Wasted London is the New Journal’s investigative series about unused property and silent construction sites

SHUTTERED shop fronts in Kentish Town are a reminder that too many commercial units stand unusued.

A coin laundry and a Co-op are the only public-facing businesses on the southern-most block of Fortess Road, where short-lived grocery KJ’s Town Market shut down on the corner earlier this year, the former underground toilets turned cocktail bar lies empty, and three neighbouring buildings are not just boarded up, but completely derelict.

It has been the same sight for seven years.

“We need to bring those buildings to life because they are very dead at the moment,” said co-chair of Kentish Town Road Action (KTRA) group Caroline Hill about numbers 3, 5, and 7 Fortess Road — the trio of derelict units which were once occupied by a cafe and a Chinese takeaway.

The buildings were sold together at auction in 2023 to real estate company Haslemere Property Management Limited for £2.1 million.

But they had already been empty since 2019, and had planning permission to be demolished and replaced by retail units and three bedroom flats.

“I was very pleased when I thought it was going to get developed, but nothing has happened since then,” said Ms Hill.

Haslemere Property Management told the New Journal this week that it does still plan to rebuild 3, 5, and 7, with construction intended to begin in 2027 — the delay, it said, is down in part to pressure on council planning departments.

Haslemere director Oliver Royds said a redesign had been ordered after the company bought the property, adding: “We inherited a scheme that had a number of planning and technical issues.

“The planning process has inevitably taken considerably longer than we would have liked. Planning departments across London are under significant pressure, and obtaining approvals today is a much lengthier process than it was only a few years ago.

“Whilst that can understandably be frustrating for local residents, it is the reality that developers of projects of all sizes are currently facing.”

He added: “Leaving the building vacant is in nobody’s interests—ours included—and our focus throughout has been on bringing forward the best possible scheme rather than simply the quickest one.”

The buildings at the south end of Fortess Road

Kentish Town North councillor James Slater also told the New Journal that councillors have been “pushing for a long time” to move the development forward.

He said of the area: “I don’t think it’s doomed. It’s not all about shops closing, there are a lot of new businesses there too and as councillors we’re quite clear that we want these local businesses to thrive.

“But I think we’re also between phases in that whole area. There are a lot of plans to increase the number of people in the area, and there’s a larger piece of work around infrastructure in Kentish Town.”

Mr Slater cited new flats in Highgate Road as well as the incoming “Film Quarter” development in Regis Road that would bring more footfall to the neighbourhood, as well as walking, cycling and transport link improvements to make it a “more welcoming” place to arrive in and stay longer.