Property company CLS (which owns a lot of buildings on Bondway and near Spring Gardens) has unveiled plans for a major new scheme called Vauxhall Square.
According to its website "The proposed mixed use scheme is for approximately 1.2 million sq ft gross area (111,483 sq m). The scheme has been designed by leading architects Allies and Morrison."
The proposal includes:-
- a major new public square similar in size to Paternoster Square in Central London (From the Q&A: 'What would the public square be called? CLS welcomes suggestions, on our Feedback Form. Current ideas are: "Vauxhall Square" or "Voho Square".')
- over 200,000 sq ft (18,580 sq m) of offices
- a 300 bed hotel
- over 80,000 sq ft (7,432 sq m) of retail with restaurants and bars
- over 400 residential apartments in two towers of over 40 storeys
- a 6 screen cinema
- approximately 240 bed student housing
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The timing? "CLS intends to submit a detailed planning application in late 2011 and vacant possession of the site is expected in 2014. Subject to receipt of an acceptable planning consent, the scheme is intended to be developed for completion in 2016/2017, which is similar to the anticipated delivery of the new embassy. The scheme is expected to have a development cost of more than £250 million."
More intriguing, however, are the plans for "an innovative solution to the issue of pedestrian movement around the busy Vauxhall gyratory road system.
The proposal, by incorporating a series of elegant contemporary aerial walkways to be known as “the Linear Walk”, will link the different sites and streets around Vauxhall Cross, opening up the area for its next phase of regeneration to coincide with the arrival of the US Embassy.My first thought was of the dispiriting pedestrian bridges one sees over the North Circular but CLS is apparently thinking more along the lines of the High Line Park in New York or the Promenade Plantée in Paris.
An exhibition open to the public will be held on Friday 11 February (10:30am to 8pm) and on Saturday 12 February (10am to 2pm) on the 19th floor of the adjacent Market Towers building which overlooks the site.
Alternatively you can leave feedback on the VauxhallSquare.co.uk website.
I like the idea of linear walk. I always wanted to walk on the roof of our beautiful Vauxhall bus exchange. The jump-ramp at the end can be quite fun :) Anyway, it seems to me like one very expensive toy and I will support anyone who is willing to spend private money to fund it.
ReplyDeleteBut something is telling me that the best part of the proposal called "Linear Walk" will probably not happen. There can be some little obstacles in the way - the existing new bus exchange and also already approved twin towers at the little isle - Kylun project. So maybe this is another placebo sweetener for local residents for new highrise development. Do you remember the Tram project? Now we have our bike superhighway instead. I guess that we will get pedestrian supercrossing insread of this fancy linear walk.
Personally I like the cycle superhigway and I will support the towers - it seems to be complementing the rest of the Vauxhall roundabout nicely.
Thanks for this.
ReplyDeleteThis ideas seems to go someway to thinking about public realm.
Retail/ bars/ 6 screen cinema large square all sound like things that locals could be part of/ participate in rather than be excluded from.
Linear walkway sounds like an outstanding idea. A major contribution from a developer.
I dont know how great the NY or Paris ones are but if designed well - and incorporated a bike way too - it would be cool and functional.
I have been depressed by the idea that the estimated £900 million of S106 money generated from the Nine Elms developments will for the most part be spent on creating a Northern line spur to Sainsburys and to Battersea Power Station.
The S106 money is a major "tax" on potential incoming development yet most of it wont go into anything worthwile locally.
For these guys to say they will fund a creative solution/ help to the gyratory ( rather than perhaps drop it into a neverending spend on a possibly unnecessary tube line) is fresh thinking.
I agree that of the various ideas put forward for Vauxhall Cross, this is the first that actually tries to take a unified view and consider the public somewhat.
ReplyDeleteHow do S106 contributions work? Must they be used to increase public space somewhere in the Borough, or does it just go into the Council's general pot to do things like support the syncophantic "Lambeth Life"?