Buxton Road Gardens: Greening Project
Final Garden Design by What if Projects
Buxton Road Gardens is a community greening project supported by St James St Big Local and the London Borough of Waltham Forest’s Highways team, with additional funding from the Greater London Authority’s Grow Back Greener Fund.
The aim of the project is to bring new and vital green infrastructure to a series of three joined-up public spaces along Buxton Road and Mission Grove:
outside the Buxton Road entrance to Mission Grove School
at the end of Buxton Road, where the barrier is
the grass verge around the corner on Mission Grove.
Why are we doing this?
The Big Local is a group of volunteers helping to deliver community-led improvements in the neighbourhood of St James Street in Walthamstow.
In 2022 we asked the local community what they wanted for the area and we heard that improving green spaces is a top priority for local
people.
Mission Grove and Buxton Road are two of the most ‘grey’ streets in our neighbourhood. They connect local residents to the High Street and are the main pedestrian access to Mission Grove School for 800 pupils and their parents.
Both streets severely lack greenery and are dominated by cars, either through on-street parking or by the frequency of traffic moving through. Buxton Road has only three street trees while Mission Grove is a busy main road with few street trees and poor-quality roadside verges of little environmental value.
The site also falls within an area with a high Climate Risk, and high levels of Flood Risk and Heat Risk.
We’d like to improve this local environment for the benefit of pupils attending the school and parents, the residents of Buxton Road, and for the wider community.
What will be the benefits of the new green spaces?
We want to create new and revitalised green spaces that tackle local air pollution and the city’s heat island, enhance local biodiversity and provide essential carbon storage.
By introducing new trees, shrubs, and other species (like flowering plants and grasses) the green spaces will help to provide shade, address flood resilience and improve local people’s quality of life.
Our green spaces will be a source of respite, recreational spaces and somewhere to meet friends safely outdoors. They will boost pride in the local area and encourage active travel, particularly amongst school children and their parents.
Do you want to help us look after these spaces?
We want local people to get involved in the long-term stewardship and care of the green spaces.
To do this, we’re looking to set up a small group of greening champions who will volunteer to care for and look after the new green spaces once the project has finished – from March 2023 onwards.
This will involve planting, watering, litter picking, community planting days, and so on. that will, alongside the school, support the ongoing maintenance of the green spaces.
If you’re interested, get in touch at : buxtonroad@stjamesstreetbiglocal.co.uk
