Independent – End of the Line for King’s Cross?

In The Independent there is an article on the area between Grays Inn Road and King’s Cross Road, brought on by the plans to redevelop the site of the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital on Grays Inn Road, and also Belgrove House (across the road from King’s Cross Station).

This area has, until now, been a lot less affected by the redevelopment and gentrification that has happened in the rest of King’s Cross and Farringdon. The area’s quiet streets are well worth a stroll around.

https://edition.independent.co.uk/editions/uk.co.independent.issue.030221/data/9730181/index.html

Draft Planning Document for Canalside to Camley Street

The Camley Street and St Pancras Way area is seeing a number of changes at the moment, and further (contentious) development proposals will happen in the near future.

So Camden Council have developed a draft Planning Document for the area, setting out key issues, planning objectives, and design principles.

Camley Street Supplementary Planning Document site plan
Camley Street Supplementary Planning Document site plan

The draft Planning Document is designed to fit in together with the existing Camley Street Neighbourhood Plan.

The documents can be downloaded from this page on the Camden Council website:

https://www.camden.gov.uk/canalside-to-camley-street-draft-supplementary-planning-document-spd-?inheritRedirect=true

Feedback on the draft Planning Document can be given until 25 September 2020:

https://canalsidetocamley.commonplace.is/

If this affects you, please give your feedback.

Government announces changes to planning laws

On 30 June the Prime Minister announced proposed changes to the planning laws designed to make it easier to build new homes.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-build-build-build

There are some controversial aspects to it:

  • Changes to planning regulations to “reduce red tape” should make it easier for housebuilders, but could potentially lead to lower quality housing being built.
  • Many felt there should have been a requirement for “net zero carbon” new developments, especially given the Government’s international carbon emissions commitments (and their own legislation) – this might be addressed by future regulations.
  • There is a new “Permitted Development right” for owners of detached blocks of flats to add up to two extra floors, without needing full planning permission. This can impact leaseholders by increasing the building value and making it harder to buy out the freehold (let alone the disruption caused by an owner actually adding two extra floors).

An explanation of permitted development rights will need to wait for a different post.

For those interested, here is a link to the draft legislation:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/632/pdfs/uksi_20200632_en.pdf