Thames Landscape Strategy - Hampton to Kew -

'To fence or not to fence?'

The panorama from Richmond Hill is one of the most special views in the world. It is also the only view in the UK to be protected by an act of parliament. For decades though, the appalling fence line between Terrace Field and Terrace Gardens blighted the immediate foreground to the View forming a harsh boundary between the formal gardens and the meadow. As part of the works to Richmond Hill carried out under Arcadia (which also includes the resurfacing of the Terrace, repair of steps and railings and tree planting) one of the first projects has been to remove this unnatural boundary, and work is now well under way.

By removing the clutter and urban nature of the boundary between Terrace Gardens and Terrace Field, the plan is to open up the view spanning the formal Victorian gardens, the wooded glades and the naturalness, brightness and openness of the meadow sitting proudly above the bend in Thames. The consultation results were strongly in favour of removing the Terrace Field fence, along with the adjacent shrubbery. What was less clear however, was the number of trees which should be removed in the process, where to place the path and where to reposition a fence, indeed if a fence was needed at all. This raised an interesting question – ‘to fence or not to fence?’ – a subject which is being discussed in relation to public gardens across the country.

There are two aspects which need to be considered in assessing this question. The first relates to one of the main aims of Arcadia, which is to design projects which help to connect and provide better access to the different open spaces, and the second relates to the question about whether fences and locked gates increase or reduce anti-social behaviour?

The aim of Arcadia to establish to encourage greater movement between the different open spaces at different parts of the day, by a wide cross section of people has meant looking at each site within a wide context, and part of this process has been to change boundaries, entrances and steps in order to make places more accessible. With this in mind, the new line of the fence between Terrace Field and Terrace Gardens has been chosen to be as inconspicuous as possible; set within existing hedge lines, changes in level and shrubberies to increase connectivity, improve the areas appearance and generally make the gardens feel much more welcoming. In the short term, a temporary fence is to be installed. The decision as to whether to replace this with a permanent fence, along the new disguised line, with lockable gates is being discussed by Richmond upon Thames Council Members, with advice from colleagues in the Parks and Open Spaces Section, the Metropolitan Police and the Arcadia Executive Committee. Further consultation on this issue will take place during spring and summer.

On the issue of whether or not fences encourage anti-social behaviour, whilst it is not always the case (as there are many places where keeping people out does work very well), in certain sites it actually increases the opportunity for vandalism, crime and anti-social behaviour. This is because a fence with locked gates can never keep everyone out all of the time especially if that person is determined to get in – and once in who else is there to keep an eye on what is going on? For this reason it has been suggested that some barriers restricting access to parks should be removed altogether and gates should be kept unlocked at night. The idea is to encourage usage in the open spaces at all parts of the day and evening, which will in itself act as a deterrent to anti-social activity – self-policing in a way. This extra activity does not mean shipping in coach loads of tourists, nor does it mean allowing new ‘attractions’ to be established destroying the peace and quiet of an area. It does however mean designing places which local people will want to come to and feel safe in once there whatever time of day –even during the evenings.

The other major piece of work that Arcadia is carrying out in this first stage is on Cholmondeley Walk. It is interesting that both Cholmondeley Walk and Richmond Hill Terrace were originally created for ‘promenading’, the former to walk by the river and the latter to admire the view of the river. These two sites were linked to each other by Hill Rise and later by Terrace Gardens, with people walking between the two.

This idea of ‘promenading’ was once the height of fashion but is seen as quaint and old fashioned by many now. Personally I love to see people of all ages and backgrounds out walking, sharing their surroundings and meeting each other, still so popular in many other British and European cities. As a boy, I remember talking to my grandmother and asking her how she met my grandfather. They met, she said, on a Friday evening when as usual the people of the town were wearing their finest clothes and promenading up and down the main street till the early hours, talking, meeting and generally being seen. But wander down to the riverside or up to Richmond Hill after dark today, even on a hot summers evening and you are lucky to meet anyone outside the ‘honey pot’ centres. Yet it has to be one of the most pleasant places anywhere in London to walk, sit and be.

What Arcadia is building into its many projects is the infrastructure to encourage a wider cross section of people to use their landscape, at different times of the day walking from one place to another, getting close to wildlife and enjoying their surroundings – an updated version of ‘promenading’ if you like. Part of this process is to make the connection between the river and Richmond Hill much more accessible and that involves looking at the way that open spaces such as the Terrace Field and Gardens are landscaped, fenced and locked.

We have started work this week on another important aspect of the Arcadia scheme – lighting improvements to Richmond Riverfront (all our lighting works take light pollution very much into account). The way a place is lit is so important and good lighting can make such a difference in making people feel safe. At the moment we are testing new light bulbs and by the end of March the lights along the riverfront will have been upgraded to a soft white light replacing the miserable dull orange types that are found there at present.

When all these separate works proposed under Arcadia are complete we hope it will encourage many more people to enjoy, sit and promenade along the river, up through the Terrace Field and along Richmond Hill before making their way back down to the town. And going by evidence from parks and open spaces across the world, this extra activity will have a far greater impact on reducing anti-social behaviour, noise and vandalism than any amount of fencing or locked gates.

River Fact. Did you know that 600,000 tonnes of sewage was spilled into the Thames in one storm last summer?
A special public meeting has been set up by the Kew Society at which the Thames Tideway Strategic Study Group will present the findings of their four – year study on discharges in the Thames and their proposals for managing this, a £2bn Interceptor. The meeting is being hosted by the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames at York House, York Street, Twickenham on Tuesday 15th March from 5pm, for 5.30pm to 8pm. Please contact the Kew Society or email parks@richmond.gov.uk to reserve a place.

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