SLOANE STREET IS CHANGING – AND WE NEED YOUR OPINION

The Cadogan Estate and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is joining forces to revamp Sloane Street with a budget of £40 million allocated to improving the aesthetics and accessibility of the street. And we need your opinions on the proposals…

As an international destination for luxury shopping, Sloane Street travels almost one kilometer from Knightsbridge at the north end to Sloane Square at the south end and is 20 metres wide, making it one of the most graceful streets in London and also an established residential area with charming local character.

We want to create an attractive and high-quality environment that meets the expectations of Sloane Street’s residents, retailers and visitors. We will do this by creating an elegant coordinated streetscape with a palette of surface materials, street furniture, lighting and planting, in keeping with the architectural character of the street.

WHY SLOANE STREET NEEDS REGENERATION

It’s a wonderful street but there are a few things that we think could be improved:

-The street is dominated by up to four lanes of traffic and parts of the pavement are narrow – particularly on the eastern side

-Speed surveys show that 20 percent of drivers, or around 17,500 drivers every week, break the speed limit – encouraged by the generous width of the road

-The road is twice as wide as required to accommodate the volume of traffic using Sloane Street at peak times

-The street furniture is uncoordinated and the fabric of the street is tired and in need of a refresh

-The number of trees on the street is limited in some places and there are areas of the street with no greenery at all

-The different pavement finishes such as concrete, stone, tiles and asphalt do not work well together.

THE PROPOSED IMPROVEMENTS

So to improve the experience of Sloane Street for both shoppers and residents, we would like to:

-Create more space for pedestrians by reallocating surplus road space to widen pavements in the areas where they are comparatively narrow, without affecting the flow of traffic

-Create a greener and more elegant street setting with new semi-mature trees and high-quality planting

-Improve the environmental impact of the street by reducing high traffic speeds and risks to pedestrians, and introducing sustainable urban drainage measures

-Reduce the sense that motor traffic dominates the road

-Remove ‘street clutter’, such as redundant service boxes and signposts

-Renew paving, lighting and furniture to enhance the character and appearance of the street

A GREENER STREET

The enhancement of Sloane Street’s public realm is an opportunity to secure environmental benefits for everyone who uses it.

By widening the pavements and introducing new trees and elegant, ornamental planting along the pavement edge we will be increasing the distance between pedestrians and vehicles while enhancing the ambience of the street. Trees, shrubs and herbaceous planting will be of the highest quality and the Council and Cadogan will work in partnership to ensure it is maintained to a very high standard.

By introducing trees to fill the gaps in the current planting we will create a consistent tree-lined street that helps to absorb airborne pollutants, reduces surface water run-off into drains and provides shelter and protection for pedestrians. Similarly, new paving materials and planters have the potential to capture and store surface water run-off as part of a wider strategy to reduce flood risk.

NARROWING THE ROAD AND WIDENING THE PAVEMENT

Regarding the effect on traffic on Sloane Street, comprehensive traffic modelling has confirmed that the proposed changes will not noticeably affect journey times by car or by bus. Drivers’ perception of reduced carriageway width, coupled with additional traffic calming features, will reduce speeding traffic and reduce traffic noise.

There will still be plenty of space for overtaking, drop-offs and deliveries and narrowing the road will continue to provide parallel parking and servicing areas which are off the carriageway and do not obstruct traffic.

Our proposals would change Sloane Street from a traffic-dominated street to a more pedestrian orientated and attractive environment.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Please download the full consultation here, and let us know your thoughts on the proposed improvements by February 27^th 2017 by scanning and emailing your completed questionnaire to sloanestreet@rbkc.gov.uk or posting to:

Highways Department, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Town Hall, Hornton Street, London, W8 7NX

In the meantime, if you have any questions please contact us by emailing sloanestreet@rbkc.gov.uk or calling 020 7361 3238. For latest updates visit www.rbkc.gov.uk/sloanestreet.