Key Issues to focus on

> Freedom to roam
> local spatial reconfiguration
> lighting, planting
> signage
> seating
> shelter
> landscaping
> rubbish bins
> cycle racks
> recycling
> Parking & congestion

Questions and Answers from the ameliastreet website:

Q: You mentioned there is an area of public space outside 56a, What is 56a?
A: 56a refers to the 56a Infoshop, at 56a Crampton Street, is a volunteer-run social centre. www.56a.org.uk

Q: Is it all residents parking on Amelia Street?
A: It is all residents’ parking only during the Controlled Parking Hours, however in the evenings the spaces are available to the public. Additionally there are a few pay and display areas on Peacock Street.

Q: Is the redesign attempting to attract new residents?
A: It is for everyone. There are many ways in which people engage with this area. Many people just pass through it- Crampton Street is a cycle route, running parallel with Walworth Road; some people purely work in the yards there are many children who come to the area because of the Crampton Primary School. (Those that live on Penton Place find it is quite dangerous to cross to get to the school).

Q: Is there potential to open up the railway arches?
A: Yes. They are owned by Network Rail, who are open to the idea if it can be demonstrated as to an arch could be as pedestrian route. This may cause a loss of rental income for Network Rail but in opening it up it increases access, which, in turn, increases rent for the other sites.

Q: Can we get an idea of the type of people that make up the existing community?
A: All the flats are essentially the same, about 40 square-metres. As such, due to the size there are not many families living in the estate- under ten households have children as residents. They are mostly singles and couples. In the new Printworks development there are family-sized flats.

Q: Is the Pullen’s Park on Amelia Street really under used?
A: There are some dog walkers, a few children play ball when the weather is hot, and unfortunately it has been used by drug dealers, however compared to St Mary’s Church Yard, Elephant and Castle, it is underused.

About 18 months ago close to £1m was spent renovating four parks around Elephant & Castle, just the other side of the Walworth Road, St Mary’s was one of them. All four of them aimed to improve accessibility and visibility- in these particular parks there was too many overgrown shrubs, too many dark corners. Since that regeneration, families can be seen sitting out there almost everyday it’s not raining, It is very inviting and a real community resource.

Q: The budget does not allow for every desirable improvement, so what’s the key element we should seek to deliver in our designs?
A: A good example would be to look at The Architecture Foundation’s Any Old Street competition in 2004 which was won by Tonkin Liu partly on the basis that the scheme was incredibly ambitious, but could nevertheless be scaled to accommodate different resource levels.