West Kentish Town Estate new tower heights slammed

In June, Camden Council revealed its full plans for the redevelopment of West Kentish Town estate in a new planning application.

The local authority plans to knock down all the buildings on the estate, which currently comprises 316 flats.

These would be replaced by 11 new blocks, the tallest of which would be 15 storeys high.

Some living near the estate and local community groups have raised concerns over the height of the new towers.

Queen’s Crescent Neighbourhood Forum claims people are “deeply concerned” about the planning application.

It said: “Tall buildings are visually-dominant and can cast a pall over the neighbourhood.

“Residential buildings over eight stories feel dark and overbearing; they have a negative impact on people using streets in which they are located.”

Other neighbours who have objected to the scheme on the council’s planning portal claimed that the buildings threaten to “overwhelm” the area.

The Neighbours of West Kentish Town group has also said that a far higher number of homes on the new estate should be for social rent.

In total, 326 new homes would be for social rent, with an additional 530 to be sold on the private market.

Under current plans, only a quarter of the new homes would have three or more bedrooms.

“This will not help schools and multi-generation families and is not an adequate response to one of the primary identified problems which is serious overcrowding,” the group said.

They also accused Camden Council of failing to consider other regeneration options, including retrofitting the estate’s existing buildings with energy-saving measures.

The local authority has said that in a ballot, 93% of estate residents backed building the new blocks, adding that it had considered three separate retrofit schemes over the last ten years.

Councillor Nasrine Djemai, cabinet member for new homes and community investment, said: “We are committed to delivering over 300 new council homes that are modern, energy-efficient, and spacious, replacing the current homes, which are too small and no longer meet the standards our residents deserve.

“This redevelopment will significantly improve living conditions by helping many families move out of overcrowded homes and into warm, safe, and high-quality housing.

“Even if the existing blocks had the structural foundations to support a full retrofit, such a scheme would not provide the additional space that families need, nor would it be a more affordable or effective way to bring homes up to modern standards.”