A road in the Abbey Wood area of London is set for a range of street and public space improvements, as part of a wider regeneration scheme for the area.
The Wilton Road improvements will be delivered by the Royal Borough of Greenwich in partnership with the London Borough of Bexley. The aim of the scheme is to dramatically improve the street scene and to provide a smooth transition between the public realm improvements around the new Abbey Wood Station and the High Street section of Wilton Road.
Works include:
• New high-specification York stone footway paving
• Rationalised street furniture and de-cluttering
• Improved energy efficient street lighting
• New tree planting
• New carriageway surface
• New seating areas and cycle parking
• Creation of more space for pedestrians than the current through-road provides
Councillor Denise Hyland, Leader of the Royal Borough of Greenwich and Ward Councillor for Abbey Wood, said: “Abbey Wood is undergoing big changes at the moment and we want to create a vibrant and welcoming atmosphere for residents, businesses and commuters. We’re working closely with colleagues at the London Borough of Bexley to ensure that our work complements each other’s and dovetails well in our jointly delivered projects. Residents have had to put up with much inconvenience with the demolition and rebuild of the new station – and we thank them for their patience.”
Once completed, the scheme will connect with the public improvements at the new Abbey Wood station and provide a modern, high quality environment for shoppers and commuters complimenting the recent shop-front improvements that have been made in the area. Changes to parking arrangements are not proposed for Wilton Road.
Works will start in early 2017 and are expected to be complete by March 2017. Access to shops will be maintained at all times so that disruption to local traders will be minimised as much as possible while the works are taking place.
Abbey Wood is undergoing a huge amount of regeneration at the moment – the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the London Borough of Bexley, Peabody Housing, Network Rail and Crossrail are working together on ensuring works are coordinated and well planned. A new local website for people to find out more about all the works going on in and around Abbey Wood is shortly to be launched. Called ‘yourabbeywood’, the website will include information about all works being coordinated by the Royal Borough of Greenwich, the London Borough of Bexley, Peabody Housing, Network Rail, Crossrail and Lesnes Abbey.
The Royal Borough of Greenwich and London Borough of Bexley successfully secured £300,000 at the end of 2015, via the Greater London Authority (GLA) for a retail improvement scheme on Wilton Road through the High Street Fund.
The Wilton Road street improvements are being delivered by the Royal Borough of Greenwich’s Highway Improvement Local Labour project. Funding for the work is being met directly by the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley.
The purpose of the High Street Fund and public space improvement projects is to secure a more resilient and profitable high street presence that allows traders to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the arrival of the Elizabeth line (Crossrail) in 2018, and the completion of new residential and retail developments in the area, providing a more welcoming and thoughtfully designed public space environment.
