Trees and the Public Realm - Westminster City Council

Trees and the Public Realm (Draft) Appendix B - 27
14 Moderation Planned estates of high architectural quality
Fisherton Street Estate
The Fisherton Street and surrounding estates are a group of inter war social housing blocks of varying design,
constructed as part of the 'Homes for Heroes' house building programme that followed the First World War.
Built in red, brown and yellow brick and roofed with plain clay or pan tiles, these blocks rarely exceed four
storeys. The blocks share a simple restrained design which is typical of the era, as is the thoughtful
landscaping surrounding them.
The undulating and well planted landscaping of this area gives a park-like ambiance to the area, with large,
shade giving trees well balanced with smaller, ornamental species. Dwarf stone walls in combination with
clipped hedges soften hard street frontages while mature shade giving trees are found in courtyards or
landscaped areas. Wide use is made of the Plane and alder as street trees, and landscaped areas afford the
opportunity for a greater variety of species, which currently includes cherry, lime, maple, rowan and birch trees
The Hallfield Estate
The Hallfield Estate was built between 1951 and 1959 to designs by architectural practice Drake and Lasdun,
and replaced 17 acres of Victorian brick and stucco terraces. It consists of fifteen individual blocks and a
primary school in concrete, steel, brick and glazed tile in a late modernist style, now listed Grade II*.
The estate was specifically designed so as to retain as many of the original Plane trees from the Victorian
streets as possible, and was intended to realise Le Corbusier’s vision of ‘a city in a park’. Other tree species
associated with the redevelopment of the area include magnolia and mountain ash - appropriate, visually
interesting and functional species.
Photos
Planting around a square in Churchill Gardens: The
spare, formal rows of trees complement the minimal
detailing of the building behind and the height of the
trees remain subordinate to the flat block.
Trees and Shrubs in Lillington Gardens: A wide variety of colours, sizes
and forms complements the informal architecture of the estate