Parklets

A great way to encourage active travel and improve neighbourhoods, parklets are small-scale semi-permanent structures that repurpose and transform parts of streets or parking spaces, utilising greenery, seating and other features.

The Council-led Parklet programme is specifically aimed at organisations and business premises that would benefit from a functional parklet that supports the aims of the business and/or provides a much-needed space for patrons and staff to enjoy. These parklets aim to bring as many benefits to the local community as possible, and we continue to work with local businesses and organisations to achieve these goals.

Funded by us and working in partnership with businesses, we maintain responsibility for the structure and its maintenance whilst local stakeholders take responsibility for its use and upkeep.

Following on from the success of our original sites at The Mill on Coppermill Lane and The Wanstead Tap on Winchelsea Road, after a thorough application process, we are delighted to announce the three successful locations to receive our next round of Council-led parklets;

• Froth and Rind on Orford Road
• Cove 17 on Wood Street
• Stone Mini Market on High Road Leytonstone

We have worked with these businesses to create unique, inclusive, and functional parklets, all of which have now been successfully delivered. We look forward to seeing them utilised and inviting more organisations to take advantage of this fantastic programme.

We are also developing plans for a community-led parklet programme, with a focus on low-cost interventions, developed and managed by residents, that highlight innovative ways in which a single car parking space can be reimagined and benefit the local community.

We have been developing a process that would facilitate residents being able to plan, design and implement their own low-cost, low-impact parklets on residential streets. As part of the developmental process, the inclusion of a pilot/trial scheme was felt to be the most effective way to test it, prior to wider use in the future.

For the pilot scheme, we worked with a resident on Gloucester Road in Higham Hill. Read more about our Gloucester road trial parklet (PDF).

For further details and to apply for the community-led programme, visit the Community Parklets webpage.

• Check out some of our previous work on the Meristem Design Website
• Download answers to frequently asked question (PDF)

If you are unable to find the answer or wish to get in touch about a specific query please contact us at parklets@walthamforest.gov.uk.