Plans for Park Royal revealed

The proposed scheme, which encompasses the boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Hammersmith & Fulham, includes the design of large-scale signage, street furniture and cycle lanes to help reduce congestion, maintain growth and attract new business to the area.

Urban regeneration group Park Royal Partnership and London Development Authority-backed Design for London appointed 5th Studio to come up with a scheme in January this year.

Its proposal details how signage for businesses should be grouped together at yard entrances, where it is currently spread out, cycle lanes and pavements should be added to reduce car use, and benches surrounded by trees introduced as lunch areas for workers.

‘They’re all small interventions to acupuncture what is a hard area at the moment,’ says director of 5th Studio Nathan Jones.

The large-scale signage proposal, he says, will address peripheral transportation areas.

‘We’re really interested in gateway locations – huge bits of road and rail infrastructure like Stonebridge Park Tube station, where we could attach signage to bridges or industrial sheds,’ explains Jones.

The London design and architecture consultancy came on board the project after the implementation of urban design group Project Centre’s pilot scheme for the area.

Project Centre was not awarded the contract to propose the full project.

Implementation of 5th Studio’s proposal is subject to funding and more localised planning applications.

The strategy – supported by all three councils – will be used as a consultative document as smaller proposals are made.

Park Royal Partnership regeneration director Simon Brooke concedes that it will take several consultancies to realise the project. ‘We’re unlikely to be able to bite it all off in one chunk,’ he says.