Through an innovative, web-based consultation, people who work and live in the area will have an opportunity to propose and comment on longer term development proposals as well as small, short-term projects.
 
Waterloo is a complex urban area - it has great character through its varied building styles and mixture of residential and commercial use. It also enjoys fantastic transport links. However, despite the appeal of its undiscovered nature, it also remains cut off from its surrounding area. The station and railway lines act as a physical barrier and Waterloo Road bisects the commercial area, breaking the natural link between The Cut and Lower Marsh.
 
The borough boundary, which snakes through the heart of the Business Improvement District adds to this sense of disjunction. Both Lambeth and Southwark Councils have made welcome commitments to improve cross-borough collaboration. However, in planning terms the area is still not treated as a coherent whole.
 
PFBE, a charity which aims to improve the quality of people's lives through collaborative approaches to planning, designing and building, and Waterloo Quarter BID will be inviting businesses and residents to comment on how they think the BID area should develop and what sites they think are appropriate for change. We will also ask for your views on specific suggestions for individual sites.
 
The study will be web-based to enable people to comment without having to take significant time out of their busy working days and has been designed to allow people to comment meaningfully in a short period of time.
 
The consultation will build on existing proposals and policies for the area, focusing on identifying the gaps in the current treatment and making recommendations for future development.
 
The research will also focus on short-term, affordable measures which could be delivered either by the BID or other local partners, such as shop-front improvements, murals, planting and additional seating.
 
Look out for fliers at the end of July inviting you to participate in the study.
 
For further information, please contact Helen Santer at hsanter@waterlooquarter.org