We have worked together with the varied Mayfair communities and people across London, to transform Grosvenor Square intro extraordinary urban garden. Designed and governed collaboratively with its neighbours and other London communities, we aim to show how green spaces in cities can work harder for nature and the wellbeing of those who rely on them.
Alongside the ambitions of this specific project, in 2020 Grosvenor launched a Community Charter called ‘Positive Space’. This aims to set a new standard for public engagement across our business and ensure communities have a meaningful voice in the future of their neighbourhoods. There are four strands of this Community Charter – Listen first; Open up; Make it easier; Be accountable - and it was our intention to ensure that this project meets all of them to the highest standards and that everyone has a say in the process.
Prior to appointing Tonkin Liu, we had already engaged more than 1,000 people. First through an initial survey in 2017, and then an international Call for Ideas in 2018. These conversations helped shape the design brief and influenced an initial set of principles which we tested with various community members in 2019. Tonkin Liu were selected as the lead designer for Grosvenor Square in February 2020.
During the early stages of the process, we established a ‘scope of influence’, which enabled us to be open about and focus conversations on the things people could impact and deliver a meaningful programme.
We also shaped and tested the ‘Grosvenor Square Community Priorities’ with local communities, which were used as a consistent framework through which we shaped the design proposals and evaluated them against. Find out how the submitted designs respond to these priorities here.
To find out more about the engagement programme, please refer to the ‘Statement of Community Involvement’. This is a document we have produced as part of the planning application to provide a summary of public engagement to date and explains how feedback received helped shape the submitted proposals.
"What would you like from Grosvenor Square?" survey completed by 1,000 Londoners.
Management of Grosvenor Square returned to Grosvenor from Royal Parks.
International call for ideas.
Competition to select a design team.
Initial principles tested with community.
Meet the design team events to introduce Tonkin Liu and test design principles with the community.
Collected Community Priorities for Grosvenor Square.
Summer exhibition to share community priorities & gather feedback on initial design ideas.
Autumn exhibition to gather feedback on developing design ideas.
Refine design ideas
Local conversations, drop-ins, walks and pilot activities.
Gather feedback on detailed designs
In-person and online exhibition, local conversations and pilot activities
Planning submission
Sharing the submitted designs and encouraging participation in the statutory consultation
Planning approved
Planning application for submitted designs approved by Westminster City Council
Minor amendments Sharing the proposed minor amendments ahead of submitting a planning application to Westminster City Council
to be kept up to date with the project and get involved in shaping the square
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Grosvenor Square is a public garden managed on a not-for-profit basis by Grosvenor Property UK – visit www.grosvenor.com to find out more.
Grosvenor Property UK is part of Grosvenor © Grosvenor 2022. All rights reserved.
