Engaging the Community in their Environment: Bushey Arches

Perception AREA: creative consultation phase 
During her time on site, Rayna Nadeem spoke to over 100 people from a wide age-range and backgrounds, producing over 15 hours of footage for editing. The DVD ‘Underneath the Arches’ was presented at the Oxhey Area Committee Meeting in October and was well-received by the public. The film aimed to inform the second stage of this regeneration work by identifying what the local community considers to be the priority issues for the site.

The key themes emerging were: Traffic and Sustainable transport, How much traffic?, Pollution, Pigeons, Safety, Awareness of the Environment, Heritage, A Trail… (…and a ‘Graffiti Tale’), A Gateway to Watford.

The DVD was presented to portfolio holders and other key members and to Highways Joint Panel. As a result, funding was secured from Watford Borough Council, Hertfordshire Highways and consequently the Elected Mayor of Watford’s Environmental Fund.

Design phase: a creative and interdisciplinary approach
Inspired and informed by the DVD, the team then worked with artist Tony Stallard to bring change to the site through an exciting lighting installation and hard and soft landscaping. The team worked with Mouchel Parkman to develop the designs and engaged external consultants such as landscape architect Noel Kingsbury, to find solutions for soft landscaping on a problematic site from a planting and maintenance perspective.  Design options were presented to Members in January 2007 and the public was invited to an open event in the Bushey Arches area to chose from these options.

Implementation phase
Improvements to highway safety were then carried out in May and June 2008. They included laying a double kerb around the roundabout, new signage, pedestrian improvements, highway resurfacing, laying of the electrical ducting required for the lighting scheme and a vehicular access point for maintenance to the roundabout.  

Planning permission has now been granted, for the scheme to be completed by soft landscaping and sculptural lighting. The work will be completed in December 2008.
The lighting scheme has been designed to allow for developing interpretation and educational programming for heritage and environment. 

“Even though the brief was quite specific for this project, more so than in any other project (I have worked on), GHP have been supportive and yet given me the freedom to work in the way that I feel comfortable in.”

Dorothy Thornhill, Elected Mayor of Watford said: “My Environmental Fund can be used by projects and groups throughout the Borough that clean and smarten the local environment. The work that is planned for Bushey Arches will transform this busy area into an impressive and environmentally sustainable gateway to Watford.”

Alison Stainsby, Head of Leisure and Community Services, Watford Borough Council said:
“With such clearly positive strides forward being made by the Green Heart Partnership on the Bushey Arches project, the Council is already starting to explore how this model of joint working across departments and with external partners on arts projects can be adopted for future developments within the Borough.”