Insights The crown estate public realm framework

Atkins has been working for The Crown Estate for 20 years, developing a public realm strategy to raise the quality of the buildings, streets, and spaces around the client’s two urban estates in the West End, namely Regent Street and St. James’s.  As well as developing the strategy Atkins have been responsible for developing, delivering, and implementing individual public realm schemes for major streets and junctions as well as more local streets and spaces.  Examples include Regent Street, Piccadilly, Pall Mall, Oxford Circus, and Piccadilly Circus, as well as connecting local streets like New Burlington Place, Glasshouse Street, Heddon Street, and Jermyn Street.  Much of this has been done working in partnership with Transport for London, Westminster City Council, BIDs and other landowners and developers.

Throughout this 20-year delivery period Atkins have provided expert advice and technical expertise to supply a wide range of deliverables including strategy development, assessment frameworks, pioneering transport modelling for business cases such as the application of the LEGION pedestrian model of Oxford Circus, as well as producing designs and technical approvals for all phases of the design process including concept, preliminary, and detailed design. 

Atkins have delivered several projects to improve the public realm and aid pedestrian movement around much of The Crown Estate’s historic buildings.  Recent projects include:

• St James’s Palace Forecourt;

• Quadrant Area (Glasshouse Street, Sherwood Street, Air Street, and Brewer Street);

• St James’s Market; 

• Jermyn Street; and

• Block W5 / New Burlington Place.

Each of these projects have utilised innovative technological solutions to create environments to be enjoyed by cyclists, pedestrians, and road users both now and into the future, preserving and complementing the historic townscape.