Entry Reference:

Wimbledon 2034: game, set and match...

Vision
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Objectives
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an entry into the Wimbledon Town Centre Ideas Competition, 2014

(1) What could Wimbledon Town Centre be like in 2030 (2) How do we get there
(3) How could Wimbledon respond to changing economies and demographics?

Civilised streets

Mix and diversity

Green web

Social spaces

A home for all

Wimbledon

Optimise access

Pedestrian and cycle friendly spaces will be created

in the town centre, creating a more attractive
environment for people to visit and spend time in.

The town centre will have a wide range and mix of

uses, large and small. The town centre will be about
more than shopping. It will be a place for people to
meet. It will include shops, businesses, homes,
community and cultural uses. Local and
independent businesses will thrive.

New parkland spaces and tree planting will take

place, greening streets and enriching biodiversity.
Opportunities for local food production will be
provided.

Space for street entertainment will be created in the

town centre, responding to and enhancing the
current cultural offer. These places will provide
space for people to meet and relax. They will be the
towns living room.

A wide range and mix of housing will be

accommodated across Wimbledon, providing choice
and the opportunity for all to make Wimbledon their
home at all stages of their life.

The town centre will embrace and be at the forefront

of digital technology, enhancing the visitor
experience and viability of local businesses.

Transformational change in the town centre will be

underpinned by an excellent public transport
network, providing frequent and rapid services to,
from and around Wimbledon.

The Broadway

The Complete Street

Guardian
Wimbledon

Station neighbourhood

.co.uk

ADVANTAGE WIMBLEDON

Transformation of town gets royal approval as Crossrail station opens

Common service duct

with easy access
Active street frontage

Footway

Cycle
lane

Flexible
space*

Carriageway

Cycle
lane

Footway
inc. SUDS

Report by A. Writer

Active street frontage

Features Editor

*space for parking, street furniture, parklets, bus shelter etc

In the future Wimbledon streets will be redesigned to have a

better balance between users. Below ground services will be
rationalised to provide easy access and reduce the impact of
ongoing maintenance.

1. Educational / community use

2. New routes connecting with existing
neighbourhoods
3. Geodesic domes for urban agriculture
4. Leisure and recreation space
5. Revitalised commercial buildings
6. New station entrance and town square
7. Mixed use retail, commercial and residential
uses above station, extending Centre Court
8. Residential development, with variety of
housing types and tenures
9. Linear park, incorporating wild meadows
and play space

The future Wimbledon will have a pedestrian and cycle friendly High Street, with new tree planting, space for cafes and
market stalls. Vehicle access will be limited.

Acupunture

Glue & repair

Small targeted projects

Stitch

Public realm and movement strategies

Connecting Wimbledon across the tracks

WIN!

Watch the Dons,

back home at
Plough Lane,
in the new
premiership
season!
Enter our season
ticket prize draw
Friday 11 August 2034 See sports pages

Still proudly reporting the local news in print form

In the future Wimbledon a new neighbourhood

will be created, integrating with and connecting
communities on both sides of the railway lines.

Physical
strategies
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FW0001

The centre of Wimbledon was

packed yesterday as Prince
George, carrying out his first official duties as Counsellor of State,
declared our new railway station
open. Always unique as the only
station in London to combine
trains, tubes and trams, it now
also takes on special significance
as the jewel in the Crossrail
crown. Services began operating
earlier this year, but it is only now
that we can see the real beauty of
the new station complex.
The Prince was effusive in his
praise for the new station which
rediscovers the golden age of the
railway. Wimbledon looks amazing he said. The transformation
is something to behold. Crossrail 2
is the same age as me, but is looking far better! he quipped.
The former station concourse
and crowded concessions have
made way for a new curved, glass
structure that welcomes the traveller. The platforms have been
extended and a new entrance
opened where the fridge on the
bridge used to stand. This is
home to new shops, civic facilities and businesses. We had to
question why the most sustainable
location in the town centre was
given over to a car park said the
leader of the Council. It just
didnt make sense.
At the heart of the new station
quarter is a new plaza. It is a
grand new social space, a place
to meet and relax. It is the towns
living room. The style of the plaza
is reflected throughout the town
centre, with streets and spaces

Interior: Wimbledon station, 2034

binding the centre together. This

cohesiveness has helped foster
real civic pride and ownership
amongst the community.
The real surprise is above and
beyond the station, where a
dramatic new development has
risen over the railway. This
city on rails has stitched the
town centre together, provided
new homes, green space and
wild meadows, connecting the
Common, Wimbledon Park and
Wandle Regional Park with the
town centre through a green web.
The development optimises the
location.
A conscious decision was taken
back in the 2010s to ensure
development was of an appropriate scale and grain, respecting
and responding to the existing
fabric. There was much debate at
the time about the impact of tall
buildings across the capital. In
Wimbledon we bucked the trend
and have been rewarded with a
new urban neighbourhood that
already feels like it has been here
forever.

Image source: Farrells

Many of the visitors lining the

streets to see the Prince explored
the town centre for themselves.
They visited the many shops, ate
at one of the many fine-dining
restaurants, watched a show at
the Theatre. They noticed how
easy it is to walk around the
town. The car is no longer king.
Place takes precedence.
At the end of the day fireworks
lit up the night sky. Many stayed
to continue the festivities on
into the night, taking in one of
the towns premier night-spots.
Whether the Prince did we can
only guess. However, he does
take after his Uncle.
Although the city on rails is a
real game changer, it is the combined impact of smaller projects
that have been put in place over
the last twenty years that have
really transformed Wimbledon.
Smaller development projects,
such as the cultural centre next to
the Theatre, shop front improvements, street greening and junction redesign have been key to
Wimbledons success.

Our hero, the head of planning,

takes up the story, We decided
very early that we needed to take
TfL head on. And we won. The
Broadway was always too broad.
We put it on a road-diet. The
traffic has been tamed, trees planted, and more space for pedestrians
and cyclists created.
The Broadway is now an attractive Boulevard. It is up there
with the best that Barcelona and
Paris can offer. It provides a
relaxed and convivial shopping
environment, with space for al
fresco dining. On weekends
small parklets pop up, with stalls
selling crafts produce grown at
the new urban farm. Once a
month, the Wimbledon Ciclovia
gives the heart of the town over
to pedestrians and cyclists. Local
and independent stores and businesses are thriving, complementing national retailers.
The latest digital technology is
hardwired into the town, enhancing the visitor experience and
strengthening the local offer.
Wimbledon is smart, but more

importantly, liveable. Creative

industries have taken root round
the station, attracted by fantastic
connections, local culture and
quality of place. The range of
housing and excellent educational attainment has attracted many
to make Wimbledon their home
of choice. We have a tolerant and
open community that has welcomed change and taken a lead
role in making this happen.
The transformation of Wimbledon emerged from the Future
Wimbledon ideas competition
launched some twenty years ago.
The future is well and truly now.
Known globally for The Championships, Wimbledons reputation
has now been enhanced as the
premier town centre in south
west London. We can now all
proudly say that Wimbledon is
ace!

More inside:

Editorial comment
Property
Business
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p.10
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Tomorrows news, today!

6
1.
2.
3.
4.

Streetscape improvements
High St gateway improvements
Shopfront improvements
Enhance environment for small
businesses
5. Sensitive redevelopment of YMCA
6. Town centre gateway improvements
7. Mixed use development of car

8 9

10

11

12

park site
8. Public space improvements at Theatre
9. Cultural use on car park site
10. Reuse of vacant buildings
11. Shopfront and building heights
policy area
12. Public space improvements by
leisure centre

1. New station arrival space

2. Junction realignment and
rationalisation of road space
3. Limited vehicular access along
Broadway, with Hartfield Road
returned to two way operation
4. Entry treatments to side roads,
providing pedestrian priority

5. Worple Road character area

with rationalised vehicular
movements
6. High Street character area
7. Junction realignment and
rationalisation of road space
8. Junction gateway design with
improved pedestrian crossing

1. New station square

2. Development over and above
railway land
3. Linear park and wild meadows
4. Urban farm

5. Mixed use development over

railway
6. New connections to existing
communities
7. New development links in with
the existing urban form

Make big plans; aim high in

hope and work...
Let your watchword be order and
your beacon beauty.
Daniel Burnham