Strand on the Green Phase 1 - School Streets Design

School Streets Co-design Projects

Hounslow Council partnered with the charity Sustrans in 2023 to develop and test community-led designs that propose physical changes to the space around two schools in the borough to create better places to spend time in around two schools in the borough. To do this, we are working together with young people, the school community and local residents to reimagine the spaces at Strand on the Green school.

We held several engagement events, some focused on school children and others aimed at local residents, school staff and parents. We used interactive engagement boards to explore various design options for different ‘zones’ of the school street with all stakeholders.

Following a period of project development, a concept design for each School Street was presented at Strand on the Green school in the last week of February 2024. This involved speaking to parents and local residents at pick-up time, door-knocking the immediate houses next to the schools and hosting drop-in sessions in the evening. The aim of this stage was to showcase a concept design proposal to the community and collect feedback from stakeholders.

Further updates will be available here as the project develops. Please find details of the previous Co-Design work carried out as part of the project with Sustrans via this link: https://talk.hounslow.gov.uk/school-streets-co-design

Project Overview

Students, teachers, residents, and parents alike helped us produce really ambitious plans and we want to thank you for your engagement to date. What this means however, is that interventions will need to be designed and delivered in phases subject to funding availability.

We are running a consultation exercise until 20 December 2024 to update everyone and seek views on the short-term plan (phase 1) whilst also outlining what improvements will be progressed later in future phases of the project.

At Strand on the Green Schools the project is to be split into phases, with phase one outlined below. Future phases will be designed and implemented subject to funding.

As part of the Council’s commitment to promote the uptake of active modes of travel and following previous consultation with Sustrans as part of the School Streets Co-design projects, proposals have been developed to improve the pedestrian environment near Strand on the Green School.

Plans outlining our proposals for this first phase of the scheme can be found under "Consultation Plans" on the right hand side of this page. This first phase of improvements will create a clearly defined gateway to the Brooks Lane School Street, the following changes making a distinct break from vehicle-centred roads:

• A continuous footway along Strand on the Green, giving pedestrians priority, and signalling to drivers the need to behave differently in the new environment.
• A consistent surface material will be used across Brooks Lane highlighting pedestrian priority, with a low, sloping kerb encouraging safe separation from vehicles at times when the road is open to traffic.
• Installation of a rain garden, where surface water will flow into a green space, helping to reduce the demand on traditional drainage and sewer systems, the stored water benefiting biodiversity. Installation of a permeable paving surface is also being considered.
• New trees will be planted, adding further protection from flash flooding, providing shade and cooling and enhancing the visual appeal of the area.
• Additional cycle parking will be provided in a range of bright colours, including larger-sized stands designed for cargobikes to lock to.
• The line of concrete bollards at the southern end of Brooks Lane will be removed.
• The current gate, used to close off Brooks Lane at drop-off and pick-up times will be replaced with a collapsible bollard.
• Upgrade the existing Brooks Lane timed “no entry” restriction from Thames Road to a timed “Pedestrian and Cycle Zone”.

The proposed improvements will make it easier for pedestrians to access Strand on the Green, particularly for school children and parents, people with mobility issues, visual impairments and people who are elderly. These proposals support the objectives set out in Council’s Transport Strategy ( https://talk.hounslow.gov.uk/moving-forward ) to improve road safety, promote the use of active travel and improve local air quality.