The scene this week in Devonshire Road
If you've walked along Green Lanes in recent weeks and glanced up Devonshire Road you'll have noticed some rather puzzling changes. First, a poem by Stevie Smith appearing on a wall, then some strange drawings on the road surface, and this week the slightly bizarre and somewhat chaotic scene shown above, with stairs that go nowhere. So what's going on?
It's the long awaited Devonshire Plaza under construction - a new public space where people of all ages will be able to pass the time of day with others, sit, eat and drink and play. When finished it will look like the artist's impression below.
An artist's impression of what is being created: Devonshire Plaza
The idea using the end of Devonshire Road as a space for people to spend time with one another goes back to 2019, when Better Streets for Enfield set up the borough's first "parklet", which was there for a few hours only but proved popular with both passers-by and local businesses. Parklets are a concept that was devised by Brenda Puech from the Hackney Living Streets group and has been taking off around the capital.
The September 2019 parklet in Devonshire Road was a modest affair and was only there for a few hours, but it showed the concept's potential
The pioneering Better Streets for Enfield parklet led to Enfield Council taking up the concept. After consulting local businesses the council announced that it would be installing a commercially built moveable parklet at the same spot in late 2021 - but the location was then switched to Chase Side in Southgate, where it remains to this day. The reason for the change of plan was the decision to go for a much more ambitious scheme in Palmers Green - the Plaza that is now under construction.
Links
A plaza for PG? (Palmers Green Community 17 November 2021)
What a perfect day for a pop-up parklet! (Palmers Green Community 20 October 2019)
