Illustration by John Sadler www.johnsadlerillustration.com 

• KENTISH Town needs TV studios like a fish needs a bicycle, (Kentish Town could be rival to Tinseltown, November 9).

By backing this shameless developer, who just sees Kentish Town in terms of pound signs, Camden Council is colluding with the exploitation of Kentish Town, showing itself to be an unfit custodian of our borough.

Kentish Town needs planning to increase its resilience in the face of an uncertain future. That means enabling existing businesses to flourish and new businesses to come which will add real social value to the area, including food production, providers of housing, health and wellbeing, and businesses that contribute to the circular economy. There are many businesses that are needed well in advance of TV studios.

Businesses will need to be able to function in an increasingly precarious economic and physical environment. The council does not appear to comprehend what is coming down the track due to global climate change.

We are already seeing the beginning of economic breakdown, with inflation and food scarcity. This is likely to continue due to the impact of flooding and drought on the world’s bread baskets. Inflation will be devastating, as it destroys people’s ability to live and plan for the future. It causes chaos.

This is what Camden should be thinking about when planning the future of Kentish Town’s remaining development opportunity, the Murphy site and Regis Road industrial area.

Camden needs to keep the recycling centre and the Holmes Road depot which serves the whole of the borough and is important for housing maintenance and retrofit.

These assets should be the starting point for massive investment in the circular economy. Instead Camden Council is proposing to squander this exciting possibility.

The development of the area should be based on what is going to be good for Camden. The council should stop getting into bed with large developers and dreaming up developments which will be harmful to our ability to thrive.

Sir Keir Starmer says that we can have what we want to have if we have growth, but more property development is not the answer.

The leadership of Camden Council should step down and make way for others with the real interests of Camden’s citizens at heart.

SUE SHEPHERD
Savernake Road, NW3