Engaging with Children in Hemel for Westwick Row.

At TOWN, we prioritise the needs of children by creating places that support play, exploration and greater independence from an early age.

This begins with involving children in the design process, helping them understand their rights to play, to be heard, and to participate in decisions that affect them. Children make up over 20% of the UK population. We make sure they are part of the conversation when we create new neighbourhoods.

As part of our engagement programme for Westwick Row, our proposed neighbourhood of around 80 homes in Hemel Hempstead, developed in partnership with The Crown Estate, we spent two days at Leverstock Green Primary School, the school that boarders the side. We ran the sessions in collaboration with Cambridge Curiosity and Imagination, a charity that specialises in creative work with children and young people.

We introduced the children to the plans and explored ideas for play. We talked about how neighbourhoods can support different types of play – from formal play areas to informal and imaginative play, and opportunities for play along the way. We also looked at how nature can be part of new developments. The children discussed ways to protect and enhance habitats for local wildlife, including the hazel dormice that live in the hedge between the school and the site. Through drawing, discussion and other creative activities, they shared ideas for how the neighbourhood could support both play and nature.

Engaging with children and young people is part of TOWN’s wider commitment to inclusive engagement and creating places that work for people of all ages. It reflects our Child-Friendly Design Strategy, developed in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and applied in projects including Hartree in Cambridge. This approach helps shape neighbourhoods where children feel welcome, safe and supported.