Park Advisory Group (PAG) Meeting Three - Minutes Event details: Event: Presentations and group discussion Date: Wednesday 12 November 2014 Venue: Lend Lease, Level 10, Hannibal House, Elephant & Castle Shopping Centre, SE1 6TE Attendance: Recognised Residents Groups: Diana Cochrane, Walworth Society and Pullens T&RA Colin Turnbull, Mosaic Housing Residents RA Peter Wright, BATRA and East Walworth Green Links Lend Lease Andrew Chorley, Head of Estates, Elephant & Castle Elizabeth Randall, Development Project Manager, Elephant & Castle Fiona Parry, Development Manager - Interim Uses, Elephant & Castle Southwark Council John Wade, Principal Service Development Manager, Parks and Leisure Councillor Mark Williams, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Planning and Transport Design Team Armel Mourgue, Gillespies Sarah Marchant, Gillespies Chair: Sarah Gaventa Minute taker: Georgina Chimarrides, Soundings Apologies: Sophie Bevington, Lend Lease, Community Development Manager, Elephant & Castle Agenda: The agenda included the following items: Welcome from the Chair Consultation update Establishing the Park vision Access for the interim Park Final remarks and close of meeting
Welcome from Chair and actions from previous meeting The Chair welcomed all attendees, provided an overview of the meeting and introduced Fiona Parry from Lend Lease who is leading on the estate management for the Elephant Park development. The Chair then ran through the actions from the previous meeting which included: o Prepare a 3D model of sun movement through the Park Gillespies o Share the Southwark Council Park Refurbishment Plan Southwark Council Armel Mourgue explained that they are developing the 3D model of the sun movement and this will be shared with the group at a future meeting. John Wade presented the Southwark Council Park Refurbishment Plan and explained that this includes improvements to the following open spaces: o St Mary s Churchyard and the adjacent public realm area next to One the Elephant and The Castle leisure centre. o Pullens Park o Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park o Dickens Fields o Victory Community Park o Nursery Row Park John Wade stated that there is a 5-year delivery programme for these improvements and a separate consultation process will take place for each of these spaces. He also explained that the Council has an in-house design team to deliver the improvements and enhance the character of each of these spaces. John Wade explained that the designs for St Mary s Churchyard and the Pullens Park have been developed and a masterplan is in place for Dickens Park, and stated that he can share these plans and delivery programme with the group. Armel Morgue asked whether the Council have a map of forthcoming developments that can be shared. Cllr Mark Williams explained that they can bring a map, showing all developments with planning approval, to the next meeting. Cllr Mark Williams announced that the consultation for the peninsulisation of the Northern roundabout will commence later in November and reiterated that the project architects, Witherford Watson Mann, should be invited to present to the PAG. Diana Cochrane explained that the role of parks in improving public health was discussed at the recent Scrutiny Committee meeting, reiterating the importance of open spaces locally. She also spoke about a green link to the west connecting existing open spaces from north to south, including West Square, Pullens Park, Paisley Park and Canterbury Place. Peter Wright raised the potential for improvements to open space within housing land and whether the intention is to use this land for infill development, in particular where land has been transformed into a green space such as Salisbury Row Park. Cllr Mark Williams explained that the Council is currently reviewing their housing land to consider where infill development would be appropriate to deliver the number of new homes needed. The Chair asked for a correction to the minutes, so that these stated that she had a phone conversation with Richard Reynolds instead of meeting him in person. Update on delivery programme, the consultation strategy and vision discussion Elizabeth Randall explained that the interim Park delivery programme has been extended and the target date for submission of the s106 strategy is February 2015. The chair stated that it would be appropriate to set up a meeting in January to review the s106 strategy. A date for this can be agreed at the next meeting. 2
Georgina Chimarrides provided an update on the consultation events to date and the engagement process moving forward. The presentation included: o A revised consultation programme to reflect the new project timescales o An update on the community workshop o Resident engagement Georgina Chimarrides explained that colleague Ciron Edwards attended the Perronet House TRA meeting on 4 th November 2014 to provide an update on the plans for the Park and the community workshop. At the meeting it was highlighted that other resident groups should also be engaged. As this had also been raised at a previous PAG meeting, Georgina Chimarrides asked for input from the PAG on which resident groups should be engaged. Cllr Mark Williams felt that a wide range of resident groups should be engaged to represent the different communities around the Park. Peter Wright explained that he would like to organise a community workshop and made reference to the positive outputs from the Elephant and Walworth Neighbourhood Forum Connecting the Neighbourhood workshop on 1 st November 2014. Georgina Chimarrides suggested that a meeting could be set up to allow for input from the resident PAG members on the consultation strategy and discuss how the resident PAG members can support the process. The resident PAG members agreed to this. Colin Turnbull highlighted that the hoardings could be used as a community engagement tool, for instance during the pop-up events could leave comments here, and made reference to similar installations elsewhere. The hoardings could also be used creatively to raise awareness of the interim Park as it will not be visible, particularly along Heygate Street where there will be very low footfall until plots along Heygate Street are completed. Elizabeth Randall explained that Lend Lease intend to replace the hoardings to allow for marketing and community announcements, and are currently in discussion with Southwark Council to agree on a proposal. She also mentioned that Lend Lease will explore options to incorporate the ideas Colin has described. Diana Cochrane presented a selection of images which showed how different public spaces have been inhabited. These images included examples referencing design elements of spaces such as Gillett Square and the Palais Royal in Paris as well as activities in open spaces such as the community events at the Pullens Estate. The aim was to inspire thinking for the interim Park. Diana Cochrane emphasised that the interim Park should be a test bed and is a great opportunity to explore more creative and elaborate ideas. A strong cultural programme is central to the vision for the interim Park. Elizabeth Randall noted that an events manager could support the delivery of a cultural programme for the Park and Lend Lease will be exploring this. Diana Cochrane explained that there is an opportunity to involve local groups who are already organising events in the community such as Hotel Elephant and Elefest. She also highlighted that in the past it has been difficult to attract national organisations to the area, despite the proximity of Elephant and Castle to the Southbank and central London, and perhaps the interim Park could support such events. Cllr Mark Williams explained that the Council is trying to encourage national cultural organisations to host events in different parts of the borough. Currently a programme of events is being developed for Blackfriars Road but there could be an opportunity for some of the events as part of this programme to take place at the interim Park. Georgina Chimarrides presented a summary of the key aspirations from the workshop discussions and the feedback received on the questionnaire. Sarah Gaventa then summarised the key points she had recorded at the workshop. This led onto a 3
discussion to refine the vision for the Park and key comments were recorded on post-it notes. Soundings have collated the post-it notes and together with the aspirations shared at the workshop and previous PAG meetings will compile the overall vision for the Park and share this with the group. Access to the interim Park Gillespies had prepared a drawing showing access for the Park during its interim condition, as this was a key issue raised by the PAG as well as at the community workshop. Armel Mourgue explained that there are two entrance points to the interim Park, one at the western end by the new Market Square and the other approximately half way down Heygate Street. Peter Wright asked for clarification on how people would be able to cross Heygate Street safely and arrive at the interim Park as the plots along Heygate Street would be part of the construction site. Andrew Chorley explained that there would be traffic marshals to ensure that there is not conflict between pedestrians and the construction vehicles. Elizabeth Randall explained that Lend Lease will be in discussion with Delancey about creating an access from New Kent Road between the Delancey development and Elephant Park, however this is dependent on how construction logistics can be accommodated for both sites. The group welcomed the potential entrance from new Kent Road as this is a key connection to the north. A group discussion took place on the access points to the Park and how users would move through the interim Park. John Wade felt that the location of the entrances could discourage use as visitors may feel uncomfortable with the distance of the two entrance points from each other and the fact that on entry they will not be able to immediately see the way out. Therefore people may not move through the interim Park but instead spend time at the each end of the interim Park, particularly the eastern end which will have more passive surveillance due to its location next to the new market square. John Wade suggested that the sight lines between the two entrances should be improved. In response to the access issues raised, Diana Cochrane asked whether the location of the interim Park could be reconsidered. She suggested that the width of the interim Park could be extended in width at the western end and then reduced in length so that it does not extend as far to the east. Elizabeth Randall explained that location of the interim Park is the section of the Elephant Park site that can be publicly accessed safely and securely due to the surrounding construction works. Suggestions were made for a food van or a temporary café to be set up at the eastern end of the interim Park to encourage use of this part of the Park and ensure that there is always human presence here. A group discussion took place on how the interim Park would be accessed and whether it would be open 24hrs. Cllr Mark Williams stated that the Council would not be comfortable with 24hr access for the interim Park due to the nature of the site and the lack of passive surveillance. Elizabeth Randall explained that there would be gates at both of the access points: between the interim Park and new market square, and at the Heygate Street access. Diana Cochrane highlighted that the design of the gates should be carefully considered to ensure that they are attractive and do not make the Park appear uninviting. 4
Cllr Mark Williams suggested that the gates could have the potential to open up across the entire width of the interim Park when appropriate, for instance if big events are held there. The PAG felt that it might be difficult to attract people to the interim Park, particularly due to its enclosed nature and lack of activity along Heygate Street where one of the interim Park entrances is located. Peter Wright asked whether an access point from Rodney Place to the eastern end of the interim Park is possible. Elizabeth Randall explained that this has been explored but due to the construction logistics this is likely not to be feasible and would not allow for a safe pedestrian route. The PAG suggested various events which could take place to encourage visitors and raise awareness of the interim Park. These included the London Festival of Architecture, The London Design Festival, theatre performances such as A Midsummer Night s Dream, film screenings and scout camps. It was felt that the enclosed nature of the interim Park should be embraced and seen as an opportunity rather than a constraint as it provides a good setting for cultural events. Due to the size of the Park and its close proximity to Central London, it was felt appropriate that national or well-recognised institutions and organisations could be approached to host events here. It was however highlighted that the events programme should have a community focus. Cllr Mark Williams also suggested that if there are any national events (e.g. World Cup, Wimbledon) taking place around the time that the interim Park will be opening these could be screened in the interim Park. Diana Cochrane felt that it would be useful to start assembling a list of potential events and organisations that could be approached for a cultural programme in the Park. Sarah Gaventa suggested that the PAG could consider funding options such as the Heritage Lottery Fund to support the cultural programme. Closing remarks Armel Mourgue explained that Gillespies can provide an update on access for the interim Park at the next meeting, in response to the feedback received from the PAG. Sarah Gaventa thanked everyone for their contributions and reminded people of the next meeting date, which is 10 December. Actions Georgina Chimarrides to set up a meeting with resident PAG members for input into the consultation strategy Soundings Share an updated access plan for the interim Park Lend Lease Share a map of forthcoming developments in Elephant and Castle - Southwark Council Share delivery programmes and available designs for improvements to local parks - Southwark Council 5