Go ahead for Golborne Road improvements
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea councillors have decided to go ahead with the improvements to Golborne Road that were consulted on in 2014 and then again last year. The council will now begin detailed design work with the aim of starting construction in the summer. The works will be phased to minimise disruption and to allow stallholders and other businesses to continue trading throughout the construction period.These are the main elements of the scheme:
Maintaining existing footway and carriageway widths
Raise the market stall/parking areas to pavement level to solve existing drainage problems, provide a better environment for outdoor seating and market trading and to make the area easier to clean and maintain
Repaving, with porphyry for the traders bays/parking areas and artificial stone for the pavements
New heritage style streetlights suitable for hanging banners and Christmas decorations, to make the road brighter and more evenly lit
Raised tables at the junctions with Portobello Road and Bevington Road, and Wornington Road to improve road safety for pedestrians and reduce traffic speeds
Additional trees to improve air quality and enhance the appearance of the street
Replacing the angled parking bays at the north end of the road with bays parallel to the kerb.
The consultation process has at times been controversial with some local businesses and residents opposing the scheme. Some expressed concerns that the scheme would lead to more gentrification of Golborne Road.
However, the majority of local people and businesses who responded to the second consultation document last autumn were in favour of the works. Officers reported that 6,400 consultation documents were distributed locally with 141 questionnaires returned of which 106 were in favour of the proposals. The Golborne Forum, which publishes Golborne Life, has endorsed the scheme.
The Council received a petition opposing the works with 3,085 names, of which 182 signatures were from people with addresses within the consultation area. The Golborne Association also submitted 265 completed questionnaires opposing the scheme. Officers pointed out that, It is not clear from these submissions whether people had actually seen the details of the proposal and the reasoning behind them as set out in the consultation document.
Read the full officers report on the scheme and the consultation process as well as details about the improvement proposals here (PDF).