This site is in the beta stage and is undergoing consultation.
Please visit the consultation page to submit feedback; and also let us know if you would like to become involved with the Trust.
‘The Seven Dials scheme has been of national importance in changing attitudes to and aspirations for the public realm.’
Robert Huxford – Director UK Urban Design Group
The Seven Dials Renaissance Study is about looking after and improving the public realm where we live, where we work and where we visit.
Its thesis is simple: take the totality of the public realm – streets, façades and the spaces between buildings – and create a shared long term vision to which all can subscribe and contribute, whether financially or through their own detailed knowledge.
The links below set out the overarching objectives of the site, the history of the area and the Trust, and further information on the study and its contributors.
The Unique Character of Seven Dials
A Brief History of Seven Dials
Planning & Licensing Policy Context
This section sets out the approach for harmonising the streets in a historic area that needs to work for the twenty-first century. It analyses the existing streetscape and proposes a uniform approach suited to the formal historic layout of the core Seven Dials Conservation Area.
Keeping the Footways Clear Including Eating & Seating
Wayfinding and the Covent Garden Template
The treatment of small details can have a serious effect on the overall appearance of the building elevations and streets which make up the conservation areas. Care is needed to achieve historically accurate results which contribute positively to the appearance and vitality of each street.
This section comprises a series of specifications with advice for the treatment of key elements of the buildings in the Seven Dials area, such as brickwork, shopfronts, door and window joinery, signs and paintwork.
This section sets out the principles for the treatment and improvement of individual buildings and groups of buildings in the study area based on an analysis of the historic fabric, the evolution of the area and an appraisal of each building.
It gives guidance to freeholders and occupants on ways of improving their buildings so as to enhance their historic character and that of the conservation areas as a whole and make the streets more attractive. Attention is drawn to typical features which might form specific models for restoration work to other buildings in the conservation areas.
Large format digital versions of the contemporary architectural images included in this site are available to buy from the Seven Dials Trust.