London,
04
September
2015
|
10:40
Europe/London

HS2: Planning permission granted for replacement homes in Camden

  • Housing designs for Dick Collins Hall Site
  • Housing designs for Varndell Street site
  • Housing designs for Robert Street site
  • Map of the sites
  • Key facts on each site

Council tenants and leaseholders set to lose their homes to High Speed 2 (HS2) will have a new flat to move into after planning permission was granted to build replacement homes.

Camden Council’s Development Control Committee approved the planning application submitted by the Council’s Housing Department for replacement housing last night (Thursday 3 September), subject to conditions, which will see 90 replacement homes, 16 affordable homes and ten private homes built across eight sites on Regent’s Park Estate.

The planning permission is subject to a shadow Section 106 legal agreement and referral to Mayor of London for his direction.

Camden Council secured funding from HS2 Ltd. in a legal agreement in March 2015, following months of negotiation, to build replacement homes for Council tenants losing their flats to HS2. This agreement also allows the Council to build enough new homes to offer resident leaseholders the opportunity to remain in the area.

HS2 Ltd. had previously agreed to pay Camden Council for 70 flats in the new Stanhope and Winchester apartments on Stanhope Street. These flats, with the flats given planning permission on Thursday, will together provide the replacement housing for tenants, needed as a result of HS2.

Leader of Camden Council, Councillor Sarah Hayward, said: “We’re determined that HS2 should not break our strong communities in Camden – and building these new homes will ensure our tenants and leaseholders can remain in the area that means so much to them.

“70% of tenants losing their homes told us in consultation that they want to stay in the local area. Residents losing their homes should only have to move once so we plan to have the new homes ready for residents to move into before HS2 construction starts.

“HS2 will subject Camden to over a decade of disruption and we’re gravely concerned that many more Camden homes will be left uninhabitable. HS2 Ltd. must guarantee they will address the combined impacts of construction and the long-term effects that noise, dust and vibration will have on our residents’ lives.”

Read the report that went to Camden Council’s Development Control Committee. 

A resident survey (Housing Needs Survey) was done in 2013 and most affected residents said that they would prefer to stay on the existing estate or within a 10 minute walk. The Council committed to residents that affected tenants should only be required to move once. We consulted residents on 11 sites over the last two years finally bringing forward nine sites to a planning application.

Camden Council will undertake preparatory and utility works ahead of starting work on the construction of the replacement homes this winter. If the HS2 Bill is passed into law, the homes are scheduled to be ready for residents to move into ahead of HS2 construction starting.

If HS2 goes ahead it will result in the demolition of three social housing blocks (Eskdale, Ainsdale and Silverdale) on the Regent’s Park Estate and 14 street properties on Melton and Cobourg Street. In total 182 units would be lost in the following tenure mix:

  • 136 social rented units
  • 24 resident leaseholders
  • 22 non-resident leaseholders

A second linked application for five private units above the Camden People’s Theatre was submitted in June and will be heard at a future Development Control Committee.

You can read more about our replacement housing programme on our HS2 housing pages.

More information

Camden Council opposes plans for HS2 as currently proposed. If the government does go ahead with the scheme, Camden is committed to securing the best deal for our communities. Find out more here.