Public Realm Improvements in Southbury: Councillor Site Visit

Last week, we were pleased to welcome Sabri Ozaydin, Cabinet Member for Environment and Placemaking, and Mohammad Islam, Ward Councillor for Ponders End, for a site visit to view progress on the Shaping Southbury programme.

The visit followed the 1km route of public realm improvements, stretching from Southbury Road along Kingsway and through to Queensway. The works are focused on enhancing the local environment, creating greener streets, and improving the overall experience for residents, businesses and visitors.

A key focus of the visit was the installation of new rain gardens at the junction of Kingsway and Queensway. These sustainable features are now being implemented as part of the wider works and are designed to help manage surface water, improve biodiversity, and add attractive planting to the streetscape.

The programme also includes traffic calming measures to help reduce vehicle speeds and improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists. Further along Queensway, additional rain gardens are also being delivered, helping to create new consistent greening along the route.

The councillors were able to see first-hand how the works are progressing on site and discuss the next stages of delivery with the project team.

The Shaping Southbury improvements aim to:

• Enhance the look and feel of the area

• Support safer and more accessible pedestrian routes

• Introduce more greenery and climate-resilient features

• Deliver traffic calming measures to reduce vehicle speeds

• Strengthen the identity of Southbury

It was a positive and productive visit, highlighting the continued investment in Southbury and the steady progress being made on the ground.

We look forward to sharing further updates as the programme continues to progress and improvements take shape across the area!