As you know Camden council has now completed work to remove abandoned and illegally parked cars and to install new paved surfacing at the junction of Doynton and Balmore streets. This work has created a new area of public realm for our community.
The council has promised some further investment to improve this new community space and has asked that any proposals be guided by the ideas and preferences of local residents.
How would you like to use the space and what would you like to see installed there?
Options might include:
- Planters for shrubs and flowers and food growing
- Raingarden/Swale
- Cycle parking
- Dog poo bins
- Lighting
- Pavement decoration or colourful play design
- Any other ideas?
Please get in touch and let us know what you think in the comment section below. We will collate your ideas and comments and hold a street stall at Doynton Triangle on 20th July when we will develop your ideas further. Look forward to seeing you there.
I am a resident of Doynton Street.
We have experienced considerable anti-social behaviour in this street, predominantly in the Highgate Newtown Open Space, with groups of youths smoking cannabis and drinking, sometimes into the early hours and some drug dealing. I would dearly like the money spent on improving that area (for example by removing the benches to discourage the youth, and tidying up the rubbish). The last thing the area needs is another space for youths to hang about at night. Please leave it as it is.
Hi there,
My daughter and I live in the area and since the parking space was removed there are a lot of things that we need. We desperately need of a Dog poo bin to keep the area clean as well as needing better lighting for the safety of women who walk alone at night after a long shift from work. It would be nice to have an area for flowers, shrubs, and food to grow as many of us love gardening. I was wondering we can have a community BBQ? I know this sounds like I’m asking too much but I think it would bring the community together.
Hi there,
My daughter and I live in the area and since the parking space was removed there are a lot of things that we need. We desperately need of a Dog poo bin to keep the area clean as well as needing better lighting for the safety of women who walk alone at night after a long shift from work. It would be nice to have an area for flowers, shrubs, and food to grow as many of us love gardening. I was wondering we can have a community BBQ? I know this sounds like I’m asking too much, but I think it would bring the community together. I wanted to add for last is to have some benches and tables.
– Extend the communal garden, and fence this area
– Planters for food growing for local residents; potential to be rented or allocated perhaps with preference for households with children. This would likely increase ownership of “buy in” of participating residence and encourage maintenance. Could also be leased/allocated to programmes/local primary school providing food education to kids.
– Cycle parking
– Insect hotels and birdhouses
– Improved lighting, including through the underpass.
– Please no more bin, or dog poo bins. It will encourage littering and fly tipping.
– Please no benches, it will encourage ASB as seen om Doynton and Colva walk.
Really love all your ideas!
Personal favourites are :
– planters with veg and herbs and delicious smelling plants (might need some partial shade/shade planting though?)
-additional lighting / perhaps ideally low level and soft ? or guarded so that the flats are not blinded?
-a cycle hoop or two? Could move the existing cycle hoop on Doynton street onto it? I think bikes on unprotected parking will likely be stolen from there, sadly. I use the Doynton street one but would love to have one as close as possible to Balmore Street.
– the rain garden also sounds fun!
– a poo bin would be a good thing too because we all know there’s a recurring problem
-we could have another big play snake like in 3 points park or colourful fun artwork of some description amongst the planters?
Basically I’m sorry I have no new ideas but I love the ones you have!
I think it’s sad that the council didn’t / couldn’t incorporate more access to the gated garden from this area as that could have been lovely.
I would like to see the cycle storage moved here from Doynton Street. And any new cycle storage in line with whatever the demand for cycle storage is.
Definitely some lighting, particularly if the cycle storage is here.
Some very tall raised planters would be appreciated, with some year round blooms.
More bins are always well used. The bins in close vicinity get fully filled daily.
The community fruit/veg storage shed should be moved back here, it is currently opposite, it was moved whilst the work was done.
Another random idea which personally I would love, would be having a space for someone to have a pop up weekly stall like a nice bakery, (similar to what happens in Parliament Hill Farmers Market) but just one spot…. Whether traders take it in turns and do it in a rotation each doing once a month…. Or one trader selling every Saturday (for example) Obviously any trader would need a lot of support to make it a destination location as there isn’t huge footfall and it’s quite well hidden.
– Planters for food growing for local residents- potential to be rented or allocated. This would likely increase ownership or “buy in” for residents and encourage maintenance. Could also be leased/allocated to programmes providing food education to kids/local primary school. There is a huge amount of space there so potential to include lots of planters and grow lots of food/herbs/flowers for pollinators (whatever people want to plant in their allocated planter space)
– Cycle parking
– Insect hotels and birdhouses
– Improved lighting, including through the underpass.
– please no bin, or dog poo bins. It will encourage littering and fly tipping.
– Please no benches, it will encourage ASB as seen in the Doynton triangle.
Love all the ideas! This is a bit of a test this as my last comment doesn’t appear to be here!
My comment is that it would be really useful if the Doynton Project Team could see the comments that have been made.
Hi I live on Doynton Street. Glad to see the car parking spaces removed as they attracted fly tipping, but we should avoid creating a space where non residents can congregate as we have issues with some antisocial behavior (mostly noise but also litter) and there are more than enough public places to sit nearby etc. Flower planters will be sat on, littered and create another seat to deal drugs from. We have enough bike shelters and those rental bikes and scooters are an absolute menace! Can we please have something like a designed information board that welcomes people to the area with information about the many architectural places of interest in DP and Highgate Newtown. Maybe a map of the area with places like the library highlighted. I think something like a sundial would be a nice feature. I think we need something useful (a map/info board but one that can’t be vandalised) and something iconic/monumental (but not ott) like a sundial or some sort of drinking water fountain or something that’s both historic and new, and unlike a new community garden, something that won’t require too much upkeep/attract flytippers and drug dealers again
– I like the idea of planters – tall year round plants or possibly herb garden but I think that would need to be fenced in that case
– more lightning/security as per some other comments, quite a busy ASB and drugs exchange area
– there is quite a lot of lightning from the building opposite so it would be great if the lights would be motion ones with light pollution in mind
– There is a lack of bins and dog poo bins in the area so that is needed but if added the lighting/security cameras would be quite necessary to avoid fly tipping
– I would also encourage local designers and urban planners to help with the space – they could design the planters / bins
– there was the idea of weekly pop up events/stalls which sounded great! But it firstly the interest from local businesses would need to be gathered.
– it can be a semi-regular stands for businesses such as Fair-Well – (https://www.fair-well.co.uk/)
I have lived here 15yrs and have seen senseless waste of money carving up the connecting streets of the immediate area
None that improve the area
The money spent should go to housing first then the NHS where it it is needed urgently Don’t impose ideals that are not suitable for local needs. This area has Three major parks within walking distance and there is no shortage beauty and nature Meanwhile I personally suffer from the changes you have created everyone I go out
Put back the parking bays I am disabled and due to not enough space have got parking tickets because of shortage of bays close to my house
The council have taken 10 bays in the area
In this area the little park encourages loud and antisocial youth rather than a place for neighbours to congregate and enjoy
The closed garden has been off limits to locals and not encouraged as a community garden for all
Many roads are closed unduly and so called housing works disrupted our streets nonstop in the surrounding areas
Nobody asked for the cycle sheds and that could easily have put in Rydon street which is another area that hat has been narrowed down and buses can barely get through which has caused damage to parked cars on many occasions mine included Stop wasting money
Where are youth clubs and social clubs for the elderly Stop spending money on ideals that are not compatible with the people who have not been consulted beforehand
Much aggrieved Anne Buckley Doynton st