The City Beach scheme, funded by The Home and Communities Agency (HCA), aimed to improve the visitor experience at the promenade and to boost tourism across the town.
Now, the increase in visitors and investment into the area during its first season has shown that the detailed design which went into the scheme was money well spent.
Landscape architects Grontmij were tasked with delivering a sustainable shared space design that connected the commercial frontage of Southend to the beach. By changing the emphasis of the seafront, the team created a broader range of vibrant and diverse attractions for visitors and residents.
Drawing on previous experience and expertise, Grontmij designed the first phase of a wider masterplan to regenerate the seafront at Southend and overcome the problems of segregation created by the previous highway infrastructure.
Adrian Judd, technical director of landscape architecture at Grontmij, said: “Before the revamp, businesses along the seafront felt disconnected from the promenade and many struggled throughout peak seasons.
“Removing the major road engineering elements and introducing public realms and greenery we have connected the commercial front to a new open space, which has improved the experience to both tourists and residents.”
By narrowing the roads and reducing the curb height, the integrated street project has significantly calmed and reduced traffic flow and increased the pedestrian realm along the seven mile stretch.
To create a safer environment in the evening, Pinniger lighting designers with Grontmij designed six distinctive 20 metre high mast lights intended to improve the traditional seafront illuminations meaning tourists and residents now stay for a longer duration along the promenade to interact with the streetscape.
Adrian Judd added: “The regeneration has proved a massive boost to Southend and its economy. The increase in investment and visitors to the area is a mark of the team’s involvement in renewing the town’s sense of pride and place.
“It was a fantastic experience to work with a client who understood the significance of a development that reflects the needs of the local community; the new integrated streets have helped to secure Southend’s status as a city region and its importance as a location for business and further education.
“City Beach is another prime example of our strategy to add value to our client’s projects wherever possible. By working closely with Southend-on-Sea Borough Council and drawing on our knowledge from previous shared space and integrated street projects, our team was able to create a design that not only meets the short to medium term needs of the client and the local community, but also revitalise the area for the long term too, demonstrating public realm use at its best.”
The £6 million City Beach scheme was completed in March 2011, after Southend-on-Sea Borough Council’s successful bid for Government backing to aide the regeneration of the town centre.
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For further media information, please contact Rebecca Kasumba at Grontmij on 0113 307 3126 or email Rebecca.kasumba@grontmij.co.uk
www.grontmij.co.uk
Note to editors
Grontmij, formerly Whitelaw Turkington, is one of the Europe’s leading firms of landscape architects and urban designers, creating public realm environments which are a synthesis of art, environment and engineering and attracting the most talented people who are passionate about place making and care about people.
The group has more than 100 landscape architects and urban designers working across the international network of offices, delivering successful projects for all our clients. The team specialises in award-winning landscape master planning, environmental impact assessment and scheme design for major projects in commercial and residential development, education, healthcare and leisure. Community engagement and multi-disciplinary collaboration are at the heart of the practice.
Grontmij is the third largest engineering consultancy in Europe with nearly 10,000 professionals. At the heart of our business is the sustainability by design principle.
It is a leading value proposition for our customers delivered by four business lines: Planning & Design, Transportation & Mobility, Water & Energy, Monitoring & Testing.