Blocked roads, parking havoc... it must be London Fashion Week again

Published: 25 February 2010
by JOSIE HINTON

FOR 51 weeks a year, it looks exactly like any other quiet residential street, home to a few blocks of flats and a derelict dairy.

But for seven days each February, a sleepy Bloomsbury road is jampacked with chauffeur-driven Mercedes and paparazzi as The Dairy venue is transformed into a hip-hotspot for the fashion glitterati. Supermodel Kate Moss has already been photographed at the Wakefield Street venue while chatting to models backstage on Saturday.

French Vogue’s editor-in-chief Carine Roitfeld has also been spotted there, as has comedian David Walliams, seen supporting his fiancée Lara Stone on the catwalk.

But for the street’s residents, London Fashion Week spells nothing more than traffic chaos as honking taxis and four-wheel-drives block pavements and take up parking bays.

Pamela Mansi, who lives in Wakefield Street, has had enough of arrogant drivers and models “dressed up to the nines” with little concern for neighbours.

She said: “The drivers park where they want and refuse to move. Normally, if you stop for a second to unload your shopping you’re slapped with a ticket, but the wardens are nowhere to be seen during Fashion Week.”

Maggie Morgan, who works in Marchmont Centre, added: “Elderly residents complain be­cause they can’t get past all the vehicles. Mums with buggies can’t even walk down the street, let alone wheelchair users.”

And Kenton Street resident Harun Kaji said: “They expect you to move out of their way, but it’s us who live here. I’ve had a nightmare trying to get the kids home from school. Parking is completely impossible.”

King’s Cross Labour ward councillor Abdul Hai said he was investigating how the high-profile shows could go ahead inside the old dairy without obtaining a temporary events licence from the council.

He said: “The only thing it currently has a licence to sell is milk. The situation is chaotic. The streets are lined with Mercedes and people carriers taking up all the residents’ bays and generally causing havoc.

“Last year, residents were told this wouldn’t happen again but here we are facing the same problem.”
When the New Journal visited the venue with Cllr Hai this week, reporters were assured by organisers at the front door  that it had obtained a temporary events licence.

But Camden Council has confirmed it has no record of an entertainment licence being granted. A spokeswoman said: “The Dairy did not submit a temporary event notice, nor do the premises have a licence for selling alcohol. However, if alcohol is being given away at a private function no licence is required. Investigations are taking place to establish whether there has been a change of use that needs planning permission.”

Founded in 1898 by Sir George Barham, the building was originally the headquarters of the Express Dairy Company.

But it has since become a venue for exhibitions and private functions. The New Journal tried to track down the owners of the building and was directed to a press officer working on a Fashion Week event. Several calls were not returned.