Public Realm Design Guide Consultation
Hounslow Council is developing the Hounslow Public Realm Design Guide which will influence how new public spaces across the borough are designed and managed. This consultation is your opportunity to help shape the future design of public spaces across Hounslow.
Introduction
Public spaces play a vital role in supporting healthy, sustainable, and connected communities. They provide places to spend time, spaces to travel through and places for cultural expression and social interaction.
As part of our commitment to enhancing the built environment, the Council’s Urban Design team has produced the Hounslow Public Realm Design Guide (HPRDG) – a document that sets out design guidelines to enhance the design of future public spaces.
The guidance in this document has been shaped by extensive engagement that was undertaken in 2024 to understand the aspirations and needs of diverse communities for the design of public space.
We now want your feedback on the draft document. Whether you live, work, visit, or have an interest in the borough’s built environment, your views will help ensure the guidance reflects the needs and aspirations of our communities.
Here is a copy of the Hounslow Public Realm Design Guide for you to review.
What does the Hounslow Public Realm Design Guide contain?
This document is 80 pages in length. We recognise that this is a long document, and you might want to jump to a particular section that interests you. A summary of the document contents is set out below:
| Hounslow Public Realm Design Guide | |
| Introduction (pg. 5-12) | This section sets out the challenges faced by Hounslow's public realm, the aims, scope and status of the document and the intended audience. It also sets out the wider policy context and outlines the engagement undertaken so far. |
| Thematic Design Guidance (pg. 16-30) | This section includes design guidance for all new public realm schemes, which is set out across 6 themes. Some sections include place specific considerations and project suggestions, |
| Typology Design Guidance (pg.34-77) | This section includes design guidance for common typologies (public spaces types) found across Hounslow. This section includes some exemplar public realm projects. |
| Glossary (pg. 78-79) | This section includes an index of key terms used in the document. |
Background
Public spaces within Hounslow connect people and places and are vital in providing a range of economic, social and cultural resources for the local community.
We recognise that new public realm interventions in Hounslow would benefit from creative design guidance that is informed by resident voices to create more vibrant, green, safe and accessible public spaces for a range of diverse users.
The Urban Design team has previously carried out extensive engagement with stakeholders, residents, community groups to understand their aspirations and needs for public space design. This feedback has shaped the design guidance included in the consultation draft. We now welcome members of the public to review the consultation draft of the Public Realm Design Guide.
Who do we want to hear from?
We welcome feedback from anyone who uses or has an opinion on Hounslow’s public spaces, including:
Residents
Visitors
Community members and voluntary groups
Those who work in the built environment sector
How Can You Get Involved?
Please take a look at the draft Hounslow Public Design Guide and share your views via the consultation (below).
The consultation is open from 3rd November to midnight 30th November 2025.
We’re holding a drop-in session where you can meet the team, ask questions and share your views directly:
🗓 13th November 2025
📍 Ground Floor, Hounslow House, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow, TW3 3EB
🕠 1pm–5:00pm
What happens next
All feedback from this consultation, along with the final version of the document, will be reviewed including by the Cabinet Member for Assets, Regeneration and Development in early December 2025. Following this, the document is expected to be formally published and will be available to view online. The design guidance will influence the future design and management of public spaces across Hounslow.
About the survey
This survey takes about 10 minutes to complete. To complete this consultation online you will be prompted to either register for Let's Talk Hounslow (takes about 2 minutes) or to log-in to your account. If you would prefer to see the questions before registering or you would like to download the questions and submit them in paper form, please see the download questions link on this page. Any paper submissions should be sent to Urban Design Team, London Borough of Hounslow, 7 Bath Road, Hounslow TW3 3EB, to arrive before 30th November, or can be handed in at the drop-in session on 13th November.
Paper copies of all consultations and surveys are available in your local library.
If you need a paper copy, large print or Easy Read version or require a translation, please email consult@hounslow.gov.uk or call 020 8583 2000.
