Palmers Green Town Centre

Devonshire Square is a new outdoor cultural and community space which has been designed in collaboration with local communities and responds to their aspirations and ambitions for Palmers Green. Construction on the Square will commence in early January 2025 and be completed by end of March 2025.

Since 2022, local communities have been testing out the versatility of this space through leading and delivering their own community events and activities. These include markets, outdoor dining, public art and play, and planting.

Residents, communities and businesses have participated in a range of consultation and engagement activities to inform the design and function of Devonshire Square. These include drop-in sessions where local communities fed-back and commented on designs and models, focused meetings with key stakeholders including Palmers Green Action Team, Arbeit Studios and local businesses, and a co-design workshop at Laurel Park School, where year 10 students drew cherished local landmarks and key moments in Palmers Green’s history.

Community Engagement in concept design for Devonshire Square, May 2024

Community feedback on ideas for Devonshire Square's design, March 2024

Student's drawing of Broomfield Orchard and resulting design for mosaic paving stone

Student’s designs will be incorporated into the Square, forming a central pathway of brick mosaics through Devonshire Square.

The outcome of these interactions is to create a Square which will:

• Be a collective space and foster a stronger sense of community
• Be welcoming, accessible and have a clear identity
• Introduce more greening and planting
• Accommodate a range of events and activities led by the local community

Key Elements of the Design

• A flexible, open and accessible space, connected to the high street, with clear signage that makes it easy to find
• Transforming 50 m2 of hard surface into new greening areas, using sustainable drainage systems and supporting local biodiversity
• Providing informal seating providing spaces to rest or connect with others
• Including mosaic artworks depicting key moments in Palmers Green’s history, co-designed with students from Laurel Park School
• Providing power supply to support a diversity of community-led events and activities to be delivered on the Square
• Accommodating a shared surface area with clear signage encouraging cyclists to reduce their speed and respect pedestrians
• Reusing/repurposing existing pavement and materials as much as possible.

Detailed Design of Devonshire Square: November 2024

Devonshire Square Timeline: From Concept to Delivery

Meanwhile Interventions on Devonshire Road

Community-led markets on Devonshire Road

Strut the Square Fashion Show, 2024

Strut the Square Fashion Show, 2024

• Spring - Summer 2022: Public engagement to explore improvements to Devonshire Road
• Autumn 2022: Implementation of a ‘meanwhile design’ creating a community space, temporary planters, street furniture and public art
• Late 2022 - current: Residents, businesses and communities delivered events and activities on the Square including markets, live music and al fresco dining
• Autumn 2023 - Spring 2024: Key stakeholders and community groups participated in a series of events and activities to develop the permanent design of the space including pop-up events at Community Markets and art Arbeit Studios; and a co-design workshop held with Laurel Park School
• November 2024: Design finalised
• 6 January 2025: Re-install the playground in Hazelwood Primary School for future generations to enjoy
• January - March 2025: Construction of Devonshire Square
• April 2025: Launch of Devonshire Square and a new Place Plan for Palmers Green
• May 2025 - ongoing: Ongoing programme of community-led events and activities delivered on Devonshire Square, Year 2 pupils of Hazelwood School help maintain the green areas

A Festive Market will take place on Devonshire Square and in Arbeit Studios on Sunday 8 December, 10am - 4pm. Curated by Arbeit Studios Green Lanes, the market will showcase and sell arts, crafts, objects and food from local makers, serve free mulled wine and feature live performances from a local choir. There is also the opportunity to pop into Arbeit Studios to visit the 'Line of Thought' exhibition by artist Harriette Meynell, commissioned through Arbeit's High Street Happenings Residency programme.

The Festive Market is the latest in a series of events led by Arbeit, Palmers Green Action Team and a variety of local partners, designed to activate Devonshire Road, ahead of its redesign and launch as 'Devonshire Square' in early Spring next year. At the market, the Journeys and Places team will share the latest designs for Devonshire Square, showing the creation of a new outdoor community and cultural space in the heart of Palmers Green.

Devonshire Square has been designed in collaboration with local communities and stakeholders, and responds to their aspirations and ambitions for Palmers Green. The project is aligned with the objectives of the 2022 Town Centre Action Plan which is to create a town centre that grows and greens through the involvement of its communities, diversifies the economy, promote cultural activity and improves the public realm.

Thank you to those who took part in the statutory consultation on the proposed pedestrianisation of the Devonshire Road junction with Green Lanes (reference TMO1503/S249) earlier this year.

Following careful consideration of the objections and representations received, and a report requesting approval to proceed with the making of the S249 Order under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 to pedestrianise the area, the Cabinet Member for Transport has decided to move forward with the proposal.

Changes to extinguish vehicular rights and pedestrianise the highway at the junction of Devonshire Road and Green Lanes, Palmers Green, which will facilitate the creation of ‘Devonshire Square’, a new outdoor community and cultural space that improves the amenities in the area.

The Notice of Making of the traffic order that details the proposed changes (reference TMO1503/S249) has been published. The Notice of Making, Statement of Reasons and Traffic Management Order can be viewed here. The document is also saved under the Key Documents here.

Arbeit Studios, Palmers Green are excited to announce Harriette as their fourth artist in residence as part of the High Street Happenings Residency Programme.

Harriette's practice incorporates sound, installation, drawing, printmaking, performance and photography. With a socially engaged practice, themes such as gentrification and community run through her work. She has shown work in a range of traditional and non-traditional spaces such as Tate Modern and an east London garage.

The proposal is to realise new, site specific work based on the shops in Palmers Green and the people that run and frequent them. An initial aim is to work with local shopkeepers to explore the outside and inside of their shops, with particular emphasis on the threshold, and what makes people go in, or not. The focus is not re-imagining the high street per se, but better understanding, and appreciating, what is already there, including the typically unseen, and to create alternative narratives of familiar spaces.

As part of the residency Harriette will run free community workshops, with more information to follow.

The Final Exhibition will run from Friday 29th November to Sunday 15th December 2024.

More information can be found here: Arbeit Studios — High Street Happenings Artist Residency Programme

Earlier in the summer, Arbeit Studios Green Lanes, commissioned local artist Vedi Roy to deliver an event to bring the community together and activate Devonshire Square in a fresh, fun and inclusive way.

Vedi partnered with local social enterprise and charity shop Philanthropy, and came up with the fantastic idea to deliver a fashion show on Devonshire Square, with clothes selected from Philanthropy's charity shop and modelled by local people. The images below speak for themselves. Over two hundred people attended the event to cheer on the models and members of the public joined the catwalk show too.

Strut the Square attracted members of the LGTBQ+ community and younger residents. Many of the participants felt the event built their confidence, enabled freedom of expression and challenged stereotypes. Philanthropy said it was one of their most successful and satisfying experiences of working with the local community. The feedback on this event, and the way it fostered a sense of community and unity, is so important and exactly what Journeys and Places aims to achieve through our community partnerships and projects.

Huge thanks and congratulations to Vedi Roy, Philanthropy, Arbeit and all the participants and communities who made this event such as resounding success.

Following the event, a local LGBTQ+ network is being set up, with plans to run a similar event in the Winter. We can't wait!

Arbeit Studios are delighted to announce the fourth round of their Artist Residency Programme, located in Arbeit Studios, Green Lanes (N13). All Enfield creatives, either individuals and collectives, working across visual arts to performing arts, sound design to digital art, are invited to propose work that will be made and exhibited in response to the theme of ‘Community’ and spend 12 weeks working in Arbeit’s studio just off Green Lanes in Palmers Green.

This open call is for a residency between Monday 9th September to Sunday 1st December 2024, and includes an exhibition later in December. The closing date for applications is Wednesday 4th September 2024. The selected artist will be offered a free self-contained studio space for 12 weeks to work on their practice and to develop and create the work for the exhibition. All Enfield based artists are welcome to apply, and Arbeit particularly welcomes applications from creatives living in Palmers Green. For further information and how to apply, please visit: https://www.arbeit.org.uk/highsthappenings

Arbeit Studios Palmers Green, launched in April 2023 with support from the Workspace Launch Fund by Enfield Council, and is a mix-use creative and community space with an array of activities and programming taking place in the workspace and throughout Palmers Green.

Following engagement with residents, businesses, community groups, and other stakeholders, Enfield Council is proposing the pedestrianisation of the highway at the junction of Devonshire Road and Green Lanes (known as Devonshire Square), Palmers Green, to facilitate the creation of an outdoor community space. This follows on from the decision taken in February 2024 to make the previous Experimental Traffic Order TG52/1503 permanent which excluded vehicular access from the junction. The pedestrianisation of the junction builds further on proposals to facilitate the creation of an outdoor community space.

More information

More information, including plans of the proposal changes and traffic order, can be viewed under the Key Documents section on the right-hand side of this page.

Have your say

Please view the proposed changes here.

We invite residents and anyone interested to provide an objection or representation on the draft Traffic Order through the statutory consultation. This consultation is separate to the engagement on the permanent designs that are being developed in parallel, and together with this statutory consultation will inform the final permanent designs for the space. This project is being delivered by Enfield Council’s Journeys and Places team as part of the Council’s commitment to creating and improving public spaces where everyone can thrive.

Objections or representations can be made in any of the following ways:

• Online via the survey at https://letstalk.enfield.gov.uk/palmersgreen,
• emailed to traffic@enfield.gov.uk or journeysandplaces@enfield.gov.uk,
• posted to: Journeys and Places, Enfield Council, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA, or
• posted to: Head of Traffic and Transportation, Civic Centre, Silver Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 3XD.

Copies of the draft Order and relevant plan may be inspected at all reasonable hours (Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm inclusive) during 28 days commencing on the 12th June 2024, at the Town Library, 66 Church Street, Enfield EN2 6AX. Digital copies may also be obtained (free of charge) by emailing traffic@enfield.gov.uk quoting the reference TMO1503/S249.

Following the statutory consultation, a formal report will be produced that summarises the feedback received. Enfield Council will provide a response and use the comments received to make a decision on whether or not to implement the proposed changes.

Enfield Council invites you to view the proposed design for Devonshire Square and share your views at an event on Friday 24 May, or online by Sunday 2 June 2024. This project is being delivered by the Council’s Journeys and Places programme and aims to create a more welcoming and flexible community space for local residents and businesses.

Following an Experimental Traffic Order (ETO) and road closure in 2022, Devonshire Road underwent a temporary redesign to create a more welcoming community space for local residents, businesses and visitors. This included a period of community engagement and a statutory consultation, following which the ETO was made permanent in February 2024. Since then, local communities and businesses have been testing out the versatility of this space through delivering community markets, greening, outdoor dining and hospitality and public art. At the community market held in Devonshire Square on Saturday 2 March 2024 we shared some early-stage designs and ideas with local residents, businesses and visitors, and gathered their feedback. We have now progressed the designs further and would like to hear your views.

View the Indicative Concept Design for Devonshire Square and share your views

Please join us at Arbeit Studios, rear of 310 Green Lanes, N13 5TT on Friday 24 May from 4pm to 6pm to view the plans for Devonshire Square and help shape its future. We invite residents, businesses, and anyone interested to attend and meet Council officers from the Journeys and Places team, along with Hayatsu Architects who are leading on the designs to transform Devonshire Road into in a permanent cultural and community space. The design has been informed by the feedback gathered from the local community and stakeholders so far, and your input at this event will inform the next phase of detailed design. Please drop-by anytime between 4pm and 6pm to share your views, have a chat and enjoy some delicious cake provided by local business Le Grand Jour. If you are attending the event, please note that the toilet is located on the first floor up a flight of stairs at Arbeit Studios. However, there are ground floor toilets located at the Olive Cafe and Bakery and Le Grand Jour Cafe nearby on the corner of Devonshire Road.

If you are unable to attend the event and would like to share your views on the concept design, please view the concept design and design inspiration document and then complete the survey online. The design can be found on the right-hand side of the page under ‘Key Documents’. Please note the survey will be open until Sunday 2 June 2024.Thank you for your involvement so far and we welcome your input as we continue this project.

A big thank you to all the people who made it out to the market on Devonshire Square last Saturday (despite the inclement weather!) - to support local traders and businesses, and share their feedback and ideas on the future design of the Square.

Key take-aways included:

• A collective space is needed to create a stronger sense of community
• The Square needs a clear identity - some signage or other feature will make the location recognizable.
• The square should be level, open, welcoming; and easy to find and access
• It would be great to expand the current uses of the Square, to include live entertainment, screenings of film and major sport event, flower markets
• When having live events, being respectful and considerate of businesses/houses near the square is important
• People would like to see more greenery and plants on the Square

Hayatsu - the architects designing Devonshire Square, really enjoyed meeting everyone, hearing their feedback and ideas; and having the opportunity to learn more about the area. The feedback gathered on Saturday will inform the stage of the design process, which we will share in early May.

Huge thanks to Palmers Green Action team and Arbeit for their amazing organisation and delivery of the Community and Makers markets.

Following an experimental traffic order and road closure in 2022, Devonshire Road underwent a temporary redesign, to create a more welcoming, flexible community space. Over the past eighteen months, different communities and local businesses have been testing out the versatility of this space by delivering community markets, outdoor dinning, greening, public art and play areas. This is to explore Devonshire Road's potential to become a permanent community 'square' and open air cultural space.

Thanks to everyone who took part in the statutory consultation on the Experimental Traffic Order TG52/1503. Anyone could make an objection or representation in writing within a period of six months that began on 8 September 2022. Please see Appendix B_Responses to Objections under key documents on the right hand side of this page.

Following a review of the feedback received throughout the six months from residents, businesses, key local partners, and emergency services, a decision has been made to make the Experimental Traffic Order permanent. Please see Traffic management orders (TG52s) | Enfield Council. This will come into force on 28th February 2024.

At the next community market on Saturday 2 March, officers from the Journeys and Places team and members of Hayatsu, the designers working on this space, will share their approach so far. Residents and visitors are invited to contribute their thoughts and ideas, and help shape this exciting new cultural and community space for Palmers Green

Join us at the Devonshire Square Market on Saturday 2 March 2024 from 11am – 2pm and meet the team working with the local community to design ‘Devonshire Square.’