Following successful schemes in Kent, Meristem Design were appointed by Ashford Council to design and install a seating area to bring life to the town centre.
The client's brief was to install a seating area in a row of parking bays suspended by the council under an experimental measure. The area, partly pedestrianised by a managed gate at the end of the street during the day, was first segregated from the highway using green screens in planters.
This temporary pilot scheme delivers some interventions that link to key themes from the Town Centre Reset – integrated play, feature lighting, temporary public realm and outdoor seating. If successful this could lead to further, more permanent features in the future.
The green screens provide an acoustic and pollution barrier from the active highway, adjacent to the seating area. Planting was introduced in pressure-treated timber planters which have been painted in bright colours to fulfil the scheme and complement the other infrastructure, such as the overhead bunting and the window graphics applied to vacant retail units.
The scheme also features a play board which has hide and seek holes cut into it as well as 2 chalkboards to keep children entertained whilst picnic tables and seating provide a space for parents to relax or enjoy food purchased from one of the local cafes.
All infrastructure in the design includes 100mm feet which, upon demounting from the tarmac, allows them to be reconfigured, or relocated with the use of a forklift or pallet jack. These feet also aided the installation process which meant the entire scheme was installed in just a few hours.
Measures were taken to protect the scheme from antisocial behaviour, including heavy-duty material specification, ground anchors and flame retardant treatment applied to all timber elements of the design.
In total, 7 parking bays were reclaimed by the council which has made space for; 14 pollution busting ivy green screens, 35 seating spaces for pedestrians and over 200 drought tolerant plants to brighten the area.
