Surrey County Council: Reclaiming spaces, creating healthy streets

A garden which re-imagines parking spaces, with the creation of vibrant functional areas that connect people and communities with nature. Planting has been chosen to provide colour all year round, be low maintenance and have good longevity. Plants with pollution absorbing qualities will be planted along an imagined, busy Surrey Road, and plants that survive temporary waterlogging will also feature, as the garden is designed to absorb water from the highway.

An area built by the Surrey Youth Offer Team aims to develop skills for life and provide a parklet, which could be replicated in parking bays across Surrey for people to rest and spend time in. There will be an area of tranquillity, created with reused timber from fallen trees.

At a glance:

Who would use this garden?
Anyone actively travelling along the Highway, or just needing to rest.
Where is the garden set?
A street in Surrey, where on road parking is available.

Garden legacy

The garden will be relocated to two locations after the Show - Walton and Guildford. The rain garden and the highway materials will be redistributed around schemes in Surrey, with the wooden seating returned to the Norbury Saw mill for recycling.