As often, a lot is happening in the Inkerman area, including many consultations. Please don’t stop reading and say consultations are boring. People tend to raise loud objections later but have not made any effort to object at the time when it could make a difference. So …..
For example… 1. Did you know there’s a proposal to create a large hotel / hostel above McDonalds?
Application number 2024/4116/P 293-299, 301-305 Kentish Town Road and 8 Holmes Road London NW5 2TJ (above McDonalds)
Change of use of part ground and first floors and full second and third floor levels from offices (Class E) to hotel accommodation (Class C1). Installation of rooflights and PV solar panels at rear roof level.
We have previously told everyone about this planning application but we have had very little response to this, so we don’t have a mandate to object on behalf of IARA. However we think it right that people are alerted to very serious concerns from a number of people.
A very coherent one is from a local resident living in the terrace of houses at the eastern end of Holmes Rd who would face this “hotel” directly across the road.
They make the point that the traffic of necessary deliveries to the hotel and of guests arriving and departing would be a huge problem for Holmes Road and the area. This narrow road has restrictions on through traffic at crucial times coinciding with school starting and ending – so taxis and delivery vans would be forced into a narrow time slot and might well indeed try and park anywhere in the area.
There is no reception lobby provided in the plans which means that those waiting for taxis would be waiting on the narrow pavement with their suitcases.
Two other local community organisations, Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum and Kentish Town Road Action are raising objections and they point out that the plans indicate a large number of very small rooms, half of which have no windows!
They point out that this scarcely qualifies as a hotel and could more properly be described as a hostel. They also add that there is already the Unite student accommodation block in Holmes Road as well as the notorious Stay Club which causes a great deal of nuisance.
Please have a look at the application, and if you feel concerned raise your own objections. And if you think that IARA should also object then please let us know within the next few days.
[Update 23.11.24 We have had quite a number of people objecting and asking us to object on behalf of IARA so we fell we have a mandate to do so. See Appendix 1. at the end of this post. ]
2. Regis Road. (For those new to the area – this is the large industrial area off to the left of the High Street with the entrance just opposite the Tube Station – where the Recycling Center is and the car pound.)
This is from Camden about the proposals for the big development there which will include the much talked about Film Quarter, some badly needed housing but also some very tall blocks of flats:
“Camden Council is inviting you to have your say on its draft Regis Road Area Guidance. This will act as an addition to our Kentish Town Planning Framework Supplementary Planning Document (SPD), which has already been adopted. We want to hear your views to help shape this important part of Kentish Town.
We are consulting on the draft Regis Road Area Guidance from now until Monday 23rd December 2024. The consultation is open to local residents, landowners, businesses, workers, community workers, community groups and anyone else who has an interest in the area.
Give us your views
You can find out more and give your feedback by visiting our consultation pages at Commonplace: http://regisroadareaguidance.commonplace.is
We are also holding the following public events:
- Public exhibition in Kentish Town Library, 252-266 Kentish Town Road, NW5 2AA, from Tuesday 12th November to Monday 23rd December 2024. Monday to Thursday 10am to 7pm, Friday 10am to 5pm, Saturday 11am to 5pm. This will be a duplication of the information that is on Commonplace and will include paper copies of the electronic feedback form that is provided on Commonplace. This exhibition will be unstaffed.
- Public Drop-in sessions: Officers will be available to talk to you at Kentish Town Library, on Tuesday 26th November 10am to 1pm, Thursday 5th December 4pm to 8pm, Saturday 14th December 11am-2pm
This is against the background of a “Guidance document : The Regis Road Area Guidance which is too detailed for this place in the email and is tacked on the end as an appendix for the ultra keen.
3. Safe Travel Camden have sent us this about a sort of all purpose charging point wellbeing spot:
“We are currently undertaking a consultation for proposed Green Mobility Hubs on Holmes Road, Kelly Street and Talacre Road.
A Green Mobility Hub is a recognisable place that offers a mix of sustainable and active shared mobility modes, which can include shared bikes, car clubs, cargo bikes and e-scooters. Mobility Hubs can also include other community features such as cycle parking, seating, planting, and other amenities designed to improve public space for residents and visitors.
Our dedicated webpage contains information about the proposals along with a survey we would like to invite you to complete to provide us with your views. You can also email us using this address to share any further views not captured by the survey.
Please note that the consultation closes on 5 December and any responses should be received by then.
When the consultation is concluded, a report detailing its outcome and recommendations will be submitted to the Director of Environment & Sustainability for a decision in early 2025. Any implementation, if approved, would be from Spring 2025.”
4. And more from Camden Council
Have your say on Camden Climate Action
“Camden’s Climate Action Plan, launched in 2020, has driven bold action across the borough over the past four years. As 2025 marks its final year, we are turning our focus to the next Climate Action Plan. Find out how we are shaping the next five years of action as we continue to do everything possible to make Camden a zero carbon borough by 2030, whilst protecting those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Learn more in the link below and subscribe to hear when the survey launches”
Button does not work? Try thislink.
5. Calling all artists!
Camden Council have partnered with charity Hypha Studios to offer free artist studio space for up to 20 artists in the former cinema at 2 Prince of Wales Road. In return for free space, artists will be expected to be on site for at least 5 days a week and offer a free programme of events or activities for the local community. Please see here for further information, or email apply@hyphastudios.com. Deadline to apply: is Sunday 1st December 6 pm
6. Diary dates
Every Monday night at The Grafton – the Kentish Town Village table offers a 3-course meal for £12. Booking essential. https://graftonkentishtown.co.uk/whats-on/
There will be music, food and drink to celebrate turning on Kentish Town’s Christmas lights on Saturday 30 November, at the Canopy by Kentish Town Station from 4 – 6 pm.
A reminder that the IARA Annual General Meeting 2024 will actually be held on the evening of 23 January 2025, upstairs at The Grafton. Details to follow.
7. The Old Farmhouse opening soon. On the corner of Holmes Road and the High St is a pub that has changed identify many times but has now reverted to the old title.
New owner Mitch Tillman told the New Journal he had long wanted to add a Kentish Town pub to a stable that includes drinking establishments in Gray’s Inn Road, Fitzrovia, Hampstead and Maida Vale.
He told us he wants to be a local community friendly pub.
https://www.kentishtowner.co.uk/2024/07/25/the-old-farmhouse-to-open-in-the-former-lady-hamilton
| The Old Farmhouse to open in the former Lady Hamilton – KentishtownerFinally Kentish Town’s landmark corner pub gets its moniker backwww.kentishtowner.co.uk |
8. And finally … This is a lovely annual event to raise funds for our local youth club. https://goalyouthclub.wordpress.com/
An Evening of chamber music in aid of GOAL Youth Club
Rebecca Clarke: Midsummer Moon
Erwin Schulhoff: Hot-Sonate, WV 95
Bartók: Contrasts, Sz. 111
Brahms: Two Songs for Voice [clarinet], Viola and Piano, Op. 91
Schumann: Märchenerzählungen, Op. 132
Bartók: Romanian Folk Dances, Sz. 56Performed by:
Joshua Borin – Clarinet
Hannah Bell – Violin/Viola
Hannah Watson Emmrich – Pianoon Sunday the 8th of December
Doors open 7pm, concert starts 7.30pm
at St. Martin’s Church, Gospel OAK,
26 Vicars Rd, London, NW5 4NN
D & D
Inkerman Area Residents Association Limited
Registered in England No. 10075818 Registered Office: 31 Alma Street, London, NW5 3DH
To stop getting emails from IARA, and remove your data from our records, please reply to this email.
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Appendix 1:
Dear Camden Planning,
You will probably be aware that we are the local Residents Associotaion for the area which includes these premises.
Over the last fifty plus years of our existence and our work with Camden, we have been accepted by Camden officers and councillors as genuinely representative and responsible.
We have circulated the planning application to members via our email group of 400+ and our WhatsApp group of 234 members.
The responses have been universally negative, with many objections, including those that have been posted on the planning portal.
One member, Jenny Rossiter from Alma Street, summarises the following excellent points which raise serious concerns from a safety point of view.
“1. The proposed hotel will add to the traffic and congestion of an already very dangerous corner. There is no proposed car park or drop off area, so how will those arriving by car alight to enter the hotel? Also there are traffic restrictions to Holmes Road and traffic is not allowed into this street while children are arriving or leaving St Patrick’s school.
2. The proposal will add to already congested pavements. At any one time the pavement area outside McDonalds is full of customers and bike drivers waiting for their next home delivery. The proposal will only add to this congestion with hotel customers arriving throughout the day and night with their wheeled suitcases.”
We would also endorse and adopt the other objections and in particular those of KTNF and of Gerald and Joyce Hawting who live directly opposite and know the location better than anyone.
Those of us who live here already frequently see alarming near accidents on the junction of Holmes Road and the high street. If this application is granted there would be an increased risk of serious, possible fatal accidents.
Debby Hyams, Chair
David Jockelson, Secretary.
Appendix 2: From Camden : “The Regis Road area has been identified as an area for growth in Camden’s Local Plan (2017) and an opportunity for comprehensive redevelopment. The Kentish Town Planning Framework, adopted in 2020, following extensive public consultation, sets out a vision and key aims for this area of the borough as an innovative and sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood. This includes industrial, commercial and creative uses such as film studios, alongside high-quality homes, including affordable homes, with new green public spaces and improved connectivity, all of which support a diverse local community.
In 2023, Camden took a proactive approach to help bring forward regeneration in this area through an agreement with experienced London developer Yoo Capital. Yoo Capital’s vision for the area, which includes a Camden Film Quarter, was the subject of a public consultation in 2023/2024, with Yoo Capital subsequently submitting a Masterplan Vision to Camden for review.
The Regis Road Area Guidance draws on relevant aspects of Yoo Capital’s Masterplan Vision, while also building on the Kentish Town Planning Framework vision and objectives and reflecting changes in local planning since 2020. Importantly, it is a separate Camden document which will provide guidance for comprehensive development in the area.
Need help understanding this information, have a question or want to get in touch?
Email us at:regenerationandplace@camden.gov.uk or call 020 7974 4703″