Future Whitton High Street

Looking ahead to the council’s community conversation on Wednesday 6 October, we’ve created a programme to future proof Whitton High Street. Sign up to the community conversation online event here.

Decarbonise the High Street

Some people consider the ability to park within a stones throw of the shop you intend to purchase from is essential to the survival of individual businesses and the wider prosperity of the High Street. The reality of how the majority of people shop and arrive in commercial areas in London is very different.  

All Londoners are within a 10 minute walk of a high street and over 90 per cent of high street visitors use sustainable methods of transport to visit their high street(s), the majority of which are walked trips.

High Streets for All Report

It is difficult to reconcile this fact with the current High Street environment, which is dominated by motor vehicles and congestion.  The consequence is a heavily polluted environment that will regularly exceed safe pollution levels and can be particularly damaging for Whitton’s vulnerable residents.

Many boroughs in London are far ahead of Richmond on this issue of decarbonisation and Richmond council needs to begin delivery on measures that enable active travel. Measures should include cycle lanes, more seating and places for people to rest, replacement of some parking spaces with parklets, provision of secure cycle parking and enabling access to clean toilet facilities.

Whitton Car Park

Whitton is fortunate that it has a large car park conveniently located behind the High Street, which is underused. The easiest way to improve the parking situation and reduce congestion and pollution on the High Street is to encourage and incentivise more use of this valuable resource.

To achieve this it’s recommended that large individual parking bays are created on the High Street to enable cars to pull in and out of parking spaces easier and quicker. The number of disabled bays to support the most vulnerable should also increase. New parking charges should be introduced for the High Street, that are more expensive than the car park and a percentage of the income should be ring fenced for reinvestment in Whitton.

It is also time to end the Richmond Council car parking subsidy provided to holders of the Richmond Card. The council declared a climate change emergency in July 2019 and incentivising and subsidising people to drive to the High Street is an outdated, poorly conceived project that needs to end.

Baywatch

Loading Bays are a critical piece of infrastructure that enable a busy commercial area to function. Unfortunately, the loading bays on the High Street are often used by people who are simply shopping, preventing businesses from taking deliveries and causing congestion as lorries stop in the road. Regular enforcement of loading bays and other parking regulations is essential to ensure any infrastructure is only used in the way it was intended.

Events, Pedestrianisation and Road Closures

Whilst pedestrianisation has shown to be successful in many places, Whitton High Street is still a busy road and it seems difficult to go from one extreme of a car dominated environment, to no cars at all. As a concept it is feasible, especially at weekends.

The best day of trading for many businesses is when Whitton High Street is pedestrianised for St Georges Day and the Christmas Lights Switch on. Whilst these are large events that require a great deal of organisation it is possible to apply the principles on a smaller scale,  more regularly throughout the year, with a series of smaller road closures. Events could include markets, fun fairs, outdoor cinema and televised national sport events.

It is also worthwhile exploring the feasibility of running some events on rugby days. Most people are rightly proud of the connection to the rugby stadium, so why not allow local residents and businesses to fully immerse themselves in the match day experience with a High Street Road Closure, and a big screen to show the game.

Evening Economy

As High Streets shift towards more leisure and experiential offers it has been a long held ambition for the high Street to grow its hospitality and evening offer. This has been communicated to Richmond council at numerous consultation events and as a result is identified in the council’s 2018 Local Plan as a priority.   

Whitton centre plays a particular role for visitors to Twickenham Stadium and the Council seeks to maintain and, where appropriate, improve the range and choice of shopping in the centre, including supporting an improved evening offer.

Richmond Council Local Plan 2018

Unfortunately, Richmond Council has shown little ambition via its planning or licensing departments to strategically grow this sector in Whitton. Indeed, Richmond Council often seems more of a barrier, than an enabler.

One example is a café on Nelson Road, who applied to change the use of the property from A1 retail to A3 restaurant and received 82 comments from residents in support of their application. It was approved, however it included conditions such as closing by 5pm and a restriction preventing food being cooked on the premises. The reason most commonly sited in the planning report is “to maintain the vitality and viability of the shopping area.” Richmond Council remains determined to focus High Streets around a retail offer, despite consumer behaviour having changed many years ago.

As a result of some of the conditions placed on businesses through the planning and licensing processes the council has failed to deliver on its 2018 objective around the evening economy and failed to support popular independent businesses. The result is that well financed franchises like Dominos and KFC open on the High Street, whilst much loved independent businesses suffer under the weight of restrictions and conditions.   

Art, Culture and Empty Shops

One of the recommendations of the Town Centres Future Study is the role of art and culture in making every trip to a high street an experience. The town centre events programme provides an extensive music programme, but outside of this, other opportunities to animate the High Street could be explored. There are many opportunities  through empty shops frontages, lamp column banners , busking spots and redundant spaces where art and culture could be accommodated in the public realm.

Support London’s creatives and build sense of place with outdoor performances (subject to social distancing) and visual art displays.

Town Centre Futures Report

Whitton, like many areas away from central London has been fairly resilient to the pandemic, simply because fewer people are commuting to the office and more people are staying in the local area. Despite this there remains some empty shops on the High Street that could accommodate alternative uses. 

With more people working from home, suburban areas have seen a growth in new workspaces that suit the needs of remote workers as focus and social interaction spaces. Some boroughs have created programmes to fund these types of new uses.

Workspaces are not the only option and the local authority has the ability to encourage other uses of empty properties to support the vibrancy of the High Street, such as meanwhile use or the growing health sector.   

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