Great Ormond Street Parklet

Overview

Great Ormond Street Hospital, supported by Camden Council, would like to install a Parklet close to the hospital entrance on Great Ormond Street.  

While the childrens hospital have demonstrated that there is strong support for a Parklet among those who work and visit in the hospital, the purpose of this consultation is to find out the views of the wider area.

What is a Parklet?

A Parklet is created by changing a parking or loading space into a shared space for people.  They can be used for a variety of functions, but usually for seating and greenery, creating a place to sit, talk and relax. They are open and free for anyone to use.

Proposal in Great Ormond Street

Plans of the proposed parklet in Great Ormond Street can be viewed below by clicking on the links in the Related section the bottom of this page. 

The design of the Parklet would include permanent bench seating, surrounded by planters to provide a pleasant backdrop and 'cocoon' visitors in greenery whilst they sit and relax. A single 'Pay by Phone' parking space would be suspended to allow the Parklet to be installed. The hospital grounds staff would be responsible for the upkeep of the Parklet.

You can read more about parklets by clicking on these external links:

Creating parklets for community and business resilience - Cross River Partnership

Parklets for Living Streets

What happens after consultation?

After this consultation, we will carefully consider the responses in deciding on whether or not to allow the Parklet to be installed.

Should a decision be made to proceed, we would arrange for the parking to be suspended for an 18 month trial period.  During this time you can  comment on the proposal.  This feedback alongside other information, will help the Council decide on whether the parklet may remain in position on an ongoing basis.  

Camden Council would continue to monitor the upkeep of the Parklet to ensure good standards of public safety and road safety are met.

Why your views matter

Camden Council is looking to facilitate the development of Parklets in the borough as evidence shows that Parklets and green spaces can:

• Encourage active travel
• Improve mental health and wellbeing
• Improve revenue and footfall for local businesses
• Provide places to stop and rest, with shade and shelter
• Reduce the effects of pollution by adding plants
• Improve accessibility and safety

As such, Parklets support the objectives of Camden Council policies and plans:

 - reallocation of kerbside space for active sustainable modes (Policy 1c, Camden Transport Strategy);

-  commitment to the development of a parklet program (Camden Climate Action Plan);

- making sure that 'green spaces, streets…and other public spaces are clean, attractive and safe’ (Our Camden Plan).

The Covid-19 pandemic has also shone a light on the value of providing outdoor meeting space for people to interact socially and safely outside.  Regardless of the current situation, Camden is always looking for ways to enable streets to become better social places, to encourage walking and provide greenery in the street.

What happens next

After the consultation, a decision report will be produced and published online via our website. Local residents and stakeholders will be notified of the outcome. The report will consider a broad range of information including consultation responses, relevant policies and other data/information.

All of this information will be considered in making a recommendation in the report about whether to proceed with the proposed scheme.