Milner Square Barnsbury, Islington Gardens Redevelopment, Landscape Architecture Photos

Milner Square Barnsbury, Islington

Gardens Architecture in North London, England, UK – design by LDA Design, Landscape Architects

21 June 2019

Milner Square in Barnsbury, Islington

Design: LDA Design

Location: Barnsbury, Islington, North London, England, UK

Milner Square in Islington wins Children’s Play award

A revamp of a once-neglected Georgian garden square in Barnsbury, Islington, by LDA Design, has been named the overall winner of the Children’s Play category in this year’s Street Design Awards.

The award was presented to Islington Council in Milner Square by Local Government News Editor, Laura Sharman, with Councillor Webbe, Islington’s Executive Member for Environment and Transport in attendance.

Milner Square was in dire need of restoration, with aged play equipment that was inaccessible for year-round use, surfacing was uneven and planting sparse. As a result, the gardens had become a magnet for anti-social behaviour.

LDA Design worked closely with Islington Council to reinvigorate the space, making it safer and more inviting for local residents.

For a relatively compact area, the Square had been heavily sub-divided, with fencing carving out three separate spaces for different play ages. LDA Design’s plan removed this fencing, replacing it with careful zoning and inviting new paths. This move opened up the park, improving accessibility. Greater visibility also reduced the risk of anti-social behaviour.

The scheme has increased the available green space, and the diversity and quality of the planting. A greater variety of play is now on offer, appealing to a wider age group. A considered colour pallet references and compliments the Georgian surroundings.

Commenting on the award, LDA Design Senior Consultant, Tom McCreesh, said: “If garden squares are to deliver for their communities and encourage people to spend more time outdoors, they have to feel safe and inviting. Then they can be a real source of pleasure and great places to get to know the neighbours.”

On presenting the award, Laura Sharman, Editor of Local Government News, said: “I am delighted to name Islington Council as the winner of the Children’s Play category in our Street Design Awards. The judges were extremely impressed by the scheme, which was praised for its remarkable transformation of a valuable community space.”

Milner Square Barnsbury Renewal

Milner Square Barnsbury
Laid out by Robert Lewis Roumieu and Alexander Dick Gough in the 18th century, Milner’s Square’s design is of a type rarely seen outside of Scotland and the North of England, and unlike anything in London. It was the second of two squares built as part of the Milner-Gibson Estate laid out from 1823 by Francis Edwards, a pupil of Sir John Soane. The Square was a vegetable garden until the 1930s and then became a playground.

Street Design Awards
Street Design Awards is organised by London Government News magazine. The awards recognise innovation and best practice in street design across the UK, and are open to projects completed by, or on behalf of, local authorities.

Street Design Awards photo – Laura Sharman, Editor of Local Government News, presents the 2019 Street Design award to Cllr Webbe, London Borough of Islington’s Member for Environment and Transport and (left to right): Tom McCreesh and Sally Prothero, LDA Design; Cllr Angela Picknell, St Mary’s, Small Business, Co-ops and Social Enterprise Champion; and Lara Ellington-Brown, Parks Service Project Manager, LB Islington: