The edge of the new blocks seen looking down Queen’s Crescent

THIS is the first look at how Camden envisages a 20–year redevelopment of the area bordering Queen’s Crescent to look.

The controversial scheme immediately drew criticisms for the designs and scale as they were unveiled ahead of the building consent process.

The quirk of local government means the council must ask its own planning department for permission to demolish the 1960s West Kentish Town estate, to the south of the Crescent and next to Grafton Road.

It has been working on the scheme since 2015 after running up against opposition from those who say Camden is trying to squeeze too much onto the 10-acre site.

Three hundred and sixteen council flats are due to replaced by 856 homes on the rebuilt site.

The new estate, which will have tower blocks up to 14 storeys high, include 530 homes for sale on the private market to help pay for the build, and 326 for council tenants.

That’s a gain of 10 homes, but the council argues existing tenants will enjoy nicer new homes.

Planners have split the estate into 13 different plots that would be built in eight phases over two decades.

Current tenants will have the right to return once work is completed. Camden documents said play areas, with better lighting to reduce crime, will be among the benefits.

But neighbour Vala Magnadottir called the plans “fundamentally flawed”, adding: “While I acknowledge the pressing need for better homes and strategic development within our borough, it is imperative that such initiatives are meticulously planned, genuinely address local housing needs.”

Ms Magnadottir listed objections which ranged from the scale of the new blocks, overshadowing and loss of light.

She said many of the new apartments will only have the minimum level of floor space allowed under regulations.

She also said a 14-storey tower with north facing flats would mean homes locked in “perpetual gloom” and said nobody was looking forward to living next door to a construction project for two decades.

Her views were echoed by objector Tom Langton-Lockton, who lives nearby, who said: “I thought these large estates had been seen to be anti-human long ago. Nobody wants this.”

Alice Brown of Camden Climate Emergency told the New Journal the plans would represent a return to the Victorian slums which the estate had originally replaced.

She said: “West Kentish Town Estate was designed to provide high levels of daylight and sunlight, further to demolition of the Victorian terraced housing that were crammed too closely together.

“The current proposals will sadly return the West Kentish Town area to conditions characterised by inadequate daylight and sunlight. Even the new flats will not meet current standards.”

Camden has to ask its own planning department for building consent

Calling the new designs “out-of-scale mega-blocks”  she called on architects to look again.

She added: “We are facing a climate emergency and need to plan for the future. This means incorporating community space and flexible, affordable workspace to support the resilience of our neighbourhood.

“This scheme quadruples the amount of floor space currently on the site, but only 0.3% of the area is non-residential.

“This is completely inadequate. We need embedded social infrastructure and workspace in this development.”

Resident Jonathan Byatt has filed an objection at the Town Hall, stating he felt designers had ignored the results of nearly 10 years of consultations.

He said: “Clear statements were made signalling a dislike for large concrete tower blocks. The proposed design will take away significant low rise housing and increase the number of these disliked block structures.”

How the new blocks will look after 20 years of construction work

Another view of the proposed new buildings

Councillor Nasrine Djemai, the council’s new homes chief, said: “We know the vast majority of residents living on the estate want the West Kentish Town redevelopment and to live in better-quality housing. Some 93 per cent of residents voted in favour of new homes and an improved neighbourhood at the residents’ ballot.

“We are committed to delivering over 300 spacious, modern and energy-efficient council homes here to replace the current council homes which are too small and not at the standard residents deserve.

“The new homes would significantly improve council residents’ living conditions by helping many families out of overcrowding. Our residents deserve to live in warm, safe and spacious homes, and that is exactly what this redevelopment aims to achieve.

“Residents want this change and we’ve been working closely with them through an extensive consultation process to get to this stage.”