• MURPHY’S Yard redevelopment offers a once-in-a-generation opportunity to provide an attractive and popular new neighbourhood but we are concerned the opportunity is being squandered by the submitted designs that bear only a passing relationship with the surrounding areas of Kentish Town, Gospel Oak and Dartmouth Park.

The current proposals should be refused as they are counter to a number of Local Plan, Neighbour-hood Plan, London Plan and national policies.

We call on Murphy to revise the proposals. We would like to see a scheme that does the following:

— Scale: provides building massing and layout that i) responds to the local context, including five conservation areas, and ii) creates a liveable place for a mixed population to thrive in.

— Mix: includes a mix of housing tenures and types, including co-op housing, co-housing and family housing, reflecting local tenures and need and a good mix of uses.

— Views: respects the protected view of Hampstead Heath from Kentish Town, as set out in the Kentish Town Neighbourhood Plan, as well as panoramic views from Hampstead Heath.

— Links: keeps the best elements of the scheme as it stands, such as the pedestrian and cycle links between Kentish Town and the Heath and connections across the railway.

— Sustainability: is an exemplar of healthy, sustainable and genuinely zero-carbon development.

— Character: provides at the outset a clear sense of intended style and design, as well as a commitment to architectural excellence, that shows how a sense of place will be created that reflects the industrial nature of the site preceded by market gardens.

We are a group with an interest and significant expertise in design and sustainability. We offer to Murphy, and their talented design team, our time for a meaningful co-design exercise to turn this area into an exemplary neighbourhood, a great place to live, and a fitting legacy that Murphy leave to the community.

We believe that, together, we can arrive at a proposal that has wide support, rather than the current designs that are causing alarm in the community and surely will not be granted planning consent.

SIGNATORIES
Camden Community Makers CLT
Chetwynd & Twisden Roads Residents’ Association
Climate Emergency Camden
Dartmouth Park Neighbourhood Forum
Elaine Grove & Oak Village Residents’ Association
Gordon House Road Residents’ Association
Gospel Oak School Association
Grove Terrace Association
Haddo House Estate Tenants’
& Residents’ Association
Heathview Tenants’ Co-operative
Highgate Road Estate Tenants’ & Residents’ Association
Kentish Town City Farm
Kentish Town Road Action
Lissenden Gardens Tenants’ Association
Mansfield Conservation Area Advisory Committee
Sanderson & Carrol Close Tenants’ and Residents’ Association
West Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum