Kennington Oval Reimagined, London Borough of Lambeth for London Borough of Lambeth with Churchman Thornhill Finch, Alan Baxter and Streets Reimagined

This project focuses on a small residential neighborhood near the Kia Oval cricket ground, enhancing community and school access through landscape interventions and traffic restrictions. ‘Play-on-the-way’ initiatives encourage natural play, developed through workshops with Year 6 pupils. Green infrastructure is integrated, and an 18-month Experimental Traffic Order allows for temporary interventions to test and inform the permanent public realm scheme, set for completion after December 2025.

Who is on the project? 

Lead Consultant/Landscape Architect - Churchman Thornhill Finch. 

Transport Engineer -  Alan Baxter 

Engagement - Streets Reimagined

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

The Kennington Oval Reimagined project was commissioned by the London Borough of Lambeth to develop public realm proposals around Kennington Oval and surrounding residential streets to transform vehicle dominated roads into child friendly healthy streets. Kennington Oval was identified based on key metrics - health, deprivation and air quality notably worse than borough averages. The project area comprises a relatively small residential neighbourhood of 5-6 streets to the north and east of the Kia Oval cricket ground in Kennington. The area includes Kennington Oval and several adjoining streets. There are three schools in the area, St Marks Primary School (Kennington Oval) Henry Fawcett Primary School / Children’s Centre (Bowling Green Street and Clayton Street), and Lillian Bayliss Technology Secondary School which covers a site north of the study area. The neighbourhood is well served by public transport and a cycleway route. Access to the nearest playspaces in Kennington Park is separated by the arterial A3 road constrained by limited points for safe crossing. Based on the latest census data from March 2021, the neighbourhood has a population of 2,600 people and 1,100 households. The Oval Village Development being constructed within the study area will add 1,300 homes. The area is ethnically diverse - a high proportion of the local population (26.8%) are Black, Black British, Black Welsh, Caribbean or African (national average is 4.2%). 68.4% of households don’t have a car or van which is 10% higher than the Borough average and 26% higher than the Greater London average.

Tell us what you did and how it created a child-friendly place. For example, how does it support the rights of the child to rest, relax, play and to take part in cultural and creative activities in a safe and clean environment?

The project aim is to reclaim these streets by creating healthy playful child friendly spaces, advocating equality and improving access to the community and school children by utilising landscape interventions and traffic restrictions. The following tenets guided our approach: By removing vehicle danger and protecting children and residents from air pollution the project creates safe space, improves freedom, increases home-range and nurtures children’s physical and cognitive development. Activation of play streets with ‘play-on-the-way’ interventions - natural play, climbable logs, table tennis, street games, cricket and football, hopscotch and seating. Humanised and relaxing streets that improve health and wellness with seating and spaces for the community to stop, meet, rest and relax. Flexible spaces for community events and culture. Repurpose under-used parking bays into on-street parklets, seating, planting beds, drawing boards, playful blocks and cycle racks. Encourage active travel using modal filters and additional cycle racks with spacious cycle routes. Climate resilient green infrastructure to improve ecology, colour, scent, seasonal flora and visual amenity. Artist interventions with painted in-ground graphics designed with Henry Fawcett school children 

How did the project make a positive social and environmental contribution in the context of child health childhood and wellbeing

The neighbourhood includes two primary schools and a children’s centre, while also serving as a key route for pupils attending nearby schools. By enhancing street safety through restricted car movement, children are allowed to build their confidence in navigating streets, enabling them to explore and play in safe environments. The project promotes children’s physical health by providing additional cycle racks and places to rest along the way. Vibrantly coloured planters with additional seating and seasonal planting outside the schools create a welcoming environment that fosters a sense of belonging, relationships and interaction among children, families and neighbours. New green infrastructure - including flowering perennials, herbs, shrubs and trees - contributes to wellbeing, relaxation and emotional expression and improves air quality. Additional planting helps to reduce localised overland flooding on local streets. Making plants accessible advocates in children an appreciation for nature and sustainability. During the trial, children have actively engaged with boulders, play trees, table tennis and ground play graphics, stimulated imaginative play, boosting creativity and cognitive development. In December 2024 the trial reached the end of the 6-month statutory consultation period. It will remain in place until the expiry of the 18 month ETO (December 2025) . The project will next assess the findings of user group feedback, trial observations and traffic figures within and around the study area. These will inform the ambitions of the permanent legacy public realm scheme - a decision on its implementation will be made in the coming months, before the ETO expires.