Have you ever felt that Bloomsbury is not exactly friendly to pedestrians? Have you felt that our green spaces are under-used? Are you tired of the traffic jams in Gower Street’s one-way system? Well, you are not the only one! On 23 November 2006, world-renowned architect and planner Sir Terry Farrell unveiled his plans for a rejuvenated Bloomsbury: “Bloomsbury – The Strategic Vision”. This wide-ranging vision, presented at University College London, will not turn into reality overnight. It should be viewed as the first step in a lengthy process with an ambitious aim: to transform the area into the UK’s leading cultural and educational quarter.
Sir Terry’s plan was jointly commissioned by the London Borough of Camden, UCL and the London Development Agency. The proposals were arrived at after consultation with many residents, landowners and institutions of Bloomsbury, including the Bedford Estate.
Introduced at the launch by UCL’s President and Provost, Professor Malcolm Grant, Sir Terry said: “In recent years, the area’s landscape and public realm have deteriorated, and much of Bloomsbury is dominated by heavy traffic flows which create severance and discontinuity.”
Telling us that he wants to “civilise the streets”, Sir Terry was particularly critical of one-way streets and “gyratories” as contributors to congestion. “There is no reason why Russell Square could not handle two-way traffic,” he said.
Sir Terry’s solution comes in the form of six “mini masterplans”, which together will create an urban environment that respects both Bloomsbury’s rich history and its position as an oasis within the West End. The two overriding goals are to reclaim Bloomsbury’s squares and streets for pedestrians and to redesign parks and thoroughfares to provide easy access to neighbouring areas – Oxford Street, Fitzrovia, Covent Garden and Holborn.
The six mini masterplans are:
· Bloomsbury’s Squares
· The Museum Quarter
· Two-Way Traffic
· Pedestrian Movement
· The Design Manual
· The Universities Plan.
For example, the Universities Plan would transform the way that staff, students and the public negotiate their way around UCL’s many buildings. It also proposes a ‘Universities High Street’ – focused on Malet Place – which would run from the UCL Front Quad south to the British Museum, taking in the University of London, RADA and Birkbeck College along the way.
Among the plans for UCL are:
- a direct link between the Front Quad and the Cruciform Building, either through the introduction of a shared surface or the construction of a bridge
- the creation of a ‘South Quad’ which would directly link the Main Quad via the Wilkins Building to Malet Place
- the creation of an active frontage on the South Quad
- a covered route at the north end of Malet Place to create a more sympathetic student environment.
The plans are intended as an ongoing reference document, Sir Terry explained: “We have not tried to ‘solve’ all the area’s problems. What this document does is to identify specific projects and prioritise actions within each mini-masterplan. Together, and in part, these will have a fundamentally positive impact on Bloomsbury over a period of time.”
As the presentation represented a vision rather than proposals, no dates or financing were discussed. However, it is hoped that Sir Terry’s vision will inspire new proposals and, most important, a new and integrated way of looking at Bloomsbury. “Earlier generations created very beatiful buildings in Bloomsbury,” Sir Terry said, “but recent generations and the motor car have wrought much destruction. I want the new to match the quality of the old.”
