Looking at Carol Street

Published: August 4, 2011

OF the 31 properties proposed to be built (further to Workshop units could be sold off, July 7), only seven are for tenant rental and a further seven for affordable housing so less than 50 per cent, the remaining 17 will be sold off privately and the Carol Street site will not be touched at all, the council preferring to sell this off to a developer.

The proposal is ill-conceived and ill-planned being only about how much cash the council can grab rather than any thought for the community. This really isn’t acceptable when you consider we lose five valued shops, the Carol Street workshops and community centre as well as the use of 31 secure garages.

The development in Bayham Place runs down the side of a school playground. I propose the council offer the school a purpose-built ground floor block in exchange for allowing the building of a community centre on top; retention of the shops in Plender Street with the private sale flats above; keeping half of the garages with flats above and two townhouses for private sale; at Carol Street keep the workshops but build two storeys on top for dwellings; Camden Street would stay as proposed although I would like to see a few of the garages kept in a revised plan.

A case could be made to build a colonnade down the Camden Street side with a covered area at ground level and extra classrooms above.

With the current proposal we gain little and lose much…
D Hodgkinson
Bayham Place, NW1