Camden have made the Primrose Hill streateries programme permanent

• CAMDEN announce that they have made the Primrose Hill streateries programme permanent despite widespread local opposition to the scheme.

Yes you read that right. Sixty per cent of locals hated the scheme and wanted it removed.

Only 30 per cent liked it. Twice as many hated it as liked it, yet it was made permanent.

These are figures from Camden’s own research and are quoted in their final report.

The contempt with which Camden holds its constituents is remarkable. This is literally a war waged against us by Camden, paid for with money we give them.

The streateries are a Covid-19 legacy, popular with the cafés and restaurants because they are free money; our public space rented to them for a sum of about £100 a year. They cause massive overcrowding, noise and disruption.

Cafés and restaurants use the streets as a rubbish storage area.

Camden has sub-zero commercial sense and they are happy to haemorrhage our money on schemes like this, while all the time wailing “penury penury”.

Add the years of professional effort within the council to the obvious direct costs and I would guess the scheme must have cost close to a million pounds.

How do Camden justify their decision to make the scheme permanent?

Well while people in the area hate it, people from outside like it and because there are more non-locals than locals, you can use the statistics to say that there is a majority in favour.

Of course this is completely bogus.

Should we change our street signs to German? Not very popular in Primrose Hill but there are so many Germans who like the idea. Let’s do it!

There are other reasons too.

The most obvious is that they cannot be seen to have wasted so much public money on such a complete failure.

Another is that it removes car parking spaces, a core Camden policy. If it costs us tens of thousands of pounds to remove each car parking space, no matter.

It comes as little surprise to find also in the report a proposal to remove more local parking spaces and convert them to visitor only, while at the same time throwing more money down the drain on low traffic neighbourhood-style street modifications.

Not very popular in Primrose Hill but perhaps there are visitors who like the idea. Let’s do it!

Our councillors are Anna Burrage, Matt Cooper and Ajok Athian. Are they uninterested, incapable, or a mix of both?

Perhaps it does not matter. Any way you look at it, these are not people you want representing you.

JOS VERNON, NW1