Palmers Green Community has seen drawings showing a possible design for a clock which Enfield Council plans to erect on the Triangle. The clock project, using money from the Enfield Residents' Priority Fund, was proposed by the Green Lanes Business Association, who have commissioned a local company, Absolutely Kareen, to design the surround for the clock and its supporting structure, which will be manufactured in Palmers Green.
We understand that a definitive design has yet to be selected and that the illustration shows a developmental concept. The clock would have three faces, to reflect the road layout. The design incorporates some practical features: the large base is needed to house electrical equipment and the slopes at the top of the base will probably be steeper than shown in the picture, to make it difficult to climb the structure; the spike on the top is designed to deter pigeons from roosting; and the clock faces will be glazed with a toughened material for protection and ease of cleaning.
Some of the aesthetic features of the design are based on elements of the surrounding buildings. For instance, a shield on the base of the structure will show the date of erection, using intertwined numerals similar to those used for the date shield above the entrance to the former Midland Bank building (now HSBC), while the shells on the clock face and scrolls under it would reflect the design of the scroll and shells on top of the former Evans & Davies department store (now occupied by Starbucks and other retailers).
The placing of the new clock within the triangular traffic island will be such as to make the three clock faces visible from the three roads (Green Lanes south, Green Lanes north and Aldermans Hill). One of the lamp posts is due for repositioning to improve visibility of the new traffic lights, and this change and the removal of one of the hanging basket poles will also improve the sightlines for the clock.
Clockwise from top left: Scrolls on top of Evans & Davies Building; View of clock from Aldermans Hill; View of clock looking towards Aldermans Hill; date on Midland Bank building The meeting with residents groups that was scheduled for January (see this report) has now been moved back to February. It was expected that one outcome of this meeting might be a plan to consult about the clock, but there are two factors which might prompt the Council to go ahead with the clock as a fait accompli without a consultation: the discontinuation of the Residents' Priority Fund scheme and the imminence of the period of "purdah" preceding the council elections in May - during this period councils are restricted in the activities that they are permitted to carry out which might influence voters.
Another important unknown is what will become of the longer-term intention of making environmental improvements to Palmers Green Town Centre, which would potentially include the planting of a new landmark tree and some more radical changes to the layout of the Triangle road junction. As we reported last year, one of the options previously favoured was the complete removal of the triangular traffic island in order to improve traffic flow. At the moment it is currently unclear whether this option is still on the agenda, but it would certainly be unpopular with many local residents and, we understand, with the Green Lanes Business Association, as the traffic island is what gives the Triangle its name.
