Public Consultation Launched For Grove Park Piazza Project

Transforming area into a social space as part of the Liveable Neighbourhoods Scheme

Artist's impression of the piazza by Tim Makower. Image from Grove Park Group

A public consultation has been launched into the Grove Park Piazza project, a community-led project to transform the space by the shops on Grove Park Road by creating a new public square. The closing date for comments is March 31st.

The proposal would see the largely car-dominated space changed into one that prioritises people, through widened pavements, improved crossings, new seating and planting. Improved cycle parking, electric vehicle charging and lighting are also key parts of the scheme. The design aims to enhance the attractiveness of the area and create a focal point for the community, which in turn will positively impact local business.

The scheme is part of the Liveable Neighbourhoods project for which Chiswick is getting a £2m funding, mainly from the Mayor's Office but also including crowdfunding and TfL. This funding is also going towards other local projects such as the Barnes Bridge walkway in Dukes Meadows.

Initial concept designs were developed and consulted upon in partnership wth the Grove Park Group in 2015, following a crowdfunding campaign to raise awareness and funding for the project.

It was originally intended for the the Piazza design to extend across the Grove Park Road junction with Bolton Road, with pedestrians prioritised. However, the number of vehicles using Bolton Road to connect to Grove Park Bridge is currently too high to safely enable this. Therefore, the design shows a more standard road layout for the Bolton Road end of the piazza. At present over 2,200 vehicles use this section of Bolton Road in an average weekday, with over 270 in the busiest hour. Any extension of the piazza design would require this peak hour figure to be reduced to under 90 vehicles as a minimum.

As part of the wider Liveable Neighbourhoods project, the council will be looking at options for ‘low traffic neighbourhoods’ where the volume and speed of through traffic is reduced on residential streets. These measures will be developed and consulted on separately later this year. If measures can be agreed that reduce the volume of traffic on Bolton Road, prior to the start of construction on the piazza, then the design could still be amended.

The design proposes reducing the number of car parking bays outside the shops from 14 to 10 and replacing the 3 parking bays outside the Old Station House pub with a dedicated loading bay. To inform the proposed number of parking bays within the design, the council undertook a parking survey on 17 October 2019. This survey assessed the availability of parking spaces every half hour between 7am and 7pm. The results show that of the 13 spaces outside the shops (excluding the one disabled blue badge space), 7 were filled with the same parked vehicle for a period of at least 6 consecutive hours. A further 2 spaces were filled consecutively for at least 3 hours. This demonstrates that the parking bays are not being efficiently utilised and can therefore be reduced in number, according to the Council.

Feedback from the recent area wide Liveable Neighbourhoods consultation has shown broad positive support for the piazza concept, with a number of comments received on issues such as improved cycle parking and bus services, alongside concerns over maintaining vehicle access to the shops for those with disabilities.

This consultation is the opportunity to focus on the specific plans for the piazza.

On this page you can find a copy of the plan, two visualisations that help to illustrate what the design would look like once complete, and an online survey to provide feedback. The closing date for comments is Tuesday, 31 March.

The £2 million funding from the Mayor's Liveable Neighbourhoods programme for the area now designated as Chiswick South, includes, as well as the Piazza, the walkway to link Barnes Bridge with the Thames Path (The Barnes Bridge Walkway). Measures to improve local cycling links with the proposed Cycle Superhighway 9 along Chiswick High Road are also earmarked to get funding.

The Liveable Neighbourhoods funding, which has increased from £33 million in November 2017 to £53.4 this year, is used to improve local neighbourhoods in inner and outer London, with new walking and cycling infrastructure, new pedestrian crossings and rat runs closed to motor traffic. The money is provided to Hounslow Council to allocate to the approved projects.

The idea behind the Grove Park Piazza is to link the Station House pub with the parade of shops and create a social focal point for local residents. The project which is spearheaded by the Grove Park Group (GPG) became a Mayor of London Community Project with a crowdfunding page on SpaceHive which raised £77,000.

The Grove Park Group says that the area around the shops has been long overdue regeneration as the pavement is narrow, sloping and provides poor accessibility. Block paving the entire area and introducing traffic calming features will significantly improve pedestrian safety. The area outside the cafe would be widened and more tables could be added, creating a focal point.

March 10, 2020