LONGTON · DESIGNING OUT CRIME & PUBLIC REALM
A stronger boundary. A celebration of Longton.
Replacing a repeatedly breached timber boundary created an opportunity to combine practical security with a lasting, community-informed improvement to the town’s environment.
SAFER STREETS · BUS STATION IMPROVEMENTS
Longton Bus Station: before and after.
These supplied photographs show different views of the bus station. The wall and Rob Fenton mural are described below as separate Levelling Up works.
THE CHALLENGE
A boundary that needed a more durable solution.
Near Longton Bus Station, approximately 100 metres of wooden panels were repeatedly being breached. The response needed to improve the boundary while respecting the surrounding transport routes and public space.
THE RESPONSE
Security, planning and local identity.
Replace the timber boundary
Contracted builders constructed a 70-metre wall, 2.4 metres high, with anti-climb fencing and a gate completing the remaining boundary.
Coordinate the permissions and partners
The works required a planning application and partnership working with Tesco headquarters. Community consultation helped shape the finished treatment.
Commission a mural
The K-rendered wall became the setting for a mural by artist Rob Fenton, celebrating Longton’s past, present and future. It is visible from the bus station, railway and road.
COMMUNITY COHESION · ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT
Give a functional boundary a positive public presence.
The completed wall combines a more robust physical boundary with artwork informed by the community. The mural brings local identity into a highly visible location and shows how designing out crime can also improve the appearance and experience of a place.