New ‘student’ housing in Chalk Farm approved by the council

• STILL not a word from councillors sitting on the planning committee as to their excuses or reasonings for approving the highly controversial Regal’s four blocks reaching 12 storeys to house 264 “students”.

This development will be opposite the already existing Stay Club student building on Chalk Farm Road with a total of 270 tiny single bedsit/units starting at an astounding £349 per week including wifi. A second Stay Club on Holmes Road, now appealing to extend further, has a mind-boggling 357 units.

While it’s known that universities are expanding and require accommodation, would our currently elected representatives like to consider that five primary schools in the borough have closed due to its “falling birth-rate” and that Camden has the fifth-highest number of children living in poverty after housing costs in London (trustforlondon.­org.uk/). Basically fewer and fewer can afford to live here, and those that do are poor.

The new Labour council leader Richard Olszewski – a self-proclaimed “pragmatist”– has achieved his identified “key thing” in that his party has won. It is encouraging to see that he has allegedly embarked on a programme of retrofitting all council homes.

Will Cllr Olszewski now strenuously follow councils such as Wandsworth to maximise actual affordable housing? The above development got approved with a shockingly low ratio of 11 per cent of merely “affordable” not council housing.

Can he exert his “pragmatism” to influence his fellow councillors to reject these kinds of applications in favour of the kinds of homes Camden residents actually need and can afford?

JULIETTA COCHRANE, NW5