The Ardleigh Road Parklet

Building relationships to create and maintain a parklet

The Ardleigh Road parklet was opened in August 2023 in Hackney by Olivia and Rob, a couple with a young child who own a co-working space, One and A Half Ardleigh Road. Olivia runs a florist business from the co-working space, and she won a parklet design competition run by Hackney Council in 2019. Ardleigh Road is a low traffic street on a popular cycle route with low parking stress (i.e. there are usually empty parking spaces available at any given time). 

Olivia wanted to provide an outdoor space for residents and users of the co-working space to socialise as well as helping to green the street. The original design included giant chess and seating, which was inspired by the outdoor chess tournament by Four Corners Club that One and A Half organised as part of the Ardleigh Road street party in 2022. 

However, a couple of residents and landlords in the street had strong concerns about the parklet and were worried that customers from the pub opposite would congregate in the parklet after closing time and disturb residents. Olivia and Rob persisted in talking to their neighbours, distributing leaflets, and inviting feedback. 

Eventually, they won over the people who opposed the parklet by removing the chessboard and seating from the design and replacing it with an additional planter. The parklet has been positively received by the locals since its installation, including those who were previously concerned about the prospect of a parklet, and there have been no reports of anti-social behaviour.

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