by David Harrison
It is hard to picture, now, what Newington Green was like when I first moved to the area in the 1980s.
Gone, now, are the three lanes of traffic, speeding along at 30 mph. At that time, it was difficult enough to cross the roads, but there was little incentive to walk onto the Green itself. There were trees, some nice old paving, and a few roses, but it was cut off by thick hedges as it didn’t feel safe it was almost always deserted. Streets leading off the green were grey and grim. Children attending the local primary school had to go down a dangerous, dirty, noisy road.
And now? What a really remarkable transformation there has been.
Dotted around the west and north sides of the Green are useful shops and cafes with outside seating. Nearby, there is even a butchers, fishmongers, greengrocers and cobblers. There are also little pockets of charming flowers.
The changes have made it easier to walk and cycle, meaning that more people can opt for a healthier means of travel option instead of adding to the area’s pollution by driving. This matters, because let’s not forget that even electric vehicles are dangerous and pollute the air with the particulates from their tyres. With increased safety, more and more parents in the area are walking and cycling with children on baby seats or on their own little bikes.
And our local children have gained safer access to their primary school. A new entrance and ‘School Street’ have been made on Mildmay Road, where the amount of planting makes the approach more like a garden.
There have often been dissenting voices. In the 1990s, people asked where the traffic would go when there were only two lanes. In fact, there is substantially less now. The Green is no longer one horrible roundabout. There were objections to making the playground, but what a success that has been—it is almost always in use, as is the adjacent café. Both playground and café attract people to the Green, making it feel safe.
And the newest innovation is possibly the most useful of all—a free, public loo, able to cater for the disabled, available night and day.
Hurrah for all the people who stuck to their convictions and achieved their dreams for a better world. And improvements are under way in the wider Mildmay area!
