Wayland Avenue, Sandringham Road and Sigdon Road - Green and Healthy Streets proposals

Overview

We are seeking your views on proposals to improve Wayland Avenue, Sandringham Road and Sigdon Road to achieve a safer, more pleasant environment along these streets with new landscaping that incorporates new rain gardens (a type of Sustainable Drainage System or SuDS) with new trees, low level planting and refurbished footways and road carriageway. The proposals form part of our plans to create a greener, healthier Hackney, improve road safety and support people to walk, shop and cycle locally.

Why are these changes being proposed?

The Council is committed to making our roads safer for everyone living, working and visiting the borough. These changes aim to create an environment that will encourage more walking and cycling and help to improve air quality. In return, this would encourage residents and visitors to spend more time on their street.

Sections of Wayland Avenue, Sandringham Road and Sigdon Road have been included in the Green and Healthy Streets Programme, funded by the Mayor of London, to provide green infrastructure, climate adaptation measures and active travel improvements.  The changes would help achieve benefits which would make the streets better adapted to climate change by reducing flood and heat risk.

Our Transport Strategy includes a Liveable Neighbourhoods Plan, which recognises that local streets are not just places to park vehicles or drive, walk and cycle on. They are places where we socialise and live our lives. An aspiration is to reclaim Hackney’s streets from motor traffic congestion and transform them into the most attractive and liveable neighbourhoods in London. This aspiration can only be achieved by reducing the dominance of the private vehicle primarily through managing on-street parking and reducing traffic flows.

Encouraging the use of cleaner and greener transport options (particularly walking, cycling and public transport) and reducing non-essential private car journeys are key long-term objectives for the Council due to the wide range of benefits these transport options can bring, including:

• Reducing potential road accidents
• Improving personal mobility by the use of sustainable transport
• Creating safer, cleaner and quieter residential streets.

What are the proposals?

Please refer to the drawings below for details. In 2020, we installed a traffic filter on Wayland Avenue to the north of Sigdon Road aimed at supporting people to walk, shop and cycle locally. These new proposals improve the traffic filter and include:

• Replacing the two temporary planters on Wayland Avenue with two new SuDS areas in the form of rain gardens, with a combination of low level water-loving plants and trees, designed to better manage stormwater locally, mimic natural drainage and to filter pollution.
• Installing one new rain garden outside the shopping parade on Sandringham Road.  This area is classified as medium and high risk of surface water flooding. 
• Planting trees within the proposed rain gardens and on the pavement to enhance the public realm and help improve air quality.
• Refurbishing the footways along the extent of the scheme to improve pedestrian facilities and introducing some seating outside the shops.
• Resurfacing the road on Wayland Avenue between Sandringham Road and Sigdon Road.
• Reallocating parking spaces to accommodate the rain gardens into the carriageway. The removal of six parking spaces will be necessary as part of this scheme to allow space for the rain gardens.
• There will be no further restrictions on vehicular movements as a result of  these proposals.

Wayland Avenue and Sandringham Road
Artist’s impression of a rain garden on Sandringham Road outside the shopping parade

Wayland Avenue and Sigdon Road
Artist’s impression of a rain garden at the junction of Wayland Avenue with Sigdon Road

Frequently asked questions

Q.   What is a Sustainable Drainage System (SuDS)?

A.   A sustainable drainage system is designed to capture surface water to prevent overloading of the sewer system. The type of SuDS used at these locations is rain gardens which mimic natural drainage.

Q.  What is a rain garden?

A.   A rain garden is a type of sustainable drainage feature. It is designed to capture rainfall and use the water to sustain planting and help to increase biodiversity. No matter how small the garden, it can have a major impact on surface water runoff which can contribute to flooding.

A rain garden requires runoff from the carriageway, a level planting area or breaks in kerbs to enable water to drain into them. Alternatively, they can be supported by footway runoff being directed into them. In order to support the greening of the borough, the use of rain gardens should be considered especially in local streets and areas that are predominantly residential and have a medium to high risk of flooding. 

Q.   Where can I load/unload if I receive deliveries?

A.   Active loading and unloading can take place on all single and double yellow lines where there are no loading restrictions as well as within parking bays. For any specific requests, such as removals, you can request a dispensation or a bay suspension. Please visit our website for more information:  hackney.gov.uk/parking

What happens next?

Your views will also be taken into account as part of the detailed design process. We will publish the consultation responses as well as the decisions made at: consultation.hackney.gov.uk

Permanent works

If the scheme goes ahead, following consultation, we expect construction works to start around October 2023 with completion in about 10 weeks. Further information regarding the works would be sent out closer to the time.

Information

For further information on this proposal, please contact the Hackney Service
Centre by calling 020 8356 2897 or by emailing: streetscene.consultation@hackney.gov.uk

Accessibility statement

If you need any information on this consultation in a different format please email: consultation@hackney.gov.uk

We’ll consider your request and get back to you in 5 working days.