Engaging the Community in their Environment: Bushey Arches

The area known as ‘Bushey Arches’ is a major transport interchange close to the Eastern border of Watford, incorporating rail, road and pedestrian routes. Bushey Arches had been designated by Watford Borough Council as an area to be ‘improved with public art’. Watford’s Green Heart Team came together to build upon this, working with artists to turn Bushey Arches into a visually interesting space that celebrates the heritage of the site as a key transport interchange.

Ghost Train at night Tony Stallard

Tony Stallard’s lighting installation illuminates Bushey Arches with colourful, slowly changing lights using low maintenance, energy efficient LED lights.

Stallard was inspired and informed by the DVD ‘Underneath the Arches’ by Rayna Nadeem. The DVD was a GHP project which captured the perceptions of the community about Bushey Arches in 2006. The Watford project team then worked with artist Tony Stallard to bring change to the site through his lighting scheme and hard and soft landscaping. The team worked with external consultants such as landscape architect Noel Kingsbury, to find solutions for soft landscaping on a problematic site from a planting and maintenance perspective. Herbaceous, pollution-tolerant plants were identified and planted and recovered town centre paving materials add the final touches to the scheme.

This achievement is the result of three years of hard work by all the partners involved. Funding was secured from Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Highways and the Elected Mayor of Watford’s Community Fund and the project was facilitated by the Green Heart Partnership working with a project team consisting of Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Highways, Hertfordshire Constabulary and Project Managers Clipston Construction Control.

This innovative project has transformed this busy area into a gateway feature to the town that the residents and the Council can be truly proud of. It can help Watford in its ambitions to be a ‘greener’ more sustainable town by raising awareness of heritage and important environmental issues amongst residents.

The initial stage of the project captured through creative triggers the perceptions of the community about the Bushey Arches and environmental issues. Supported by sculptor, Tony Stallard, film-maker Rayna Nadeem worked in the area around Bushey Arches throughout May and June 2006, engaging with people who live, work and pass through the area. Rayna’s DVD ‘Underneath the Arches’ resulting from this initial stage was used by the team to inform them about the next stage: to regenerate the site into a high impact visual gateway that will positively engage communities with their environment.

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