Queen’s Crescent Library was made to look like a fast-food takeaway

• LIKE most things involving Camden Council, the filming of the Kentucky Fried Chicken advertisement in Queen’s Crescent (CNJ, March 14) failed to consider the needs of residents and didn’t live up to the purported lofty political, social, health and ecological “standards” of the Labour administration.

While having rushed to declare a climate emergency, Camden Labour fails to see the irony of a street, indeed library, being used to promote a multi-national company using a staggering 60 million chickens reared in the United Kingdom.

When we need pollution reduction, why was the low traffic neighbourhood suspended for huge lorries and trucks? Ditto the extensive days long intensive use of water for “rain” and electricity for floodlights.

It’s even more galling that this took place in one of the most deprived areas of Camden.

As recently as November the environment committee met to discuss “healthy eating” and the school meals policy and pledged to “eradicate the barriers to healthy eating”.

All this while enabling a promotion for extremely unhealthy foods, by a low-paying employer aimed at poor people. Residents had no say in this and weren’t consulted about the three-day disruption that ensued.

While we were told filming would take place, there was no mention of considerable noise and lorry movements continuing until 1am on the street, immediately outside windows including the sheltered housing scheme.

The children’s area of the library was closed, disrupting learning and play.

While some shops were offered small amounts of compensation, others weren’t.

Granting permission to film at the same time as demolishing the garages in the West Kentish Town estate was another unplanned double-whammy.

Huge amounts of dust and fumes were produced. Parking required by disabled residents was unavailable and overall led to loss of income to shops.

The 1970s-style backdrop of grime and urban decay may serve as visual interest in the world of commercial TV, but merely illustrates the appalling failure of Camden Council to upkeep its streets and allocate resources for the benefit of residents.

It’s exactly six years since a total of £2million was allocated to Queen’s Crescent by the GLA specifically for regeneration. Apparently £640K has been spent on consultants and the like, but £1.3million remains somewhere in the coffers.

So just when is work going to start? Residents have grown tired of this circus of continued delays and promises.

We face decades of disruption from the triple density “redevelopment” on the hugely neglected West Kentish Town Estate, while having to battle the destruction of trees, no further public amenities and significant light loss. Bacton Low Rise, which was due to be completed in 2017, has still not been started.

Will Camden stop cashing in on film crews (£137K) and start to genuinely address the actual needs of this neighbourhood?

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED, NW5