How the wheel – granted planning permission by Camden Council – was due to look

TO one of the critics, it was to be a “fairground toy” blighting the historic view over Camden Lock.

To LabTech, the owner of Camden Market, it was an exciting draw which would attract more visitors to both ride – and shop.

Either way, the New Journal can today (Thursday) reveal plans to build a 40-metre “observation” wheel by the canalside in Camden Town are being quietly shelved.

LabTech were given the green light to construct the £5million attraction in 2023 and designs showed pods celebrating the area’s musical heritage, with rotating cars based on singers and bands.

The scheme was due to have been completed by Christmas 2024 but nothing has happened and this week LabTech asked the council for permission to keep 30 food stalls on the West Yard site where the wheel was due to be installed.

In its documents the company state the observation wheel, alongside long term plans to  refurbish a canal quay called Dead Dogs Basin and the East Vaults, is now being reconsidered.

“The observation wheel project has been paused while we explore options to more holistically redevelop the wider Camden Lock Market site and Interchange building,” LabTech’s paperwork filed at the Town Hall said.

It added that to “maintain the vibrancy and activity temporary market stalls deliver until the wider proposals are ready”, they want permission to continue serving food for the next three years.

Objectors have warned the plans would wreck Camden Lock’s industrial heritage.

Another artist’s impression of how it would look in the West Yard

The Friends of Regent’s Canal campaigned against the original application.

Its chairman, Ian Shacklock, told New Journal this week: “It is a big relief. The whole thing was pointless.

It would have obscured an important part of Camden’s canal heritage.

“It would have been to absolutely no benefit to Camden Lock and the canal. Many were worried about its impact on the magnificent Interchange warehouse. It was so out of keeping.”

Camden Town Railway Heritage Trust chairman Peter Darley said: “I saw it simply as a fairground toy and it was going to cost a lot to go on. You’d be on it for 10 minutes  and see nothing from the top. It made no sense.

“We had a number of objections on heritage grounds, but also it was just not a sensible idea.

“We do not want tall structures coming in and dominating the area.”

Kate Gemmell of the Combined Tenants and Residents Associations of Camden Town (TRACT) said: “It’s a very welcome development. The ferris wheel proposal was out of character with the area and would have caused significant privacy issues for local residents.”

Primrose Hill conser­vation area advisory committee chairman Richard Simpson, who originally objected, added: “It would have been a white elephant obstructing an important route.

“We were really concerned about its impact on pedestrians and cyclists and it is good news that the wheel isn’t coming.”

A spokesperson from LabTech said: “A new application to revitalise the West Yard, including the sensitive refurbishment of the Listed Grade II East Vaults and Dead Dog Basin and the temporary installation of an observation wheel was recommended for approval in 2023.

“However, the observation wheel project has subsequently been paused whilst we explore options to more holistically redevelop the wider Camden Lock Market site and Interchange building in line with the Camden Market Vision and Asset Strategy.

“In order to maintain the vibrancy and activity that the temporary market stalls deliver at the site until the wider proposals are ready, the Applicant is now seeking planning permission to retain the stalls for a further 3 year period until June 2028. The design and number of the temporary units is unchanged from the existing permission.”