CONFIDENTIAL

OPDC Place Review Group

Report of Formal Review meeting to discuss Willesden Junction Station Early Activation Schemes

Thursday 16 May 2019 Station Approach Entrance, Willesden Junction Station, NW10 4UY

Panel

Peter Bishop (chair) Will Durden Roger Hawkins Beth Kay Graeme Sutherland

Attendees

Jan Ackenhausen Principal Urban Designer, OPDC Joanna Baxendale Great Place Scheme Manager, OPDC Frederique Jungman Senior Development Manager, OPDC Sahra Hersi Lead Artist, OPDC Tom Bolton Frame Projects

Apologies / report copied to

Jasper Den Boeft Urban Design Officer, OPDC Eleanor Fawcett Head of Design, OPDC Alex Marsh Greater London Authority Fiona Scott Rail London Bhavik Parmar

Confidentiality

This is a pre-application review, and therefore confidential. As a public organisation the Old Oak and Park Royal Development Corporation is subject to the Freedom of Information Act (FOI), and in the case of an FOI request may be obliged to release project information submitted for review.

Report for OPDC Place Review Group Meeting 16 May 2019 Willesden Junction Early Activation Schemes

CONFIDENTIAL

1. Project name

Willesden Junction Station Early Activation Schemes, Harlesden NW10 4UY

2. Presenting team

Tom Holbrook 5th Studio Beth Lambert 5th Studio Dan Miodrag 5th Studio Jonathan Cook JCLA

3. Planning authority and statutory consultee views

Willesden Junction Station is a major transport hub, but is difficult to locate, access or navigate. Surroundings and access routes are inhospitable to pedestrians and the public realm is degraded. Network Rail, and other stakeholders are evaluating scenarios to upgrade the station, to serve the residential development planned for the surrounding area, but these changes will only be realised in the long term. OPDC has therefore commissioned 5th Studio and JCLA to plan and implement short term projects to improve the character and identity of the public realm and station approaches, within a budget of £500,000. The purpose of these early activation projects is to deliver immediate, tangible benefits for existing and new communities. OPDC is also in engaged in discussions with boroughs and others to seek match funding, but these have yet to reach a conclusion.

The project aims to achieve a number of objectives, including:

- enhancing the station as a gateway to Old Oak and Harlesden town centre - highlighting and communicating the change and renewal underway in the area - revealing and celebrating local heritage - improving hostile and unwelcoming environments

The project team has chosen to focus on three areas of the station to make the most impact within the limited budget, and to make improvements that have the potential to provide a basis for future development, as follows.

1. Harrow Road bridge – improving signage and pedestrian space and introducing a viewing platform showing the Old Oak skyline, with consideration of how the disused substation and water tank could be used in future.

2. Station Mound, which includes the community garden and non-ticketed pedestrian route – clearing out spaces, creating a vantage point, introduce a water tower as a route marker and to provide water for the garden.

3. Station Approach – introducing more enclosure, and providing a better sequence of spaces and improving signage. The project has reached cost checking stage, and proposals are being finalised, so the panel was asked for its views to influence a forthcoming planning application.

Report for OPDC Place Review Group Meeting 16 May 2019 Willesden Junction Early Activation Schemes

CONFIDENTIAL

4. Design Review Panel’s views

Summary

The panel finds much to admire in the subtle and well considered approach to improving Willesden Junction Station, which it feels will deliver immediate benefits within a tight budget. It supports the decision to focus interventions in selected areas of the station to achieve the greatest impact. It also encourages the team to test the limits of its brief by considering how it might influence beyond the boundaries of the scheme, including connections to the neighbouring Harlesden Town Centre masterplan. The project should take the opportunity to set aspirations and influence future station improvements and surrounding development. The panel encourages the team to take the concept of a family of design elements further, making it bolder, and to enhance the proposed Station Approach entrance structure. The project can create particular benefit by working to unify the station and ideas to promote this further, including live travel information at the entrances, should be considered. At a detailed level the panel thinks it would be preferable to plant trees in the ground rather than in pots, to avoid the need for intensive maintenance. It suggests moving the new water tower to the garden space, and discussing how solar panels can be incorporated. At the Harrow Road entrance pavement widening should be a priority, to improve the experience of those using the station. Some station entrance cycle capacity should be incorporated as future proofing against the coming increase in the number of residents. These comments are developed in more detail below.

Long-term vision

• The panel suggests that OPDC and the design team continue to develop their thinking on how the project can help to set the scene for future opportunities in the station area.

• While the current focus is, understandably, on the public realm, this project forms the first stage in an anticipated process of long-term change. Consideration should therefore be given, as far as possible, to how the design vision can help to future proof benefits beyond the scope of this project. A wider vision beyond the scope of this project would show what future opportunities might be, and to help to safeguard them.

Harrow Road entrance

• The panel suggests that the view from the proposed platform is likely to be a secondary consideration, and that priority should be given to its use as a space to wait for buses.

• It also cautions that if a cantilevered platform is needed over Network Rail land it will prove costly, require a disproportionate amount of budget, and could also be short-lived if there is oversite development in future.

Report for OPDC Place Review Group Meeting 16 May 2019 Willesden Junction Early Activation Schemes

CONFIDENTIAL

• The panel feels that improving the experience of using the station access path from Harrow Road should be a priority. The panel suggests considering widening the path along its full length, rather than introducing wider spaces to accommodate benches.

• It also highlights that retaining the openness of the fence along the Harrow Road path is important. Care should be taken to ensure any alterations to it do not lead inadvertently to its replacement with something more substantial.

• The panel welcomes the way in which the project is beginning to redefine the station as a single entity, and this should be pursued further. For example, real time travel information could be introduced at the station entrances which would be valuable because the routes to the platforms are long, and would help to connect it as a single place.

• The panel notes that the ambition of enabling future public access to the area around the substation and water tower should include an assessment of any impact on biodiversity.

Station mound

• The panel supports the plan to open up the space at the top of the ‘station mound’, creating a vantage point, and also the idea of introducing a water tower as both a marker and a practical feature. It suggests the tower could be moved to the garden area rather than located on hard surfacing, which would both reflect the existing Harrow Road water tower and free more usable pedestrian space.

• The panel agrees with the proposal to remove the existing covered cycle parking at the top of the ‘station mound’. However, the number of residents is likely to increase substantially, and therefore the number if cyclists, so incorporating cycle parking as part of the scheme will still be important.

• The panel suggests discussions should take place with Energy Garden, who currently manage the ‘station mound’ community orchard, about whether solar panels can be incorporated into the proposals. These could provide the company with an income, allowing them to invest more in the space.

Station Approach

• The panel feels that the Station Approach site is the most challenging because the changes need to engage with the scale of the setting. It suggests that the idea of an information feature on the changing Old Oak skyline could be scaled up to match this scale. For example, it could be the length of the entire fence, and included as another surface for art intervention.

• Consideration should be given to extending the project boundary at the junction of Station Approach and Old Oak Common Lane. This would allow the project to connect with the adjoining Harlesden Town Centre masterplan.

Report for OPDC Place Review Group Meeting 16 May 2019 Willesden Junction Early Activation Schemes

CONFIDENTIAL

• Consideration should also be given to expanding the project boundary further south, towards Old Oak allowing the design team to engage with areas of street frontage that once housed retail units, as part of the station complex.

• The panel supports the intention to relocate the Network Rail parking for station staff, and offers its support in negotiations to achieve this.

• The southern interface between the station and Station Approach should be explored further with Arriva Rail to explore any further opportunities to open the frontage up, or create future options to do so.

• The panel supports the intention to create a more generous pedestrian focused space at the station entrance. However, the panel highlights that a shared surface approach carries risks, and that it will be essential to ensure it is both safe and easy to maintain.

• The panel supports the idea of a structure at the Station Approach entrance, and likes the idea of references to railway history and equipment. The panel feels the success of this will depend on balancing structural simplicity with a scale and presence powerful enough to suit the scale of its setting.

Design approach

• The panel is impressed by proposals to introduce design elements themed on railway graphics. It feels that the concept of a design family is very important and encourages the design team to make the unifying idea even stronger and as overt as possible, to have the greatest possible impact on the everyday experience of using the station.

Planting

• The panel is not convinced that it is appropriate to plant trees in pots. It feels that the maintenance requirements will be too heavy, and that they will not flourish. It would be preferable to plant trees in soil so that they are healthy, and if necessary, remove them later, rather than planting trees that may die.

• It also encourages the team to include more trees in the planting scheme, particularly at the Harrow Road entrance where they can perform a useful wayfinding function. Clusters could be used to create greater impact, rather than spreading trees thinly.

• ODPC should pursue arrangements for planting alongside the Harrow Road path with Network Rail, exploring ways to avoid the cost of railway possession.

Next steps

• The panel offers its continuing advice and support for the project, as required.

Report for OPDC Place Review Group Meeting 16 May 2019 Willesden Junction Early Activation Schemes