Construction Begins this Month on Australia Road "Green Oasis"
Pedestrian area with plants and trees wlll also reduce risk of flooding
Construction is set to begin this month on a new "mini-meadow" scheme in White City.
Hammersmith and Fulham Council has agreed to invest in creating a cycling and pedestrian corridor, complete with sustainable drainage systems, or SuDS in Australia Road.
The site, at the front of the Randolph Beresford Early Years Centre, will create a community amenity with plants, trees, and special permeable paving that will help prevent flooding.
" This is a brilliant project that will literally create a green oasis for playing and learning in the heart of White City.
" It supports our plans for regeneration of the area and gives us a chance to introduce a SuDS scheme in the borough, which will reduce flood risks by minimising the amount of rainwater going into the combined sewer system," says Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Transport and Residents Services.
The system is designed so that during storms, the maximum amount of rainfall is retained on the site, rather than flowing into the combined sewer system. Rainwater from the school roof and other buildings will be guided via channels into the planted basins.
This is the second and, to date, largest scheme that will be installed in the borough after Kenmont Gardens, which is already under construction. SuDS elements are also being incorporated into the Shepherd’s Bush Town Centre West scheme on Uxbridge and Goldhawk Roads and Thames Water’s Counters Creek schemes.
In the Australia Road scheme, a small "balance wall" will wind its way through the plants and trees in the basins to provide a low-maintenance play feature for children, and an open piazza-type space for events, such as the annual W12 Festival, is also included.
New lighting and CCTV have also been included to ensure maximum safety of those using the corridor.
The council says a public consultation was undertaken at the end of 2013 and throughout 2014 with lots of positive feedback and several residents' recommendations being included in the final design. Both the Randolph Beresford Early Years Centre and White City Residents’ Association submitted letters in support of the plans.
Funding for the scheme has come from a number of sources including the Transport for London as part of the Local Implementation Programme and funding specifically allocated for surface water management from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Access will be retained for emergency and maintenance vehicles, and access to the Early Years Centre car park.
Construction will commence on site during March.
You can see a high resolution version of the above plan here.
March 2, 2015
