Safer Space Planters installed on Orpington High Street

Safer Space Planters have been installed across Orpington high street providing a welcome improvement, practically and aesthetically, on the red and white barriers.

As part of the local covid-19 response, the red and white barriers were brought in by the local authority to enable pedestrians to maintain social distancing, particularly in areas where hospitality businesses require outdoor seating to maximise their revenue.

The new Safer Space Planters have been obtained using the government’s Reopening High Streets Safely Fund (RHSSF) which is providing £50 million from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) to councils across England to support the safe reopening of high streets.

Orpington 1st Business Improvement District (BID) sourced the planters and worked with suppliers to install them, adding attractive and low maintenance evergreen plants for the months ahead.


The BID also worked with the council to minimise the impact to motorists. Just 4 bays across the high street have been utilised to create wider pedestrian areas, which represents under 2% of the on-street parking in the town centre. The importance of retaining loading provision was emphasised, so although 2 bays have been shortened none have been removed.

Reflective strips have been added to the roadside of the planters to increase their visibility to motorists as the nights draw in.

Orpington 1st Executive Director, Sharon Baldwin, said “The Safer Space Planters have received a warm welcome from businesses and residents. The business community is always looking at ways in which to create a more welcoming environment, so we are delighted to have worked with the London Borough of Bromley on our latest efforts to green the town. The added height of the planters creates a safer space to enable confident social distancing and we’d like to thank residents for continuing to adhere to government guidelines and supporting the local economy.”