Soho Life - Soho Estates
A London thoroughfare has been transformed into an attractive pedestrian area thanks to a complex public realm project.
Services used on this project
Highways Maintenance
Description of Works
London’s Soho is one of the busiest areas of the entire capital. By day, it is home to businesses and shops, many servicing the creative industries, while its nightlife is famous the world over.
The project focused on three roads: Manette Street, Greek Street and a section of Charing Cross Road. These roads abut a new mixed-use development, Ilona Rose House, which was built recently by one of the area’s biggest property owners, Soho Estates.
Delivering Innovation
The transformation involved replacing the road surface in Manette Street with York stone paving and granite setts, planting trees, and installing new lighting and cycle stands. The same palette of materials was used for Greek Street and Charing Cross Road, where new road surfacing has also been laid.
FM Conway divided the work into two phases, starting with the 100m stretch of Charing Cross Road, as that had the biggest impact on traffic across Westminster. The work included constructing a new layby, and once that was completed the team used it for delivering materials to Manette Street and Greek Street.
“It was a construction site, so we had to work to limit the disruption as best as possible, and everyone bought into what we were doing. They could see how proactive we were being to support them.” FM Conway’s Head of Contracts, Mark Goudy.
Challenges and Solutions
The biggest challenge was carrying out the work while minimising disruption to the existing businesses and the new tenants of Ilona Rose House.
“The building was open, and people were always coming and going, which needed careful consideration and planning,” Soho Estates Head of Investment and Development, Nick Lawson.
The main entrance to Ilona Rose House is on Manette Street, so the construction team, led by senior contract manager Liam McKay, had to ensure people always had access to the building whatever was going on outside. “We had lots of different temporary accesses throughout the build, and also tried to screen the works from the reception so it didn’t feel as though they were in the middle of a construction site,” explains FM Conway’s Head of Contracts, Mark Goudy.
Outcomes
The new public realm has achieved the transformation that both The City of Westminster and Soho Estates were looking for, whilst careful co-ordination ensured that the works were delivered with minimal disruption.
“It was in need of transformation and is now a pleasant and inviting route into Soho.” Soho Estates Head of Investment and Development, Nick Lawson.