Improved access to St Pancras Gardens completed
A six-month construction project to improve the accessibility into historic St Pancras Gardens has recently been completed, fittingly in time for St Pancras Day on 12 May.
The new ramp connects Camley Street to the peaceful public grounds of St Pancras Old Church and has been sensitively designed to reflect the historic setting, providing a safer and more welcoming entrance to this green oasis.
The ramp provides new step-free access, allowing visitors with mobility issues direct access from Camley Street and beyond, without having to detour to the other side of the park on Pancras Road.
Councillor Adam Harrison, Cabinet member for a sustainable Camden said:
“This new ramp provides enhanced access into St Pancras Gardens from Camley Street, for everyone to enjoy the Grade II listed gardens.
"This is part of Camden's ongoing work to make our parks and green spaces more accessible.
"On visiting the site, it was clear that local residents were already excited about the newly accessible entrance, telling me they will be able to use their shopping trolley more easily or push their bike up it in order to access Pancras Road.
“As well as allowing access to St Pancras Old Church, the Hardy tree and the Burdett Coutts memorial sundial, it also provides an alternative, greener, level access route connecting Kings Cross to Somers Town, Euston and the wider area, via the nearby Somers Town footbridge.”
Councillor Roger Robinson, St Pancras and Somers Town ward councillor said:
“I was delighted to attend the opening of the Camley Street Entrance to the St Pancras Gardens.
“To me as a St Pancras and Somers Town ward councillor, it is a marvellous addition to our ward and the ramp will provide excellent access to the Gardens for all
“I am sure that all the champions of the Disability Oversight Panel of which I am the Chair will be very delighted by the ramp and the fully accessible way to the lovely Gardens.
“I would like to thank Daniel Bailey (Green Space Officer) and Shane Greig (Structures Manager) who led on this project for the council and our partners Idverde, who undertook the work.”
The project forms part of Camden’s ongoing Green Space Investment Programme and was funded by Section 106 contributions secured from local developments.
St Pancras Gardens is located between Somers Town and Kings Cross, near St Pancras Station and St Pancras Hospital. It lies within the Kings Cross Conservation Area and surrounds one of the oldest places of Christian worship, St Pancras Old Church, which is a grade II* listed building.
Saint Pancras was a Roman citizen who converted to Christianity, and was beheaded for his faith at the age of fourteen, around the year 304.
From an early stage, Saint Pancras was venerated together with Saints Nereus and Achilleus in a shared feast day and Mass formula on 12 May. Since 1969, Saint Pancras has been venerated separately, still on 12 May.