The site in Kentish Town

A PLAN for an entire new neighbourhood is set to be unveiled next week when developers lodge designs for 800 new homes on one of the last brownfield sites in the borough.

The proposals will see the redevelopment of Murphy’s Yard, which snakes along the side of railway lines in Kentish Town.

The size of the land has led some to liken the opportunity to the way King’s Cross railwaylands were rebuilt, although not quite on that scale.

If given the green light the scheme will include new housing, businesses and a car-free public space stretching from Kentish Town to Parliament Hill Fields.

The heights of the proposed buildings would range from 12 to 19 storeys; however, civic groups have raised concerns about how tall they will be.

Other questions have been raised over the number and range of housing options that will be available – and whether people will be able to afford to live there.

This week, developers Folgate Estates, a sister firm of Murphy, notified the Town Hall it was now ready to submit its scheme for outline planning permission in the coming days.

Though the finer details have yet to be revealed, Folgate said the project draws on feedback from a three-year consultation, with 35 per cent of the housing set to be “affordable”, and one third of the land to be devoted to open space.

But Dartmouth Park Neighbourhood Forum warned Folgate it would be ignoring a long history of high-density but low-rise housing in Camden, and called on architects to rethink using towers.

It said by pushing ahead with the current scheme, they run the risk of having the project thrown out and the process becoming subject to a planning battle and lengthy appeals.

Forum member Ben Castell said: “This is a chance for Murphy to leave a great legacy, but we still have concerns and would like further discussions. They have already run a lot of consultations but we feel we haven’t been listened to.”

The Forum added it backed the idea of the land being redeveloped and finding a new use but said the current plans do not fit in with Kentish Town’s look and feel.

Mr Castell added: “Camden has this amazing legacy of high-density, low-rise estates, such as the social housing built in the 1970s. We wouldn’t mind 1,000 homes – as long as they are well designed.

“We feel particularly after Grenfell and Covid, having tower blocks of this height presents problems, and we feel the designs look like the same old stuff being rolled out in Stratford and on the Old Kent Road, a characterless row of towers which could be anywhere.”

A planning application is due to go in next week

The land has been home to the family-owned construction firm for more than 50 years, and the firm’s headquarters will remain on-site.

Folgate said that though the application was imminent, final designs, use and how to build the project could continue to be shaped during the project’s potential 15-year construction time.

The southern end of the site falls in the boundaries of the Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum, and the civic group say parts of the scheme are to be welcomed. But it too added more work was needed to be done.

Forum chairman Roger Winfield said: “We continue to press the developer for answers to a number of important concerns.”

He added it felt there were outstanding issues over how the new blocks will affect views, including protected vistas from Hampstead Heath, the layout of pedestrian and bike routes, and the need for more information on green issues.

The Forum added it was “generally supportive” and it met their Neighbourhood Plan’s vision for more housing, more business space and a new car- free route to the Heath.

Mr Winfield added: “We are looking forward to seeing the latest, revised scheme.”

Folgate Estates’ Andrew Wilson, who is leading the application, told the New Journal: “We would like to thank everyone who has played a part so far. It has helped us design a set of buildings and open spaces that we believe will be a huge benefit for the area. We are keen to develop the community benefits from ideas on a page to projects in Gospel Oak and Kentish Town.”