. It is a very disappointing legacy, especially when over a million pounds is being spent. We urge the council to reconsider, and go for a more ambitious plan.
As we have mentioned, at the time of the previous plan, local resident association HyPER said they were hoping the scheme would go further and presented other ideas, so one can imagine how they feel about all plans to tackle the traffic being dropped.
“We’re disappointed that out of a scheme that’s costing £1.4 million, the main problem (i.e. the traffic) is not being tackled. We saw how much people enjoyed our parklet and how much local people wish the street was quieter and safer, and there’s only one way to do this, which is tackling the traffic.”
HyPER – Hyde Park Estate Residents
We have seen for ourselves that a village square has been a very effective way to encourage the building of local community, and to support local business, as demonstrated in this piece we wrote on Belsize Park Village.
We have gone through the comments to the latest consultation in detail, and have pulled out a lot of them, which are below … It is clear to us that tackling the traffic is a mainstream, popular view, and that councillors need to find some political will, and do what residents actually want.
A selection of comments from the consultation
Many found the new plans disappointing
“I have to say that I am disappointed with (the) proposal compared with the original scheme sent to us”
“The proposed scheme for Connaught Village is half-hearted and too limited in scope”
“It delivers almost nothing of substance to the businesses and the people who rely on Connaught Street to live and work and does not support the local businesses in generating a positive environment”
“Many reasonable individuals may be opposed on the grounds that this is too little value for the money — they would not be wrong”
“I’m disappointed to see this scheme get scaled back at every iteration”
People wanted the plans to go further
“I’d like you to be even more ambitious in discouraging private motor vehicles and encouraging active modes of transport”
“The plans do not go near far enough. The number one issue is traffic – and it does nothing to deal with this. I’d urge a rethink”
There was one problem here that’s mentioned time and time again … the Traffic
“I support road traffic calming measures. This is badly needed. Connaught Street is a polluted rat run at times. Vehicles regularly ignore the zebra crossing making crossings unsafe”
“The proposal … does nothing to reduce the Rat Run of vehicles that use Connaught Village to drive at speeds all hours of the day. This is not a neighbourhood due to this road; it is simply a traffic highway”
“Without any meaningful change in traffic volume, this proposal appears set to become another “Mound” debacle”
“It would appear as if the council is flush with money but short on political courage”
“I expect that the Connaught Green project, on its own, will have no impact on the volume of traffic running through our high street. This is the single biggest issue facing our declining, cherished high street”
“Ironically, on February 21st, during a 5-min stop with on the Green sight, I saw one driver angrily honk and yell at a cyclist for slowing them down, and another cyclist actually get hit at the Connaught Street zebra crossing, just as we were discussing the proposal. I’m afraid this kind of anti- social behaviour will only continue in the future”
“I am strongly in support for a Village Green combined with meaningful traffic flow changes (but) I feel that the proposal falls significantly short of the primary objectives to reduce/calm traffic flows and provide a meaningful public amenity that might enhance the Village atmosphere and support local businesses through increased footfall”
Will the propose raised tables be enough to tackle it?
“I hope that the raised table is sufficiently aggressive as to meaningfully reduce the brazen anti- social driving behaviour on Connaught St”
Many lamented the fact that plans were dropped to make Kendal Street one-way
“The junction between Kendal Street and Connaught Street is an extremely dangerous area. Traffic is coming from multiple directions, with many sight lines obscured by the curve of the road or by trees”
“The proposals for Connaught Village as now amended are wholly unacceptable. … The only sensible way of introducing this scheme is by having the previous proposal for a much narrower entry point into the south end of Kendal St, thereby slowing traffic, and with Kendal Street pavements widened”
“I am disappointed that Kendal Street will remain two way and I cannot understand why residents (and businesses) should favour a continuous flow of through traffic (a rat run) over the safety of pedestrians and the relative calm of the village”
“This is a missed opportunity. Why not either (1) make the village one way throughout; and/or (2) remove access from Edgware Road to both Kendal St and Connaught St?”
“I’m concerned that Kendal Street is to remain 2-way, and I believe ‘a bollard’ will simply serve to spoil the aesthetic of the new green”
People wanted more of a village green/piazza
“The point of the scheme was to create a village centre and this does nothing of the sort. It is a complete waste of money. At the very minimum Kendal St should be narrowed”
“The proposal to close Connaught Street and to create a Piazza is the one that has broad support in the community, in particular with the businesses which need pedestrian footfall to sustain business”
“The plans are a missed opportunity to make even more public space along Titchborne Row. For trees and seating and even a playground, as there is already a lot of parking in the area”
“The Village Green design is underwhelming in design and scope”
Some mention St John’s Wood High Street as a good model
“The new one-way system in St Johns Wood High Street has worked to improve the area, both for pedestrians and business, and it is of concern that we could not benefit from such a scheme for Kendal Street”
“The council has shown better ideas for Oxford St, Regent St, Queensway, Marylebone, St John’s Wood high street — it knows what needs to be done to make this high street better. This isn’t it”
“We urge the council to reconsider, and reflect what residents want, setting a legacy in place that they will be celebrated for.”
You can read the results for yourself here.