Urban room launched for future Town Centre public engagement

Urban rooms launched

Watford's first urban room launched to help resident's build how the town centre should develop over the next 20 years...

Watford’s first Urban room, designed by West Herts College (WHC) student Heba Hussain was launched by Elected Mayor Peter Taylor today in 15-17 Queens Rd (Atria Shopping Centre).  The room is a key part of Watford Borough Councils public engagement Designing Watford Town Centre for the Future*, giving the people who work, live in and visit the town a place to share their views on how the centre should develop and grow over the next 20 years.

The design which competed against 45 other fantastic submissions by WHC students was built by architects New Practice with materials sourced by the Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce and the space provided by Atria. Featured in the room are a range of places and spaces to sit and discuss issues, read the comments and views of others and post your own vision of what the town centre should be like in the future. Elements from the designs of the two runners’ up Kimberley Falconi and Christina Summa have also been incorporated into the final build.

At the launch with WHC students earlier today the Elected Mayor said “The creativity of our West Herts College students is inspiring – it was a real challenge to select a winner from the submissions. Heba’s design is so inventive and original and creates just the right environment to encourage people to think outside the box and share their vision for how Watford town Centre should be over the next 20 years.

“Please come to the Urban Room and post your views on the town centre and how it should evolve in the future - be it new green spaces, more town centre homes, more focus on pedestrians, more civic spaces and art, better accessibility, more independent retailers or sustainable modes of transport. We want to hear your views!”

Also on display in the Urban room is an exhibition of photos by WHC photography students who were asked to illustrate Watford: no ordinary town, a range of visuals from Leavesden Green school on what play spaces in the town centre might look like in the future and public realm designs from fine art students at Stanborough school. Further exhibitions from Holywell and other schools and groups will be held over the coming months.

Alan Smallwood, Art & Design Course Leader at West Herts College said “This project was a great opportunity to illustrate the kind of creativity that students can bring to the planning and design process. The students really understood what the Council wanted, and they all produced successful outcomes, but the winners were the most transferable to the user’s needs.”

The Urban Room opens on Thursday 3 March, people can visit Mon – Fri, 9 – 5pm. The room is part of a shared community space between Watford Borough Council and the Watford and West Herts Chamber of Commerce, located at 15-17 Queens Road, Atria. 

*Designing Watford Town Centre for the Future

Following the Covid pandemic and the major switch to online shopping, high streets and town centres across the UK must once again change and adapt for a new future. Watford is already a very successful place, with regional, national and international reach; and we are seeing steady investment, despite the health and economic challenges of recent times. Latest statistics show we are one of the top 10 places in the country for retail bouncing back from the pandemic. Watford Borough Council wants to make sure that the town centre continues to grow and thrive.

Since November 2021, the council has conducted a number of public meetings and events with young people, schools, special interest groups, businesses, key stakeholders and others who have been asked to share their views and ideas on how Watford Town Centre should evolve over the next 20 years. Residents have also been encouraged to go online to the engagement platform Commonplace and express their views.

A report on the key themes that emerge from the engagement will be published in the spring, followed by a design guide, which will set out the parameters for how the town centre evolves over the next 20 years.

Published: 4th March 2022

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