Dear Members
During the next couple of weeks you should get a notice through your letter box about the 2025 IARA Annual General Meeting. Here is advance notice:
Notice of a Party – aka the Annual General Meeting
7.00 pm Monday 26 January 2026 7.00 pm at 2 Prince of Wales Road
This is a great chance to meet people (all those new friends on the WhatsApp group that you’ve never met, or the neighbours you don’t know!). The AGM will be held on Monday 26 January at 7 pm at the new place that will be our local community centre – 2 Prince of Wales Road – the old Law Centre / CAB. It’s already being used quite a lot but it will be closed for a complete rebuild next year and reopen as a co-working space with community facilities and meeting rooms.
At the AGM there will be drinks (wine, beer, soft) and small nibbles. Meeting at 7.00, doors open from 6.30. Plenty of time to socialise before and after the formal meeting.
The first part of the meeting will be a slightly formal AGM, with reports from the Chair, the Treasurer and some of the subgroups. You’ll hear about what’s been happening during this last extremely busy year, what the officers do with your feedback, how we work with Camden Council and other groups.
There will be an election of the officers – Chair, Secretary and Treasurer. If you would like to nominate anyone to any of these positions (yourself, or another person with their permission) let us know by email in advance of the meeting. (The current officers are also willing to stand again). If you want to know more about what’s involved, get in touch – inkermanara@hotmail.com.
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Planning Issues
Many of you are on the IARA WhatsApp group and will have seen the lively exchanges there about the local planning issues. You may also have seen the article in last week’s Camden New Journal and/or had a leaflet through your door from Yoo Capital, the main developer of the Regis Road site.
There is so much going on, and at least three separate planning applications for this site. All of them relate to different aspects of demolition and construction on the site, to create a film quarter, new housing and other spaces.
At the same time, there are several other plans for the area, all at different stages. There is increasing concern about the scale and timing of all this, and a feeling that each application should not be seen in isolation as, potentially, the landscape and feel of Kentish Town could look very different in the future, with up to 10,000 new residents in and near this neighbourhood..
We thought we would summarise the applications, including the links and the deadlines for comments, some of which are now very soon. Firstly, those that relate to Regis Road.
- The Camden Film Quarter
This is the biggest application for a large part of the Regis Road site. It includes a film studio block the equivalent of 27 storeys high, plus deep, deep basements. Also
housing tower blocks up to 23 storeys (for comparison, Monmouth House is 12). For the detail, go to Camden Planning Search for application 2025/4861/P. Deadline for comments has been extended, following representations from many organisations and two of our local councillors, Meric and Jenny, to 28 December. Meanwhile, it is worth noting that Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum are asking Yoo Capital and Camden for a complete re-think of the plans, for something more in proportion with the existing neighbourhood and in line with Camden’s own policies. - The Police Station
The rear of the listed building would be partially demolished, and the application is also for change of use – it would no longer be the police station (see below for the replacement). There is detail in this plan for the relocation of the Recycling Centre to an enclosed building with flats on top of it.
Application 2025/5084 – comments until 14 December
- The Police Section House
This is the tall and currently underused building set back from Holmes Road at number 10a. It will be refurbished “to deliver a modern operational police facility”.
Application 2025/5479/P – comments until 27 December - Joseph Homes
This is the company that intends to develop another part of the Regis Road site, providing housing, which would bring the total, with the Yoo Capital homes, up to around 1,000. They say this would consist of “342 homes in total of which 176 are affordable, 525 co-living studios offering an affordable rented home to workers in Camden, 600 student bedrooms of which 35% will be offered at affordable rents to those studying at a Camden Higher Education Institution.”
Some of you may have attended the drop-in sessions they held last week. There is likely to be a planning application early next year following further public consultation.
Other planning proposals include:
The West Kentish Town Estate ..
… will be considered by the Planning Committee this Thursday at 7 pm. The Camden officers are recommending acceptance, but there is much local unhappiness about the plans. People are invited to attend the hearing. There are two public galleries, entry from 6.30 pm.
New Homes Small Sites – the Raglan Estate development
Camden were proposing to put in their own planning application just before Christmas – perhaps a good time for things to get overlooked? Raglan Street residents, forcibly supported by councillors Meric and Jenny, have asked for it to be delayed until the new year.
Meanwhile … there is the Bacton tower development (formerly known as Bacton Low Rise) just to the north west of us in Wellesley Road and …
Murphys! If you weren’t around here in 2022, you may not be aware of the huge row about a proposed development of the land running between the railway line and Highgate Road. So many objections (over 1000) on the planning website that the application was eventually withdrawn. But we are aware that proposals will come forward again in the new year, so watch this space.
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And finally – John’s report from the Police Safer Neighbourhoods Panel – see attached. Problems with children kicking doors did seem to have died down, but recently we’ve had further reports.
We have forwarded details to the police and Camden’s Antisocial Behaviour officers and our councillors. Please let us know if and when you have trouble with this so that we can continue to liaise with Camden and the police.
D & D
Inkerman Area Residents Association Limited
Registered in England No. 10075818 Registered Office: 31 Alma Street, London, NW5 3DH