The site in Camden Town is ‘under offer’

A MULTI-million-pound development in the heart of Camden Town is on the drawing board following the sale of a bin depot in a prime spot.

Now neighbours have called on the new owners of the site in Jamestown Road to lay out their ideas before they start pre-planning discussions with Camden Council. The depot was previously used for council bin staff and also hosted office space. In 2012, the site was put up for sale with services moving to Holmes Road in Kentish Town.

The Jamestown Road land includes a 50-place underground car park, an open yard and cabins. Previously the NHS Tavistock and Portman Trust, in Belsize Park, hoped to use the site for a new unit. But before the deal was completed, the Trust withdrew in March.

The land is now back on the market for £11m and the New Journal has learned a sale is imminent.

William Miller, who lives in near by Gloucester Crescent, said neighbours were keeping a careful eye for new plans once the mystery owner has completed the deal. He warned the yet to be named developers must be as open as possible about what they hoped to use the land for.

Mr Miller added Camden Town was already creaking because of visitor numbers and late night crowds, he said, and a huge redevelopment plan is already underway at the Morrisons site in Chalk Farm.

He said: “Camden Town is a hell hole. When it goes past 11pm, it becomes hell’s waiting room. The stretch on Arlington Road where the site is has been a constant source of anti-social behaviour, causing problems for the council and the police. “Whatever is designed there, this needs to be taken into account. It is a question of balancing the needs of residents and what takes place around the Lock and the Markets.”

He added there were concerns over possible heights of buildings and that owners would take a “more of the same” approach to retail uses.

Mr Miller added: “We need to ensure any plans are not a densification of the site. If they look to build anything over five storeys, it will destroy the light for half of the Crescent.”

In the sales blurb produced by the Town Hall, it says the site could be used for private homes, commercial work spaces, retail and leisure, a school, a hotel, a medical research building or a “last mile” logistics depot – meaning a delivery hub for a range of goods, including dark kitchens cooking food for moped delivery drivers to collect.

The brochure adds the land is “extremely well positioned” and says that any development could benefit from being near the ‘Knowledge Quarter’ – an area based around King’s Cross that has a cluster of medical research institutes. Mr Miller said such a project would be welcomed.

He said: “We wonder if the council can be trusted to give planning consent for the right aesthetic and the right kind of uses. If it is going to be commercial, it needs to be something interesting. We would welcome an institute linked to the Knowledge Quarter, like The Crick.”

Mr Miller added: “This would bring in an interesting collection of working professionals into this part of the borough.”

Negotiations over the sale continue, with contracts set to be exchanged. The new owners have employed Camden Town-based architectural practice Dexter Moren to begin work.

The architects’ offices back on to the land, which is currently home to live in property guardians.

A Town Hall spokesman said: “The council agreed to release the Jamestown Road Depot site for sale in 2012 to fund the refurbishment and re-modelling of the Holmes Road Depot and investment into other Council buildings. “Money raised from the sale of the Jamestown Road depot is not only paying for this investment in our services, but it is also raising additional funding for our Community Investment Programme, which is building the first new council homes in a generation for Camden residents.”