Portobello Road is to be “modernised” with a £4.4million investment from its London council.
The world-famous high street, that has appeared in hit films such as Notting Hill and Paddington, will have wider granite pavements, new lighting and greening after Kensington and Chelsea councillors approved the plans during a meeting on Tuesday night.
Other improvements include more dropped kerbs for wheelchairs, more parking bays and replacing concrete anti-terror barriers with sliding bollards. Works are expected to begin in January 2027, according to the council.
Kensington and Chelsea Council said the funding will come from the Community Infrastructure Levy, which is collected from developers. They said no money will be taken from other services to pay for the scheme.
The council will also use a system called Hydrorock to mitigate flooding. This uses underground tree pits and absorbable materials to hold onto water and slow down its entry into drains. Trial holes are set to be dug to establish how the flooding mitigation will work on the street.
Lead member for Environment and Planning Johnny Thalassites said: “The area will benefit greatly from more greenery, and addressing the flood risk is imperative to this area following devastating floods back in 2021 that damaged homes and property. We’re trialling an innovative new system with underground tree pits which will slow water down from entering the drains.
“We will ensure as construction begins, we are doing all we can to mitigate and minimise disruption.”
The council ran a six-week public consultation late last year and received 246 response. The consultation asked for feedback on phase one of the project which is to improve the infrastructure of Portobello Road between Chepstow Villas and Westbourne Grove, including two junctions and the junction with Denbigh Terrace.
Phase two looks at improvement between Westbourne Grove and Elgin Crescent.
In August last year, residents on Portobello Road took legal action against the council for installing anti-terror barriers. A month earlier, Kensington and Chelsea Council installed the barriers following counter-terrorism guidance from the Metropolitan Police.
At the time, the council was accused of installing the barriers without consulting local residents. During a council meeting in October, Patrick Somers, a resident leading the legal challenge, said residents had been concerned about hostile vehicle attacks for many years.
He said: “We absolutely support, and we want, anti-terror measures to be put in but what was done to us effectively traps us in our homes for up to seven days a week, six hours a day.
“I’ve been trying to get to the bottom of this for some time now since this was all dropped on us in May and June this year and the residents were forced for, I’m afraid, the same reason that previous speakers have been talking about, which is an absolute lack of communication and engagement by the council on what they are proposing to do.”
Cllr Thalassites argued the council previously consulted on the use of safety barriers as part of a wider revamp of the street, known as the Strengthening Portobello Project.
