Walk Local Talk Local trails

Town Centres

We received funding from the European Regional Development Fund's Welcome Back Fund to support our town centres and high streets to recover from the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic. We delivered a package of activities to welcome back residents to our town centres after the lockdown closures.

Banners, digital notice boards and floor stickers

Colourful lamppost banners and digital noticeboards signalled a warm welcome to six of our town centres. Floor stickers helped show how to navigate the town centres in a Covid-secure manner.

Walk Local Talk Local Trails

To celebrate the stories of our town centres we have launched three  public audio trails. Each trail features audio clips from residents sharing the history, personal memories and hopes for the future of their area. Along the trails there are several art works that relate to some of the stories.

Trail 1: Wanstead, Woodford, South Woodford

Trail 2: Gants Hill, Barkingside, Fairlop, Hainault

Trail 3: Chadwell Heath, Goodmayes, Seven Kings, Ilford Lane

The audio clips are accessible through physical QR codes printed on nearly 90 plaques attached to lampposts, traffic signs and on the pavement.

To listen to the stories, look out for a plaque, scan the QR code on your phone and the story will start. there is no need to download an app or sign up to anything. 

The trails have been developed by Jan Kattein Architects. 

Temporary cycle parking

To help residents access our high streets by bike, we have place 18 temporary cycle parking racks across our town centres. Research has shown that people who visit town centres by bike or foot tend to spend more, so we hope this will provide a boost to our local businesses.

Greening

We installed floor and rail planters at various locations across our town centres. they will filled with plants for both the summer and the winter.

Deep cleaning

On top of the regular cleaning, all town centres have received an extra deep cleaning treatment. The cleaning was focused on removing chewing gum and other stains. In total, approximately 75,000m2 of pavement has been cleaned which is about the size of 25 football fields.