Green Spine, City of Westminster, for Westminster City Council, with BDP, WSP and FM Conway

The Green Spine is conceived as a new linear park that creates a pedestrian focused route running north-south along the Church Street Masterplan, linking Lisson Gardens and Broadley Gardens. Part of the Futures Plan, the park includes play areas, flexible spaces for local events, garden areas and fitness trails, providing public realm for local use.

Who is on the project team? (designer, consultants, etc)

BDP - Landscape, Lighting, Engineering

WSP - Delivery Consultants

FM Conway - Main Contractor

Describe the context of this project, its neighbourhood and people.

The Green Spine is a new linear park and pedestrian-orientated route running through the Church Street area in the City of Westminster. It links Lisson Gardens, Broadley Gardens, Church Street and a new residential development at Luton Street, with the view that the next phases will continue this route. The ambition for this scheme was to reinvigorate the neighbourhood with a new park and pedestrian routes for the community to enjoy for many years ahead. The streetscape has been redesigned to balance nature and people by creating a series of high-quality green spaces that are safe, accessible and inviting. The outdoor space has been enhanced so it can be used for a range of activities, including mixed age play areas, flexible spaces for local events, garden areas and fitness trails, providing an active public realm for the local users. The implementation of a network of a bio-retention system with new native planting, along with the inclusion of new planting areas and the conservation of the mature existing tree cover has drastically increased the biodiversity and aesthetics of the area, opening a new view on how sustainable design can be implemented in our modern cities. The project was completed in August 2022.

How does this public space bring people together, encourage inclusivity, and make a positive environmental impact to the wider place? How is the community engaged in the project?

BDP worked alongside Westminster City Council, WSP and FM Conway from the preliminary design stage through to project completion to deliver this scheme. The Green Spine was conceived as an exemplar project for the area and the city. The project team sought innovative working methods to deliver a robust and consistent design upon which further schemes could be based and built. In order to set up this framework a Church Street Green Spine Charter was developed by Westminster City Council and BDP, in conjunction with the local community, setting the vision for the project and identifying a preferred approach to its future management. The Council set up a steering group of local people who the design team met to discuss the emerging design at regular intervals. With the existing residential community at the heart of the scheme, we were able to fully immerse ourselves with the area’s key groups with the intention and challenge to create ‘London’s most liveable neighbourhood’. Community Engagement We have listened to local people to reflect their needs and aspirations, ensuring the area became better used. We used design workshops, focus groups, meetings and exhibitions. We targeted key times and spots and talked to passers by, to understand how the spaces were used at different times. A local steering group discussed the emerging design at regular intervals. A bespoke website provides information on designs, consultations, progress and a fortnightly newsletter. Further, local school children were delighted to help with flower bed planting in the rain gardens.

Please share any data or figures that support your entry about how this public space or landscape intervention has made a positive social or environmental impact, for example biodiversity, increased dwell time, flood or drainage mitigation, wellness or safety or other ecosystem services

The Green Spine has encouraged walking, providing valuable footfall and support for the Church Street market. Further phasing will connect to Regents Canal enabling walking routes along the tow path for many miles. The Green Spine supports decarbonisation - Improved walkability encourages residents to make less car-based journeys. The focus on green infrastructure, new native planting, new trees, bio-retention system and SuDs improve biodiversity, and foster civic pride. Sustainable and locally sourced materials were preferred wherever possible, ensuring the scheme’s longevity. Recycling, upcycling and the creative reuse of on-site materials were key. A flood analysis and drainage study revealed areas within the site to be prone to flooding – the challenge here was how to integrate the improved drainage, with biodiversity and increased vegetation. We used sustainable drainage features such as planted rain gardens and soakaways, the location of which had to be carefully considered given the site topography and existing services. Lighting columns use the latest LED lamps with a far greater lifespan. This comes with c.30% reduction in annual energy usage and cost. Timing the scheme delivery to take place during construction of an adjacent residential development minimised disruption and being finished, helped establish residents’ travel behaviours.