Backlash at plan for homes at Camden Town ‘gateway’

Published: 2 September, 2010
by DAN CARRIER

PLANS to turn a tyre-fitting workshop into 29 affordable homes in the heart of ­Camden Town are facing stiff opposition.

The scheme, submitted by AS Property Investments Ltd, is due to be discussed by the Town Hall’s planning committee tonight (Thursday). It would see a garage at the junction of Delancey Street and Parkway demolished and replaced by a building which would be six storeys high. 

But English Heritage, the Camden Town Conservation Area Advisory Committee (CCAC), their Primrose Hill counterparts and the Delancey Street Residents Association are all calling on planning officials to block the proposals.

An earlier application was passed in 2008 but now the owners have come back with designs re-drawn to include more homes and another storey on top. 

The objections from ­English Heritage include fears that the design is poor and not fitting as a “gateway” into Camden Town. The Primrose Hill CAAC say an extra storey will harm views from Regent’s Park and that car parking on site is ­unnecessary – the new design includes a car-lift into a ­basement car park.

Members of the Delancey Street Residents Association say the buildings are ugly  and would ruin the curved ­Georgian terrace in the street. 

One member  said: “The proposal would be a wasted opportunity to provide a civic statement as a gateway to Camden.”