On 21 July 2008 Marcus Beale reported to the Wimbledon Going for Gold campaign on the progress made by the 2012 streetscape group.

Following our public meeting on 23 April 2008 (minutes at www.wimbledoncivicforum.org.uk/whatson/fow.pdf) we had a steering group meeting on 11 July 2008, with:
Prof. Ann Bamford WCA
Mark Leclerq Wimbledon Society
Diane Sterck Merton Chamber of Commerce
Marcus Beale Wimbledon Civic Forum.
Merton Council and the MP were unable to attend, which is a pity, and we will follow this up with a meeting with lead officer Sue Harris as soon as possible.

Main points to report are as follows:
We have chosen a few items to concentrate on, not big budget but big impact. Some we initiate, some we support and influence

Station Forecourt and fridge on the bridge - Initiate: - leading from Wimbledon College of Art, aiming for a 12 month trail period of changing art installations, thereafter may continue - linking to local events as they happen - e.g. Bookfest

St Mark’s Place - pedestrianisation. Influence. The opportunity to make this a thriving pedestrian space with market stalls, cafe, library, church. Not a big or commercially viable farmers market as such, but an eclectic mix of uses, with some basic infrastructure and reorganisation fo parking arrangements.

Pedestrian Routes generally - influence -
Road closures - support temporary road closure as put forward by MCC
- support improvements to width and materials of pavements
- support decluttering

Wimbledon Arts Projects - initiate - WCA
linking art projects across the town centre
e.g. Domestic and General at Worple Road have an aboriginal art collection.

Green space - decluttering and greening. - influence -
Finding parks and benches to sit and eat a sandwich in lunch hour: possible spaces:
- Galustian Garden
- Worple Mews
- Rear of Drake House
- Queens Road
- South Park Gardens

Tourism: should bring something into station forecourt
People, volunteers, meeters and greeters, volunteer guides

Character Assessment of Wimbledon - influence - encourage council to commission.

Business Improvement District - influence- encourage businesses to support. to achieve urban improvements.

Cable car idea - no progress.

There will be another public meeting, in October, which we hope will be a formal consultation in October, st St Mark’s Church.

_________________________________

The 2012 group held a workshop on 20 September 2007 chaired by Marcus Beale, who reported progress to the Wimbledon: Going For Gold meeting on 21 January 2008.

At the workshop we asked: what do we mean by London, Merton, Wimbledon? Having characterised what these places mean and the images they conjured up, we then applied this to the reality of our town centre, and asked how they compare.

We looked at three particular areas:
- Wimbledon Station
- The Town Centre
- Going up the Hill

Ideas and actions coming out of the meeting included:

1. The Fridge on the bridge. This large white blank facade facing the station is pregnant with possibility for a light display.

Illustration: Illuminations in Malta by ETC London

2. The Station Forecourt and immediate environments are a mess: cluttered, chaotic, disorganised, scruffy. Could we tidy these areas up - introduce a tourism centre, incorporate a tented type cover to forecourt area?

3. Greening the town centre: Wimbledon is green and leafy in the popular imagination. We should have more planters, troughs, flowers, trees, and incorporate some of the techniques used at the All England Lawn Tennis Club which so successfully give the illusion of tennis 'in a country garden'.

4. Temporary screens/artworks for the Olympic weeks. LOCOG (the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games) have a programme to put large temporary screens in various town centres.

5. Coralling of pedestrians. People are not cattle or sheep and do not need pens and barriers to prevent movement in a 20mph 'safe town centre' zone. Safety is enhanced by eye contact between driver and pedestrian, and visual clutter masks this. We should clear some of the clutter, and in particular, the main pedestrian crossing between Argos/ Starbucks/ Natwest/ HSBC should allow people to walk diagonally across it during the safe pedestrian phase.

6. Re-pave in better materials? Granite and York stone, though more expensive than concrete, last longer, reduce maintenance and add value to the public domain.

7. St. Marks Place- enhance the character. There is a real opportunity to make a safe pleasant lively pedestrian space here. Allow café tables to spill out, re-route cars using the car park entrance from Alexandra Road, re-pave. Open up the south face of the library to liven up the place. Encourage and develop the market use.

8. Murals and urban art in conjunction with Wimbledon College of Art. We have a wonderful resource at our doorstep: an internationally renowned school of art. We should have temporary and permanent art works in the town centre enhancing the quality and enjoyment of our public space and giving a show case for the school and the imagination and skill of its students.

9. Cable Car to the common? The walk up the hill which links the Town Centre to the Village (4-500 yds.) is dull and boring. Why not make it fun and exciting? A cable car? This could run from the station, at high level up Wimbledon Hill Road using the green strip on the east of the road for structure. The project would stimulate the economies of both Town and Village, and could become an event and tourism draw in its own right. Funding: a modest charge to use and advertising: the opportunities are enormous.

Actions: We are in touch with
- Merton Council via Councillor Groves
- Raymond Kinsella of LOCOG
- Wimbledon College of Art via Prof. Ann Bamford
all of whom are supportive of the proposals.

We will be holding another workshop, with Councillor Tariq Ahmad on 23 April 2008. See what's on for more.

These notes by Marcus Beale.