Resilient London: confronting climate change
Helping to meet the needs of affordable housing in Southend-on-Sea, Better Queensway from Swan Housing will deliver at least 512 genuinely affordable homes via a mix of 300 social rented homes and 212 intermediate homes (shared equity and shared ownership).
The plans will provide a greener and more sustainable Queensway. Not only will every home have its own private outdoor space whether it be a balcony, terrace or garden; there will also be new green spaces including an urban
park, 190 new trees and 1,400 metres of new cycle paths along Queensway and Southchurch Road. Electric car charging points, greener energy generation and sustainable construction methods will also improve the overall environmental performance of the development.
Set to bring over £500 million investment into the existing Queensway estate, the re-development will be a catalyst for further improvements to Southend-on-Sea town centre and has been given outline consent for its masterplan, jointly designed by award winning architects dRMM and LDA Design, as well as detailed consent for highway changes by Civic Engineers.
Queensway in Southend is currently an urban motorway, designed to accommodate fast vehicle movements. The design team's proposals are to turn Queensway into a tree-lined boulevard, creating space for walking, cycling, parkland and residential development - ‘dwell, play and stay’. Civic Engineers’ design started by considering a better balance of movement choices across and along the street, as well as the environmental quality associated with non-vehicular uses.
Repurposing the Queensway underpass as a water storage and attenuation facility will significantly improve the flood risk and the bathing water quality to the seafront area and help to bring the system in line with regulatory standards.
The green and environmental benefits included in plans for the Better Queensway (BQ) redevelopment project include proposals outlining how the £4.2million Government’s Get Building Fund (GBF) that has been received for the project, will be spent.
Subject to planning permission, the Better Queensway redevelopment will deliver:
- Upgrades to the local electricity networks so they meet new government guidelines on energy use in new homes and electric vehicle charging.
- The use of heat pumps.
- A sustainable urban drainage system that will help to alleviate the flood risk to Southend-on-Sea seafront. This will include rain gardens and green public spaces.
- A boost to the local cycling and pedestrian network.
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