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An impression of the Regent’s Park section |
Sir Terry’s homage to Nash to open up a pedestrians’ capital
Architect outlines plan to create walkways linking London landmarks
SEIZING the West End from the grip of cars and handing it back to people is crucial for London to continue to be a leading world city, according to celebrated architect Sir Terry Farrell.
His bold call for a radical redesign of swathes of central London was at the heart of a lecture he delivered to celebrate his 70th birthday.
Speaking at the Westminster University in Regent Street, Sir Terry (pictured above) outlined his plans for a scheme he calls the Nash Ramblas, a 10-year project he has been working on to link up parts of celebrated Regency architect John Nash’s streets and terraces.
Sir Terry’s award-winning work includes massive schemes in Edinburgh, Newcastle, Manchester, the Thames Gateway and a series of other schemes in leading international cities. Now he is lobbying landowners and public bodies to make the Nash Ramblas, a route that would link Primrose Hill and London Zoo down to The Mall, a reality.
He told the audience of architects, politicians, economists and commentators that the scheme would celebrate one of the world’s finest architects, John Nash.
He said: “Joining up some of London’s greatest spaces, the Nash Ramblas would honour and celebrate his work.”
The scheme includes redesigning pavements and streets: some of London’s best known landmarks would be vastly improved and more accessible, according to Sir Terry. They include changing traffic around Piccadilly Circus, making Oxford Circus easier to cross – with new diagonal crossings – and building a new pavement through the middle of Portland Place.
The currently private grounds of Park Crescent and Park Square at the foot of Regent’s Park would have a new path run through the middle, joining the central Broadwalk that bisects Regent’s Park.
The project relies on the co-operation of a number of landowners and public authorities. Those involved in the project include English Heritage, Westminster and Camden councils the Crown Estate, the BBC and the Zoological Society of London.
But the scheme may not get the financial backing of the new London mayor Boris Johnson.
Mayoral adviser on planning Sir Simon Milton said he was keen on the idea but refused to say he would lobby the mayor.
He said: “There are lots of projects where we are dying to get spades to the ground but are having to raid different pots of money to pay for it. Reality is Transport for London alone has around £4 billion of worthy of projects which are underfunded at the moment, and money is allocated until 2017. There needs to be some hard headed analysis and for projects like this there needs to be a massive sea change in funding arrangements for London.”
But Sir Terry said it was more to do with political will and changing the perception of the economic value of urban design.
He said: “This is not to do with hand outs. The money we would need is not very high. It has a lot do to do with what we consider to be important and returns on investments. For example, there is a new scheme to build an underground ring for water right round the edge of the city. People do not gripe about the high cost of such a scheme. They say engineering projects of this type are essential. But that is a very British way of thinking. I would argue that schemes like the Nash Ramblas are also essential – essential for our wellbeing and there is, in turn, an economic value to them too. It is about relative values. How do you value public realm improvement values over things like engineering? It was the same in Nash’s time – the value of his work was not recognised.” |
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