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Boris sets out his vision
Katharine Barney10.03.09
Some of London's shabbiest streets and squares could be transformed under a "Great Spaces" scheme announced by the Mayor.
Boris Johnson is inviting councils to bid for grants worth thousands of pounds to create more places for Londoners to relax.
He wants to revamp some of the capital's flagship areas as well as lesser known streets, squares, parks and riverside walks.
Proposals will be submitted to the Mayor and a panel will decide which schemes should be given a grant. Funding in the first year will total £200,000.
Mr Johnson said: "I am determined to do all I can to lead London through this recession and ensure it emerges stronger.
"Key to that is improving our quality of life and environment and it is the capital's public spaces that make London such a wonderful, engaging city and help attract millions of visitors every year.
"But we need to take a closer look at some of the hidden treasures as well as the well known spaces that abound, and turn them into something great."
The Great Spaces plan already includes a move to pedestrianise Exhibition Road outside South Kensington Tube station, as part of a £13million Transport for London scheme to create a "museum district". Other areas in line for the cash include the streets surrounding Tottenham Court Road Tube and stretches of Oxford Streets where shop-fronts are rundown. Chinatown may be awarded funding to make it more "authentically" Chinese, while insiders suggest money is likely to go to a square planned at Great Queen Street between Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, Covent Garden and Leicester Square.
In addition there are concerns Uxbridge Road has been made to look shabby by the nearby Westfield shopping centre.
Hammersmith and Fulham council has already offered grants to shops to improve their facades but the Great Spaces scheme could add to that.
Projects at any stage can be submitted by boroughs for assessment by Mr Johnson's design panel, led by deputy mayor for planning and policy Simon Milton.
Successful projects will be adopted and accredited as a Mayor's Great Space. They will be helped by the London Development Agency's Design for London, which advises the Mayor on all projects that are commissioned or funded by the GLA Group.
It comes after Mr Johnson dropped plans from his predecessor Ken Livingstone for 100 public spaces across the city, including the pedestrianisation of Parliament Square.
Instead Mr Johnson says he wants to focus on improving fewer areas but making sure the projects are of a high standard.
Full details of Great Spaces accreditation will be announced in the Spring.
The announcement comes as the London Assembly met to discuss congestion and consider plans for pedestrianising Oxford Street.
Reader views (19)
Warren in Hong Kong. According to the local press in Hounslow the Concorde Village development is unfortunately looking like it may be a Land Banking investment scam. You may want to check with your legal advisors.
- Steven, London UK
So Westfield makes Uxbridge Road look shabby? Uxbridge Road, Shepherds Bush etc have always looked shabby they are old slum areas tarted up but as they say you cant make a silk purse out of a sows ear.
One problem with image of Exhibition Road is that it is NOT being pedestrianised so photo should show a line of polluting vehicles (expecially one's like the taxi I saw to-day belshing black smoke!). Alfresco more like Dieselesco!
- Melvyn Windebank, Canvey Island, Essex
£200,000 is the sort of money a small market town might spend on improving its High Street.
For one of the world's greatest cities it is a piffling amount. London needs hundreds of millions spent on improving its local centres, its main streets, and main spaces. The success of London depends on how it looks as much as how it works.
- Robert, London
What about the planned 120 Acre Concorde Village development in Hounslow ?
The consultation has been taking place for two years. When will approval be given ?
- Warren, Hong Kong
This sounds like the Livingstone project that was going to be ACTUALLY funded. You can't write up some tale of a civic space revolution when Boris is pledging approximately 20 pence toward this idea. Boris puts out nice press releases and approves out superficially helpful ideas but never follows it through with the actual cash.
Stop proposing idle concepts and do SOMETHING that requires investment. Start with the cross river tram!
"Ah,the old 'cafe culture' that we all love to see and indeed take part in when in Italy,France and Spain.People drinking and eating whilst basking in the sun.
This is England.Well,even worse,London.We don't get this weather and the majority of the people here are incapable of behaving themselves.
Dream on.
- Steve, London"
How is London's weather worse than the rest of the UK? And if you don't like it here, you're more than welcome to leave post haste.
- David, London
I don't believe that Boris can be anticipating on getting rid of London's green spaces, we have a problem on our Estate in London's East End. With our Social Landlord who want to build on our green spaces, majority of the Estate are against it but and we are in a argument at the moment, if Boris says its OK what chances do we have to oppose it.
Is there any one out there who can help our fight to stop the building on our green spaces.
- Mal, London
I'd prefer you kept your focus on crime first Boris.
- S. Wallace, Essex, UK
Please ease up on the visions Boris it is costing us money we do not have.
- David., Chertsey.UK.
Hmm, sounds a lot like Ken's scheme to improve public spaces. As I recall, he was slated by the tories for it (and their pandering media). Ken's ghost lives!
- Dave, Haringey
£200,000 is peanuts. This isn't a step forward, it's another manifestation of Do-Nothing Boris's attempts to spin thin air as positive action. Word of advice: if you don't want to spend the money, you won't get the benefits, so don't try and pretend you can have your cake and eat it.
- Tom, London, UK
Johnson the Napoleon of the City? You must be joking. With all the vested interests funding Johnson, he's not going to knock down half of London to make way for the boulevards and shopping arcades you can stroll down without being mugged by the down and outs and shoddy goods merchants. We need more squares, parks and lakes in London.
- Dhanraj, basildon
Boris needs to lkearn that cycling must always be done on the road not the pavement and that running red lights at junctions is only for losers
- Keith Price, Luton, England
Steve, you have a point, maybe some people disbehave after a few tipples, but I have noticed heatwaves in the UK, the last being 2003-4-5, when I came to visit London as a tourist and it was great to see people eating and drinking in outside cafes, parks etc.
I remember the Duke of York Sq.on the King's Road, where my sons splashed about in the park and there was a mini festival of musicians playing. For me, better than the Med!
- cath, somwehere in the Med
Can we have the promotion of the usage of sheltered places close to habitation (or otherwise)at least away from traffic fume - with the time investment of community groups (Housing Asscns?)etc to get many many more allotments under cultivation as possible as well as setting up "community orchards" - or else people will go for a bit of guerilla gardening - and why not?
People can't wait for planners can they - people get hungry for self determination.
Can local authorities please promote productive garden "adoption": those who have a sunny garden and can't look after it because of time constraints or handicaps and those folk willing and able to garden and share the produce back - a real community spirit then.
Got fruit etc you don't pick? Let others know please - it's awful to see rotting fruit on the ground!
Now it's spring, get your seeds ready for this year's planting and then experiment on saving your own seeds for next year. Get fruit trees in your garden too.
Flowers and open space are fine but productive private and community plots have got to be a winner! Food growing first I say!
- Elizabeth Grey, Chelmsford
Ah,the old 'cafe culture' that we all love to see and indeed take part in when in Italy,France and Spain.People drinking and eating whilst basking in the sun.
This is England.Well,even worse,London.We don't get this weather and the majority of the people here are incapable of behaving themselves.
Dream on.
- Steve, London
I think a new tuneel at Hyde Park is a terrible scheme. Better to provide proper pedestrian crossings on the road at more frequent intervals. The outer London boroughs need the money for new squares - not just central London.
- Jay, London
Why doesn't Boris extend the Bakerloo line down the Old Kent Road to Lewisham? It seems the best route as the road is state owned and much wider.?
Come on Boris, help the people of the S. East out!
- Michelle, Lewisham
Mr Johnson said: "I am determined to do all I can to lead London through this recession and ensure it emerges stronger. = £200,000 for the first year equals around £6,250 per borough that’s if you take London as a whole... or is that, as is suggested in the article, that only boroughs North of the Thames have urban real issues are viable for funding?
Mr Johnson goes onto say “But we need to take a closer look at some of the hidden treasures...” = No we need to look at the blatantly obvious ‘dirty, unsafe, inaccessible environments’ and deal with those first and they are not in South Kensington, Oxford Street, Chinatown, Lincoln's Inn Fields, Holborn, Park Lane, Covent Garden or Leister Square are they!?!
- Ade, London
There was a plan promoted several years ago to put Park Lane into a tunnel to reinstate Hyde Park to it's original size. I hope that fresh consideration is given to this excellent project. In addition to improving public spaces it would be great to see the road and railway approaches to London improved. The area surrounding the junction of the M1 and the North Circular Road, for example, is shabby.
- Bethany Williams, London
