Grassroots non-profit, Grow to Know, has announced the opening of ‘Life Under the Westway: Maxilla Gardens’ in North Kensington, a project which has been built for one purpose: to offer vital green space to the local community.
With 96,000 polluting vehicles driving across the Westway above the garden each day, the impactful garden design seeks solutions for socio-environmental challenges in the local area and offers vital green space for the local community.
Located under the Westway, the garden will create a much-needed and valued space for the local community, with the Westway Trust being involved throughout development as custodians of the land. Grow to Know is transforming the existing Maxilla Gardens into a new, revived and accessible space for local residents to visit and enjoy, free of charge.
Inspired by the social effects of life under the Westway in 1960, the garden tells stories of adversity and activism in both the past and the present. The innovative design has an abundance of undulating, meandering and swathing greenery for wildlife, with bespoke furniture and repurposed materials used to create the pathways and features, inspired by the industrial development of the past.
The main feature of the garden is its dual helix, which threads through the space, with interweaving pathways embedding the DNA of the community throughout. One path represents society, and the other represents the environment, symbolising the intersection of socio-environmental challenges and solutions. The garden is at the crux of community development - poised as the front garden of Dale Youth Boxing Club, Bay20 Community Centre and the incoming Maxilla City.
Spearheaded by Grow to Know, the garden has been supported by the Mayor of London and Westway Trust, as well as luxury fashion house Gucci, who contributed a tapestry of plants from the set of its Gucci Cruise 2025 Fashion Show held at the Tate Modern, giving the plants a new lease of life whilst supporting the community.
The design and delivery team is comprised of Grow to Know, Westway Trust, SuDS UK, Cameron, George King Architects and Wylie Wood. Funding from the Mayor of London’s Future Neighbourhoods programme, via Kensington and Chelsea Council, supported the project.
Tayshan Hayden-Smith, Founder and Creative Director of Grow to Know, said:
“Following the detrimental impacts of the local injustice, the Grenfell Tower fire, the global pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis, we wanted to create a safe sanctuary of real meaning to uplift the community of North Kensington - not just to survive, but to thrive and bloom, alongside nature and wildlife. It is by embedding and highlighting stories of both past and present that will help guide our future. We look forward to inviting the community to enjoy the space, free of charge, and for a lifetime.”
The Westway Trust, said:
“The Westway Trust is here to encourage a happier, healthier and more prosperous community and is really excited to support this community-led project, which will improve the space for use by the people of North Kensington and visitors to the area. The garden will also be a focus point for events and activities and for us to draw attention to important environmental issues, such as air quality. It is part of a wider ambition to transform this area of the Westway Estate, complementing other projects and create more space for families, reflection and wellbeing.”
Life Under the Westway: Maxilla Gardens has been designed by Grow to Know alongside landscape design and build partner, Cameron Gardens, with further support from a community of brands, including DK, Second Home and Mercedes Benz Vans, all of which are invested in supporting Grow to Know’s mission to provide a greener future.
The garden is now open to residents of North Kensington and the wider community.