Mornington’s broken, says architect Chris Roche

Published: 25 March 2010
by PETER GRUNER

A NEGLECTED traffic island which features a statue of Victorian reformer Richard ­Cobden, could be returned to its former glory as the gateway to Camden Town.

Award-winning architect Chris Roche wants to clean up the space at  Mornington Crescent, encrusted with years of rubbish and dirt, and provide a new visitor attraction.

Mr Roche said the island on which the 1868 statue sits, at the once grand former tollgate to Camden Town, is poorly maintained, little used, and almost unrecognisable as a civic space.

“Camden Council has installed iron seating,” he added, “but the site needs a thorough clean-up and refurbishment before it will attract ­visitors to the area.” 

Ideas for the transformation and landscaping of the site have been submitted by Mr Roche, and his architectural assistant student Telina Cheung. The scheme has already been submitted to the “Forgotten Spaces” competition organised by the London branch of the Royal Institution of British Architects (RIBA), who have launched a campaign to find neglected areas of the capital which could be ­regenerated.

Mr Roche said: “Part of this proposal is to encourage visitors to arrive via Mornington Crescent station, thereby reducing congestion and boosting footfall to the southern section of Camden High Street. 

“This in turn will boost business, shop-keepers’ profits, and encourage further ­regeneration.”

Under the scheme the site would become an attractive meeting point, with trees and outlets for refreshments and a performance plinth for buskers, musicians and artists.

Mr Roche has also suggested that a disused underground lavatory on the island could provide storage space for a florist’s stall.

He came up with the idea for the island while working on a project to create a war memorial on the site to those who died building the Japanese railways. Money has been donated for the memorial following an  appeal in the New Journal.

Camden Town attracts more than 100,000 visitors each weekend, and is the fourth most popular visitor destination in London. Currently the majority of visitors arrive by Tube at Camden Town station, leading to critical station and pavement congestion.

Mr Roche, founder of Shoreditch-based 11.04 Architects, and a former chairman of the Camden branch of the RIBA, said: “The interest in Camden in 2012 as a visitor destination during the Olympics will be unprecedented. I urge Camden Council to seize the opportunity and regenerate the southern end of Camden High Street as an urban civic space worthy of the 21st century.”