Community Fund Parklets

Lambeth’s Big Shift has invited residents to transform their local area with a Community Parklet. A parklet is a repurposed parking space that is designed by and for the community, transforming the space into something for people to enjoy. They are great for bringing communities together and providing some much-needed local green space. The parklet can be an opportunity for greening the street, a place for community notices, a place for cycle parking, or whatever the community would like!

The Community Parklet scheme opened its first phase in April 2023, residents and community groups could apply for a parklet on their street. In total, we had six successful applications from phase one.  As part of the Kerbside strategy and in alignment with the Climate Action Plan, Lambeth is dedicated to replacing 25% of the kerbside used for parking to sustainable uses. The parklets are being installed within: Brixton Acre Lane, Clapham Town, Brixton Windrush, Streatham St. Leonards, Stockwell West and Larkhall St. Martins.

Phase two of the scheme is underway and has just finished the consultation phase. Successful parklets are looking to be installed towards the end of the year.

The Parklet Keepers were able to choose from a catalogue of modular items to put on their parklet, customising their designs to suit their needs. All parklets feature a base, two side barriers and an outer barrier on the roadside, with customising features including; seating, cycle parking, tables and planting, and undergo quality assurance reviews and checks for safety prior to installation.

The Parklet Keepers also sign on to help take care of day-to-day upkeep of the parklets and work alongside the council to ensure the parklets are kept in great condition.

Streets that are lined with cars are not the most pleasant to walk or wheel down, they also offer little opportunities for people less able to walk to rest - there is evidence in the Department of Transport document on Inclusive Mobility (2002) that 50m is the maximum distance many mobility-impaired people can walk before they need to rest, so having more rest points on residential streets (via parklets) should lead to more people being able to walk longer distances, creating more inclusive streets for our residents.

Parklets help improve the street scene, create spaces for community cohesion and socialising as well as provide a spot to lock up a bike, facilitating a shift towards active forms of travel with benefits for both our health and environment. They also offer a space for greenery, allowing residents to grow things if they’d like. This will ultimately help make choosing greener methods of transport easier for residents.