Demolishing the Camden triangle would be a bad idea - Camden Council's site allocation document
IN Camden Council’s site allocation document – essentially a long-term plan for redevelopment in Camden – there is prominence given to rebuilding Camden Town Tube and nothing is ruled out including knocking down the whole Camden triangle back to Buck Street market.
I think it is worth re-stating why this plan, that has previously been rejected after local pressure, would be a bad idea.
I am a regular user of Camden Tube and I don’t agree that it is badly overcrowded. It does get busy but then so do many Tube stations, and as of yet there have been no attempts to advertise Chalk Farm station as being closer to the Stables Market. A slightly punitive pricing scheme could encourage people to use Chalk Farm or Mornington Crescent.
Ultimately, when the Tube is busy so is Camden, our town has its own capacity limit, we shouldn’t think it desirable to keep encouraging ever greater numbers of people through our streets.
A very strong case needs to be made to contemplate any Tube re-building, especially if it involved compulsory purchase of properties; the disruption during any re-building would be huge, and very damaging for Camden Town businesses and residents.
The suspicion will be with any large re-building scheme that Transport for London would be seeking to profit on from above ground redevelopment after the compulsory purchases of buildings used by long-term Camden Town businesses such as the Electric Ballroom.
Anthony Parsons
Inverness Street, NW1
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