Children help design the future of Old Kent Road

Children from Pilgrims Way Primary School have taken part in a series of workshops on the future of Old Kent Road.

More than 30 Year 4 pupils took part in the workshops which were run by Farrells and Southwark Council.

In April, a team put together by Farrells were appointed by the council to help produce new design guidelines for development between Sandgate Street and Verney Road (known as site allocation OKR 13).

As part of this project, the Farrells team is engaging with people who live, work and study in the area, including children.

Pilgrims Way Primary school is based just off Old Kent Road, on the Tustin estate, and the pupils took part in several creative workshops over the course of a week in May. The children heard about the changes taking place in the area and discussed what features they thought could improve their neighbourhood.

From video game arcades to chocolate factories, football pitches to urban beaches, the pupils weren’t stuck for ideas. The children developed their concepts by drawing and colouring and even built models for an imaginary pavilion that could be the centrepiece of a future Livesey Park.

The Farrells team were impressed with the quality of the children’s work, their creativity and the thought they gave to important issues such as the environment, diversity and accessibility.

Alongside further engagement with local residents, these workshops will feed into Farrells’ final proposals and will help to refine the proposed mix of uses and adaptability of site allocation OKR13.