Palmers Green residents are being invited by Enfield Council's Journeys and Places team to provide feedback on the newly published concept for a permanent redesign of Devonshire Square. In addition to an online survey running until 2nd June, there will be a public drop-in session on Friday 24th May.
An artist's impression taken from the concept design and design inspiration document
"Devonshire Square" is the name given by the council to a stretch of Devonshire Road at its junction with Green Lanes that was blocked off to cars in 2022 to provide a pedestrianised public space suitable for events such as markets and a play area for children. In February this year the traffic order used to create the space was made permanent, and at the Spring Market held in the square in March Journeys and Places asked visitors to comment on some initial ideas for a permanent redesign aimed at creating a more welcoming and flexible community space for residents and businesses.
An invitation from Journeys and Places and Hayatsu Architects
Please join us at Arbeit Studios, rear of 310 Green Lanes, N13 5TT on Friday 24 May from 4pm to 6pm to view the plans for Devonshire Square and help shape its future.
Arbeit Studios, just off Green Lanes, is the venue for the drop-in engagement session on 24th May
We invite residents, businesses, and anyone interested to attend and meet council officers from the Journeys and Places team, along with Hayatsu Architects who are leading on the designs to transform Devonshire Road into in a permanent cultural and community space.
The design has been informed by the feedback gathered from the local community and stakeholders so far, and your input at this event will inform the next phase of detailed design.
Please drop-by anytime between 4pm and 6pm to share your views, have a chat and enjoy some delicious cake provided by local business Le Grand Jour.
If you are attending the event, please note that the toilet is located on the first floor up a flight of stairs at Arbeit Studios. However, there are ground floor toilets located at the Olive Cafe and Bakery and Le Grand Jour Cafe nearby on the corner of Devonshire Road.
Source: Let's Talk Enfield website
Devonshire Square today: the former road surface, raised pavement areas and wooden decking will be replaced by a level decorative surfacing. The play equipment will go, and there will be several areas of planting, designed to improve biodiversity
Taking into account comments collected in March, Journeys and Places have now published a "concept design and design inspiration document". In place of the existing surfacing, basically unchanged since this was a through road and consisting of raised pavements on either side of a standard carriageway, but with added temporary wooden decking, the square will have a decorative flat surface.
A planting strategy for the square is being developed by the Hortus Collective and is designed to improve biodiversity, human wellbeing, soil health and air quality. Each planting area will potentially form part of an integrated sustainable urban drainage system, diverting rainwater into planted bioretention areas designed to reduce flooding and filter out impurities - something that is becoming increasingly important as climate change brings about heavier rain storms.
As well as tables and chairs provided by the cafes on either side of the square, there will be built-in seating adjacent to the new planting.
Devonshire Square concept design and design inspiration document
The online survey
The survey, available until 2nd June, invites people to judge the extent to which the proposed design would create a space which
- is safe and separated from the road
- feels welcoming
- will be somewhere they would like to spend time in
- will feel like a vibrant public square
- will be greener through new planting
- will be accessible to everyone.
It also asks for view on how the space can be made safe for everyone considering it is a shared space for people walking, cycling and spending time.
If, as appears to be the case, the project is keeping to the timetable that was published in December 2023, we can expect the council to publish a summary of the current engagement phase next month, then in July reveal a revised design for the square, issue a notification letter about the works in August or September and launch the new-look Devonshire Square in March next year.
