Westminster City Council is planning to transform the Strand Aldwych into a world-class cultural and learning quarter.
The poor public spaces and safety, traffic congestion and air quality issues stand in the way of creating a world-class destination of the area and need to be addressed.
The council is now keen to hear from as many people, businesses and organisations as possible on these design ideas, so it can develop the best scheme for the area.
The consultation will run from 30 January 2019 to 13 March 2019 — all the details can be found at the dedicated website www.strandaldwych.org.
The key improvements include:
- Making it easier and safer to get around by removing the gyratory, having two-way traffic in Aldwych and removing it from part of the Strand.
- Improving public spaces across the whole area with an amazing new plaza proposed around St Mary Le Strand Church.
- Improving connections to South Bank, Covent Garden and the West End.
- Creating a cultural and learning quarter by joining up the world-renowned organisations and institutions in the area and supporting them to showcase their amazing offer.
- Tackling air quality issues as well as improving facilities for walking and cycling.
Cllr Richard Beddoe, Cabinet Member for Planning and Place Shaping, commented:
“This historic gateway into the West End is home to some of the capital’s most famous cultural and academic institutions, as well as a major leisure destination in its own right with landmark theatres, hotels and other attractions.
“But the future success of the area is at risk because of traffic, poor air quality and inadequate public spaces. So working with local organisations we’ve developed some fresh ideas for the Strand Aldwych. These concept designs have come together following a great deal of discussion with local groups and we now want to get as much feedback as possible.
“Nothing is set in stone at this stage and we look forward to having constructive discussions as to how we can deliver a world-class scheme that benefits Westminster and London for many years to come.”
The revised designs will be published late 2019 and if all goes well the work can start in 2020.
Make sure your voice gets heard – submit your comments through the Strand Aldwych Consultation website or visit the upcoming events. The next one takes place 9th February from 11am — 3pm at St. Mary le Strand Church.