News - NSL

Project Centre - NCP Services' consultancy business - scooped its second major award of the year by winning the Walking and Public Realm Award at the London Transport Awards on Wednesday 18 March. Earlier in the month Project Centre won at the British Parking Awards. The judges recognised that Project Centre?s design for Walworth Road produced a vibrant, high quality public space for the local community as well as reducing accidents and without delaying buses or ambulances. After extensive traffic modelling, Project Centre was able to show that removing the existing bus lanes on both sides of the street would not delay buses. This allowed the design team to widen pavements, remove railings, and introduce 40 street trees which helps halve the carbon footprint of the new street lighting. The new design has proved to be an immediate success. As well as being recognised by the judges, reactions from local residents are also very favourable. A local resident said: „I am delighted with how the Walworth Road has changed. Everyone has much more space now with the wider pavements and it is much safer. If only all town centres in London were like this! I cannot tell you what a difference it has made.? „Project Centre?s passion for design with Southwark Council?s vision has proved to be a perfect partnership.? said Project Centre?s managing director, Mark Raisbeck. 'Redesigning this busy arterial road involved a number of challenges and is a blueprint for how to regenerate town centres on even the busiest streets.' Councillor Jeff Hook, executive member for environment and transport at Southwark Council, said “We?re really proud of what our partnership has achieved on this road. Working together with Project Centre, we carried out what many might have thought to be too radical a redesign for a busy arterial road. But the reality has proved doubters wrong, and our vision for a safer, more free-flowing and overall more pleasant stretch of road has come true.” Judge Nick Lester said, 'The awards are now seen by all who work in the field as one of the premier achievements they can record'. Ends

For more information, please contact Mike Eames on 020 7430 6949 or by email at: mike.eames@projectcentre.co.uk