Place shaping

Welcome to the Notting Hill Gate high street action plan. On this page you will find information about the area and how to have your say on future projects.

We are looking at what changes the Notting Hill Gate community would like to see in the short, medium and long term and what is needed in order to deliver their ideas. This will inform an ongoing action plan for the area, based on priorities for intervention that are agreed on with the community. A clear set of criteria for projects and a participatory framework for future interventions on the local high street will be developed, helping the community to have ownership over the plan. 

Almost 600 people have already engaged with the high streets programme and told us what matters to them when it comes to high streets. 

If you live or work in Notting Hill Gate, you can be a part of deciding on new improvements to the high street. You can choose to attend in-person events and meetings, to fill in an online form right now, or to get in touch with the project team. 

Launch Event: 21 September 2022

Join us for a drop-in session to hear more about what we have done so far, possibilities for the future and how you can get involved in the decision-making.

When

Wednesday 21 September - 4pm to 8pm

Where

Kensington Unitarians, Essex Church, 112 Palace Gardens Terrace, W8 4RT

What is an action plan?

We want our high streets to be places that are welcoming, where visitors want to spend time and where they want to return to again and again. One way we are working to support our high streets is through the development of a series of local actions plans. 

Action Plans are guided by the high street principles developed by Centre for London. They list place-based projects which are identified and detailed with the community. Projects will be informed by key criteria to ensure that they are deliverable, impactful, and well maintained. Members of the community can choose to join a working group to oversee the work programme in partnership with the Council, or to provide feedback via online forms. 

Projects can be short, medium or long term, permanent or temporary, large or small – depending on the community’s appetite. 

Action Plans are not policy documents or legislation, but a continuously updated and agile place-based framework that will help shape ideas for further interventions. 

What is the vision for Notting Hill Gate in the Local Plan? 

Notting Hill Gate (NHG) is defined as a District Centre in the Local Plan and London Plan. It is located in the northern half of the borough – north of Kensington High Street and south of Portobello Road. The centre is the fifth largest in the borough, comprising 251 commercial units located predominantly on Notting Hill Gate and Kensington Church Street. It also acts as its name suggests, as the gateway to Portobello Road market. The Notting Hill Gate Supplementary Planning Document (2015) notes that over 17 million people arrive or leave through Notting Hill Gate station each year, compared to 12 million at Kensington High Street. The high street was comprehensively redeveloped in the 1950s and is of a different scale and character to the surrounding residential areas.  

The Local Plan recognises that the centre has a strong reputation for arts and culture and is home to a number of important venues including the Gate Theatre, the Gate Cinema and the Coronet Cinema and Theatre. The high street is well connected to the underground and bus routes, and benefits from cycle hire and now e-scooter hire bays. It is also home to several large office blocks that, when combined with the retail and service industry, host over 8000 jobs – making it one of the borough’s larger employment centres.

The New Local Plan Review sets out the intended vision for Notting Hill in 2042: Notting Hill Gate will remain as one of the borough’s most distinctive district centres. It will build upon its long-standing reputation for the arts, culture and the evening economy. It will also use the pull it has as a key employment area to provide the premises needed by the types of agile business which will thrive in a post Covid-19 world. The streetscape along Notting Hill Gate will be improved to make the area more accessible and attractive. Outdated buildings will be refurbished or redeveloped to improve the image of the area.   

Find out more about the emerging vision for Notting Hill Gate in the New Local Plan Review interactive map using the Town Centres section.

What previous consultation and research reveal about the area?

• Notting Hill Gate is not a destination and lacks unique identity  
• It lacks places to pause and activities to attract and retain visitors
• Poor quality public realm and wayfinding  
• Poor provision for less mobile people 
• Vacant shop fronts have a negative impact  
• Poor lighting creating safety concerns  
• Surplus chain stores

The emerging vision for improvements

• Regular events to drive town centre footfall, spend and interest (e.g. markets, food/drink festivals, music events, craft fairs, open theatre/cinema, fetes etc
• Additional seating could be provided around existing as well as additional trees
• Events and cultural activities that help enhance NHG as a destination
• Better cycle friendliness, including better provision of bike parking, dockless bikes and scooters 
• More green spaces and planting - Existing and additional planters could have a wide ledge to double up as seating
• More seating - places to sit and eat 
• Public toilets 
• Improved lighting for pedestrians 
• Improving air quality 
• Places for children to play (on the wider pavement areas) 
• More public art - Given existing pressures on public space, there are opportunities for mural or façade art and lighting art (for building on streetscape)

Join the community working group

You can help us decide the future of Notting Hill Gate. The community working group will be a team of local residents, business and community members who meet to shape and influence the action plan development. Supported by Council officers, the group will unpack and map the priorities for the area and develop a framework for future interventions.

The group will meet regularly in person to hold the discussions. If you’d like to get involved, you can email [email protected]. 

Feedback

Fill in this questionnaire to share your views now.

If you need further support to provide your feedback or would like to sign up for project updates, please get in touch with the project team.

Get in touch with the project team

If you have any queries, require a paper copy of the consultation, or require assistance in other languages, please contact the project team on [email protected] or call the Planning Line 020 7361 3012.