ACE

Wild West End and FitzPark

Building an urban oasis in London's West End

Six major property owners are on a mission to regreen the capital

Building an urban oasis

Client

Find out more

ACE member

Find out more

An ambitious initiative to bring nature back into the heart of the city.

  • Location

    London

  • Client

    Wild West End

  • ACE Member

    Arup

  • Services

    Measurement & more

  • Project
    Summary

  • Delivery date

    31/08/2017

  • Cost

    £1.00m

  • Delivery partners

    Wildlife Trusts, BIDs

  • Project length

    5 years

Six major property owners are on a mission to regreen the capital, guided by holistic impact monitoring from Arup.

Wild West End in London is an ambitious initiative, bringing together a range of expertise across property ownership, green infrastructure and science communication.

A project of this scale and breadth needed an interdisciplinary, adaptable and responsive technical partner. Drawing on team specialisms across GIS and sustainable urban planning, Arup is providing impact monitoring of both new and existing ‘regreened’ sites. 

Meanwhile, Arup's FitzPark was Camden borough’s first ‘parklet’ designed to provide a cost-effective, temporary urban habitat, launched in 2017.

Insights from Arup show that as well as fostering biodiversity, FitzPark has increased self-reported wellbeing in the local area by 41% and has a 100% approval rate from neighbouring businesses. 

Guided by Arup’s ongoing monitoring, the property owners have been able to highlight the successes of the initiative, as well as the potential for future work. This in turn has allowed them to garner support, and feed into evidence-based strategic guidance on future regreening efforts in Fitzrovia, London and beyond. 

image slider - consultancy40ImageSlider

FitzPark (Arup)

Wild West End is a unique partnership between Church Commissioners for England, The Crown Estate, Great Portland Estates, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland, The Portman Estate, The Howard de Walden Estate and Shaftesbury.

Central London’s largest property owners are working with local business groups and residents to encourage birds, bees and bats back into the heart of London, and create greater connections with nature for residents, visitors and workers to enjoy.

Lee Lyons - consultancy40Quote
The initiative demonstrates how small spaces can be adapted to provide people friendly uses, supporting the vision for a healthier urban environment for residents, workers and visitors. FitzPark has helped enhance local character, creating a new destination that encourages people to dwell on Windmill Street rather than pass through.

Lee Lyons,

Fitzrovia Partnership

Video - consultancy40Video