Portsmouth Friends of the Earth (PFOE) volunteers are working with Hampshire & Isle of Wight Wildlife Trust (HIWWT) ‘Wilder Portsmouth’ project to brighten up and replant flowerbeds in Derby Road, North End.
Clearing the flowerbeds
Work started on 29th October. Despite the rain volunteers made very good progress. Watch this space for more news and photos. Contact us via this website if you would like further information or to get involved.
A bit of background
In 2018 Portsmouth Friends of the Earth held a public meeting to give Portsmouth residents the opportunity to express their views about what would improve our city. Our report, ‘Streets for People’ (2019) summarised these views :
‘Most of all, local residents want streets that are people-friendly, not car-dominated. They want more trees and green spaces‘.
North End has one of the most car-dominated high streets in Portsmouth. London Road is an historic thoroughfare with many independent shops, but incessant traffic noise, narrow pavements, crossings that are few and far between, high levels of air pollution, and complete absence of trees between Kingston Crescent and Stubbington Avenue mean that today it is not the ‘street for people’ that it could and should be. It is PFOE’s view that North End should be transformed into a low traffic and green neighbourhood with London Road a low traffic high street at its heart.
This short Youtube video clip shows what a lovely place a low traffic neighbourhood can be: Waltham Forest ‘Mini Holland‘
Just before ‘lockdown’ PFOE members asked North End residents where they would like to see more trees and planting:
The answer was ‘opposite the post office in Derby Road‘:
Portsmouth Friends of the Earth 