Enjoy Waltham Forest (Mini-Holland)

Bespoke have been working with the London Borough of Waltham Forest on the delivery of their Enjoy Waltham Forest Programme since its infancy. In fact Bespoke's founder Jon Little helped the Council put put together the successful £27 million bid. 

Since the funding was confirmed in 2014 we have played a key role in the planning, design, engagement and delivery of  many of the various project streams. We have provided our expertise and knowledge of delivering area-wide projects, co-design and European cycling best practice to help the borough through the project lifecycle. 

Included below are some details of individual elements of the project we have helped the borough to deliver.   

the Mini-Holland bid

Prior to starting Bespoke Jon Little helped Waltham Forest with their successful £27 million Mini-Holland bid. Working with council officers from various departments Jon developed the concept traffic management and public realm proposals including the reallocation of road space for walking and cycling, the low traffic 'village' and 'town centres' and a network of cycle parking hubs at stations. 

The plan is considered an example of best practice in the UK and is regularly visited for inspiration by community groups, campaigners, local authorities and transport practitioners, commended through industry awards and now being emulated in other parts of the country. 

engagement strategy

The approach to engagement of community co-design as originally outlined in the bid document has been used to deliver the different projects within the programme. As part of our role on the project we helped the Council develop a seven stage approach to community engagement in preparation for the Walthamstow Village pilot in Summer 2015. 

The aim of the engagement strategy was to provide opportunities for the community to comment, for these comments to be considered and influence design. It was important that this also part of a wider continual conversation. The engagement on the project The approach has been refined including the use of on-line engagement tool Commonplace as a platform for an open and transparent conversation with the community. 

2020 vision

Working on behalf of Waltham Forest, Bespoke produced the Waltham Forest 2020 Vision. The award-winning cycling plan is broken into section which focus on Cycle Routes, Residential Area Schemes, Cycle Parking, Complementary measures such as training and cycle loan schemes.

Importantly, the document included a series of scheme proposals in addition to the Mini-Holland plan for development in partnership with developers and when future funding becomes available.

The document was designed to be a core strategy whilst also being interesting, understandable and accessible to anyone It includes a series of targets for each section of the strategy.

The Waltham Forest 2020 Vision can be found here

design guide

To support the introduction of the £27 million Mini-Holland Progamme the London Borough of Waltham Forest required a design guide for use by designers, engineers, architects and developers and their design teams. Working with Council officers, campaigners, Bespoke prepared the design guide which includes street typologies including cycle tracks developed specifically for use on the programme. The typologies have features to suit the different contexts and environments in the borough including green space, urban residential and commercial areas.

The guide sets a high standard in terms of cycling provision in keeping with the Mini-Holland programme. It provides carriageway standards, cycle tracks designs (including the use of semi segregation), cycle friendly design features, standard design features for modal filters (walking and cycling only accesses into residential areas) and examples of treatments for quiet streets, shopping areas, schools from the UK and Europe. Sections are also included on introducing greening, opportunities for sustainable urban drainage and cycle parking. 

The Waltham Forest Mini Holland Design Guide can be found here

cycle hubs

Proposals for cycle parking hubs at each of the main rail and underground stations in the borough were included in the Enjoy Waltham Forest (Mini-Holland) bid submission. Following the award of funding Bespoke worked with Council officers to develop a specification for tender and develop operational processes and procedures. 

There are 7 hubs in borough providing secure cycle parking, CCTV, help points and parking for specialist bikes such as cargo bikes. The hubs have been recognised as an example to follow winning the Cycle Rail Awards for Cycle Parking in 2015 and the Cycle Parking and Combined Journeys awards in 2016.   

design guidance and review

Throughout the delivery of the programme Bespoke have provided Council staff with design guidance and scheme reviews. The aim has been to ensure infrastructure is designed for all and where possible infrastructure is future proofed for changes in demand and mobility choices.