Public Realm and Planning

Another area of Council achievement that I think deserves more praise than it gets is in the development of public space.  Much of the improvement here should come through the Public Realm contract and the changes hopefully embedded in procedures by the Placemaking Guide. 

However, there has also been major progress around specific areas.  The biggest of these is Wembley, which has really come together with the new Civic Centre.  I think the crucial points are that (a) a number of different features _ the Civic Centre, the retail facilities, the Arena, the Stadium and so on _ come together in a way that makes a bigger impact that any of them could do individually (b) the street scene works in a way that knits the different areas together.  The importance of that second point is best illustrated by an area such as South Kilburn, where the street scene signally fails to link the disparate elements.

A third point that I don't feel is always picked up on, is the way that areas outside a buidling relate to the inside.  Wembley Library benefits from the gallery space and atrium (pictured below) as events and activities bleed from one to another.  I hope that Wembley Market Square will soon have a similar function.  It is also noticeable how the tables around the atrium and surrounding areas are used by teenagers who I suspect are also using the library facilities.

These often seem to be overlooked in political debates which are often about how much money to spend, rather than the way in which it is spent.