As the South Woodford Society officially rebrands to the SoWo Society, Pearl Arbenser-Simmonds reports on a busy summer of Design Code work and a new, all-encompassing website
It’s been an incredibly busy summer for us as we finalise work on the South Woodford digital Design Code, supported by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (formerly the Department for Levelling Up).
We have also revamped the Design Code and South Woodford Society websites to allow us to combine them as one. And we have taken the opportunity to rebrand the South Woodford Society as SoWo Society. We often shorten the name ourselves, so it made sense to make it official, and less of a mouthful! Alongside the usual offerings, the new website features detailed information on Neighbourhood Plan progress as well as the Design Code; listing the work done to date, a timeline as we move towards presenting our work to Redbridge Council, public consultation on a draft and eventually a public referendum on adopting the plan.
The work on creating a digital Design Code has been exciting and we believe we have managed to strike the right balance between offering tangible information to relevant professionals and developers, whilst keeping it interesting and engaging for local residents. It includes interactive models of what our two main development sites (Station Estate and Station car park) could be, displaying the relevant code related to each area. It is very important to note the models and plans are quite simply illustrations of what those sites could achieve, taking into account local residents’ preferences and stated needs. The Design Code will ensure any development that takes place is sympathetic both to our local environment and residents’ needs by prioritising accessible green space, better public spaces, improved walking and cycling infrastructure and key amenities.
We will also be creating QR codes to be displayed at various locations within South Woodford. This will allow anyone to directly access the website and view information specific to that location.
In partnership with AzuKo, we have developed an interactive map documenting our community’s assets – everything from greenspaces and tree canopy cover to public seating and cycle parking. This will allow us to show changes over time and illustrate how close we are to achieving our targets for South Woodford becoming ‘London’s most liveable urban village’. We are also mapping kerb uses, kindly enabled by AppyWay. This data will allow us to understand just how sustainable our kerb spaces currently are and identify those which could be re-allocated for uses such as street trees, parklets and sustainable drainage systems. Over the coming year, we will explore ways of expanding this interactive map to include local walking and cycling routes.
The new website launches in mid-September. We look forward to seeing you online!
For more information and to view the new website, visit swvg.co.uk/sws
