The Grand Union Canal divides Hayes, with few crossing points connecting the two sides. Residential canal side development has only minimally considered public realm, sports and leisure activities, e.g. the annual Hayes Canal Festival.

 

Student proposals for the canal area support new working and making spaces, set by the canal between light industrial estates and housing.These also create new public leisure activities and new access points to the canal, attracting people to the water and bridging the divide between the two sides.

 

Students also worked with The Sharks canoe club to make proposals for a temporary clubhouse at Shackles Dock, a canal inlet within a town centre development site. These were published in the document “Shelter for the Sharks”, and distributed nationally to help funding.

 

Proposals for canoeing club facilities have subsequently been included in the residential canal-side scheme that was recommended for planning approval in March 2017.