The new Cricklewood town square on Cricklewood Lane was delivered as part of the Cricklewood Outer London Fund Round 2 Project's public realm improvements. We want to activate it to help make Cricklewood more of a destination for local people, decrease retail leakage, increase dwell time, and build on Cricklewood's reputation for creativity. We will also host activities on Oaklands Road, a mixed residential and commercial road in the town centre.
The project will develop a stronger, more visible cultural offer and will complement the activities of the weekly Cricklewood Specialist Market. The market, launched in September 2014 as part of the Mayor's Summer of High Streets, helps to fill the retail gaps in the high street and provides an additional draw for the town centre.
The project will host visiting markets, performances, workshops and other activities, including the hugely successful Cricklewood Festival, a community event launched by the OLF project now in its third year.

What we'll deliver:

• Deliver an exciting calendar of events including innovative novelty markets, community events, films and performances
• Invite local schools to develop projects around the space and hold workshops for children
• Add to existing event infrastructure
• Design creative and quality publicity materials for activities and publicise in print, web, and social media
• Provide free entertainment for visitors/shoppers
• Provide improved storage for our event/market infrastructure
• Work with local groups to develop ideas for the space

Why it's a great idea:

Local residents and businesses have responded enthusiastically to activities in the town centre during the two years of the Cricklewood Outer London Fund Round 2 Project and there is constant demand for more events, festivals and markets. By hosting more town centre activities, we can also provide a means for people from across the three boroughs of Barnet, Brent and Camden to come together. Using the town square for community events will discourage anti-social behaviour and help foster pride and ownership of the spaces. By animating the town centre we aim to boost foot fall, increase dwell time, create a vibe unique to this corner of London - adding to city’s rich cultural life - and continue to change people's perceptions of the area. We also need additional weights for marquees for year-round events.

Steps to get it done:

• We will apply to the council for necessary permits
• We will appoint an events committee and project manager
• We will commission a foot fall survey
• We will confirm a schedule of activities and events
• We will use event questionnaires to gauge satisfaction levels of visitors
• We will work with local groups to develop ongoing projects for the space after the funding has finished
• Develop a volunteer base to help with logistics at the events where necessary
• We will monitor dwell time compared to non-activity days to gauge impact
• We will publicise events on social media, web and in print
• We will query resident groups to see what type of events they would prefer to see

Cricklewood straddles the junction of the three London boroughs of Barnet, Brent and Camden. Consequently, it has always been a challenge to develop a coherent approach for the town centre. Although the Outer London Fund Round 2 Project improved working relations between the three boroughs, Cricklewood is still not regarded as a priority area. While it lacks borough-level support, Cricklewood can boast an enthusiastic and dedicated town team of volunteers who are eager to build on the momentum of the Outer London Fund Project and keep the legacy projects alive.