Parks, Recreation, and Greenspace in Welwyn Garden City, England

WGC, not to be confused with the village of Welwyn which lies north of the town, is a convenient place to live if you’re still commuting into the office in London as approx 25 mins into Kings Cross station. It has a cross section of properties with prices on the West Side (AL8) far exceeding those on the East Side (AL7). That’s not to say there aren’t many pleasant homes in AL7. Excepting properties built this century, most streets provide their residents with decent sized homes and gardens where verges still exist. The town centre is in decline as it is all over the UK, however it still has its John Lewis and a broad selection of high street shops set within the carefully (originally) planned garden city. There’re trees, plantings and green swards in the midst of the town centre which besides shops offers an independent (council controlled) 3 screen cinema and entertainment centre, the borough’s main library and numerous restaurants. I’ve lived in this town for over 20 years and have enjoyed all it has to offer, however it is changing with many high density housing developments now under construction which I will likely ultimately affect the enjoyment of the town. I’m thinking of the negative consequences of the usual fallout from build first/sort later (or maybe no) principles under which UK planning now operates. Saying all this, as most towns are undergoing high street decline and increased development, WGC at present remains a nice place to live and I could think of worse.