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Our vision for a welcoming town
• WE continue to see well-loved businesses and shops closing in Camden Town, such as the Waterside Restaurant in January. Change in retail shops and restaurants is always inevitable, but the pressures in Camden Town are pretty unique and worrying to local people.
This is why, following detailed discussion with the Camden Town Community Forum and Camden Town Unlimited, the new Camden community strategy announced this week (a six-year plan for the borough by the council and our partners) is very clear and ambitious about our vision for Camden Town.
We say in the plan: “The community’s vision is of a Camden Town where drug dealing, especially visible dealing, is dramatically reduced and its unique character offers something for locals and visitors of all tastes and ages.
“Camden Town needs to have places where locals can shop for day-to-day needs and all types of people are attracted by high quality and wide-ranging shops.
“The night time economy should be something enjoyed by people in their 40s and 50s alongside younger people. The local strategic partnership believes that to achieve this vision there needs to be a clear focus on regenerating Camden Town rather than just coping with the problems.”
It is thus explicit in making clear that the problem is not just drugs, but ensuring the area offers a balance of activities for locals and visitors of all ages, and does not continue becoming more and more one dimensional.
No one wants to turn Camden Town into South Kensington, but we believe that keeping its unique character is consistent with a shift back to a more diverse town centre, including offices that bring jobs and wealth into the area.
This vision is definitely a challenge for the council and our partners. The 28 new dedicated PCSOs and police will help on the crucial drugs front, and there is still more to be done on physical regeneration and on communicating a better reputation for the area.
For the council this means, for example, thinking about how we use our limited but important planning powers and our street and environment services to make a difference.
The feedback from the community strategy consultation shows us that what happens in Camden Town concerns residents right across the borough, and making progress on our Camden Town vision is going to be an important medium term project for Camden’s partnership administration.
CLLR AQNDREW MARSHALL
Deputy Leader of the Council and Leader of the Conservative Group
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