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Warwick Way town centre highways scheme consultation FAQs

Frequently asked questions about the proposed changes to Warwick Way town centre.

How will the road layout change?

Warwick Way:

  • Permanent one-way westbound operation on Warwick Way between Upper Tachbrook Street and Belgrave Road.
  • Permanent left turn ban into Warwick Way from Wilton Road.
  • Permanent right turn ban into Warwick Way from Denbigh Street.
  • Permanent left turn ban into Warwick Way from Denbigh Street except vehicles under 7.5 tonnes.
  • No access for general traffic into Warwick Way from Belgrave Road except cyclists.
  • Guildhouse Street will be closed at the junction with Warwick Way, except for access for emergency vehicles and cyclists.

Upper Tachbrook Street:

  • Permanent one-way southbound operation on Upper Tachbrook Street.
  • Two-way cycling permitted on Upper Tachbrook Street between Warwick Way and Longmoore Street.

Churton Street:

  • Churton Street will become one-way northbound between Belgrave Road and Tachbrook Street with two-way cycling permitted.
  • Vehicles must turn right into Churton Street from Charlwood Place.
  • Vehicles must turn left into Churton Street from Churton Place.

Tachbrook Street:

  • Tachbrook Street will become one-way eastbound between Churton Street and Charlwood Street.
  • There will be no access for general traffic into Tachbrook Street at the junction with Charlwood Street. Consequently, the priority at this junction will change.

Why is the one-way operation being implemented?

Making Warwick Way and Churton Street one-way provides an opportunity to widen footways. This will help to improve pedestrian accessibility, potential outdoor dining and increase greening.

What purpose does the footway widening serve?

Widening footways improves movement for pedestrians and offers space for outdoor dining. At junctions or where pedestrians tend to cross the carriageway, the widening provides better visibility for pedestrians and reduces the crossing distance. This makes it easier to move between different sides of the road, creating a pedestrian friendly environment for people to walk, shop and dine.

The footway widening will also:

  • reduce the dominance of traffic and help to calm traffic speeds
  • enable provision of raised parking and loading bays, thereby protecting parked vehicles and enhancing vehicle movement along the carriageway
  • provide space for tree planting, and other infrastructures such as cycle parking

What alfresco dining will be provided and what happens to the existing alfresco dining?

The widened footway offers the opportunity for alfresco dining.  The permanent scheme will have alfresco dining located against shop fronts, instead of utilising parking bays which has been applied for the temporary scheme.

It is envisaged that this will provide a more efficient set up for businesses and allow pedestrians to make full use of the widened footway space. Licences for alfresco dining will be subject to our normal pavement licensing process.

What greening is being introduced to the high street?

On Churton Street, Upper Tachbrook Street and Denbigh Street, several trees will need to be relocated to the new widened section of footway.

In addition, the widened footway will provide an opportunity to plant new trees. These are proposed to be on Warwick Way, Upper Tachbrook Street and Churton Street. Final tree locations and numbers will be subject to further site survey results.

What happens with the parking and loading bays?

The tables below show the parking bays changes for Warwick Way and Churton Street proposals.

Warwick Way proposal

The pre-Covid number of parking bays in different areas around Warwick Way. Total bays was 42.
  Pay by phone bays Resident bays Disabled bays Doctor's bays
Warwick Way between Belgrave Road and Upper Tachbrook Street 0 0 0 0
Upper Tachbrook Street (south of Longmoor Street) 9 0 1 0
Guildhouse Street (south of Longmoore Street) 2 7 0 0
Denbigh Street between Warwick Way and Belgrave Road 6 15 0 2
Total 17 22 1 2
The number of parking bays in different areas around Warwick Way under the temporary scheme. Total bays is currently 36.
  Pay by phone bays Resident bays Disabled Bays Doctor's bays
Warwick Way between Belgrave Road and Upper Tachbrook Street 0 0 0 0
Upper Tachbrook Street (south of Longmoor Street) 7 0 1 0
Guildhouse Street (south of Longmoore Street) 1 6 0 0
Denbigh Street between Warwick Way and Belgrave Road 6 13 0 2
Total 14 19 1 2
The number of parking bays in different areas around Warwick Way under the new proposals. Total bays would be 39.
  Pay by phone bays Resident bays Disabled bays Doctor's bays
Warwick Way between Belgrave Road and Upper Tachbrook Street 0 0 0 0
Upper Tachbrook Street (south of Longmoor Street) 8 0 1 0
Guildhouse Street (south of Longmoore Street) 2 7 0 0
Denbigh Street between Warwick Way and Belgrave Road 6 13 0 2
Total 16 20 1 2

Churton Street proposal

The pre-Covid number of parking bays in different areas around Churton Street. Total bays was 52.
  Pay by phone bays Resident bays Mixed bays, resident permit or pay by phone Disabled bays
Churton Street 5 13 5 0
Tachbrook Street between Churton Street and Charlwood Street 2 26 0 1
Total 7 39 5 1
The number of parking bays in different areas around Churton Street under the temporary scheme. Total bays is 47.
  Pay by phone bays Resident bays Mixed bays, resident permit or pay by phone Disabled bays
Churton Street 2 12 4 0
Tachbrook Street between Churton Street and Charlwood Street 2 26 0 1
Total 4 38 4 1
The number of parking bays in different areas around Churton Street under the new proposals. Total bays would be 50.
  Pay by phone bays Resident bays Mixed bays, resident permit or pay by phone Disabled bays
Churton Street 6 3 9 0
Tachbrook Street between Churton Street and Charlwood Street 0 31 0 1
Total 6 34 9 1

Existing parallel resident parking on the northern side of Tachbrook Street will be converted to echelon resident parking to create more parking spaces.

Existing parallel parking and disabled parking bays on the southern side of Tachbrook Street will be retained.

Three existing resident permit holder bays on Churton Street near Tachbrook Market will be converted to pay by phone parking bays, offset by resident permit bays being provided elsewhere along Churton Street and Tachbrook Street.

Dedicated raised loading bays will be introduced or maintained at four locations along Warwick Way and three locations on Churton Street, at present loading is already currently permitted.

Loading time on Churton Street and Tachbrook Street will be reduced from 30 minuets to 20 minutes to enable best use of loading bays.

One new raised loading bay will be introduced on Upper Tachbrook Street and another on Denbigh Street.

What is the impact on traffic?

Under the proposed permanent scheme, the Warwick Way eastbound alternative routes are approximately 530m to 700m in length and the additional journey times are 2 to 3 minutes along the Warwick Way corridor. For Churton Street, the alternative route is approximately 50 to 60m in length and the additional journey time is less than 60 seconds.

It is also worth noting that drivers will plan their wider journeys more strategically using Satnavs and so may not choose to follow an eastbound route in the area, and may choose the most convenient eastbound route provided by Satnavs at any given time.

The traffic survey undertaken while the temporary scheme was in place, compared to both pre-Covid and current two-way operation, shows that there was not any significant change in the volumes of traffic on alternative routes within the area despite the Warwick Way closure to eastbound traffic.

Therefore, making both streets one-way has a general reduction in traffic and the proposed scheme is unlikely to have a negative traffic impact on the surrounding roads, including Vincent Square.

What is the impact to air quality?

A high-level assessment of the potential impacts on the air quality from the proposed scheme has been undertaken. Due to the traffic reduction on Warwick Way under the proposed scheme, there is a decrease in pollutants NO2, PM10 andPM2.5 emissions.

The eastbound traffic is dispersed into the surrounding streets, there are both increase and decrease in the NO2, PM10 andPM2.5 emissions on these streets depending on the increase or decrease in traffic flow and percentage of heavy duty vehicles.

In conclusion, the Defra background data, LAEI data and local monitoring data suggest that the air quality objectives for the key pollutants NO2, PM10 and PM2.5 for thearea where the proposed scheme is located, including nearby areas Churton Street and Vincent Square, are met since 2019 and are predicted to continue to meet these objectives in 2025.

It is noted that the LAEI PM2.5 concentration is exceeding the 2030 target of 10µg/m3 at all sensitive receptor locations included in this assessment. Many areas across London are currently predicted to not meet the 10ug/m3 target by 2030. PM2.5 has many sources, not least trans-boundary PM2.5 (for example, dust coming from further afield than the UK) which means there is already a ‘high’ background concentration.

More information about the air quality assessment can be found in the You Said, We Did document:

Document
Warwick Way high street scheme, you said, we did

How is cycling affected?

Westbound cyclists will follow general traffic on Warwick Way and two-way cycling will be permitted along Warwick Way.

One-way operation is proposed for Churton Street and Tachbrook Street.

The number of cycle parking stands will be increased and spread out throughout the entire scheme extent, final locations and numbers will be subject to further site surveys.

What would be the likely impact of construction?

The scheme would be built in phases to minimise disruption.

Pedestrian access to all properties will be maintained throughout but some parking suspensions and road closures are required to facilitate safe practices and excavation.

During construction, noise and dust will be carefully managed, and a Public Liaison Officer (PLO) will be on site weekly to update all stakeholders about progress. The PLO will also liaise with businesses regarding the working arrangement at their frontages, temporary parking suspensions and address any questions, doubts, or concerns.

How long it would take to get built and what closures are to be expected?

If the scheme is approved for implementation, it is anticipated that construction of the scheme would commence in summer 2024. We will work with our contractors during the next design stage to establish the works duration and assess construction methodology to minimise disruption.

Are any other works being done?

If the scheme is taken forward, construction will be coordinated with other planned utility repairs and maintenance.

Published: 15 December 2022

Last updated: 3 November 2023