Camden New Journal

Publications by New Journal Enterprises

Home

Archive

Competition

Camden New Journal - COMMENT
Published: 20 September 2007

Can £7m save Camden Town streets?

LANDSCAPES change slowly in London and most conservationists would say hurrah to that!
But Camden Town has been in need of better landscaping and a bit of social engineering for decades.
Tinkering has gone on admittedly. With rose-tinted glasses, conservationists look back to the past and sigh over much of the transformation that has taken place in the area.
But Camden Town had a lot of glaring faults – including streets weighed down with poverty – and still has them for that matter.
The rough and ready commercialisation of the street with the birth of the Camden Lock market in the ’70s, bringing in its wake countless lifestyle shops and daily hordes of shoppers from all over London and Europe, has done much to strip the town centre of its historic character.
All the better therefore that Camden Town Unlimited, representing businesses in the area, has come up with a plan to revitalise the town centre with proposals, among many, to improve life for pedestrians (See page 3).
To a large extent traffic is reasonably well controlled at the moment.
But there is a case for pedestrianisation of part of the town. A total rejection of through traffic would presumably cause too severe a dislocation. But that does not mean that traffic-pinched streets and wider pavements cannot be introduced.
Then again the apparent proposal to create space for public art around the Camden Town tube area is a stimulating concept.
Anyone who has seen how cities like Manchester and Glasgow have been transformed through the pedestrianisation of parts of their centres will relish something along similar lines being introduced in Camden Town.
Total pedestrianisation is out.
But that does not mean people should not be able to reclaim more and more of the town centre.
We wonder, though, whether £7million set aside for the regeneration of Camden Town, details of which are to be announced next week, is enough to do the job.

Politicians could still be brought to book at library~

WILL the people’s voice be heard to keep the British Library site, a historic piece of public land, in public hands? Ranged against the public are the venal sections of the political class partnered by developers who want to commercially colonise the British Library site.
While the Lib Dem and Tory coalition dithers over the site, another coalition has arisen – this time a group of concerned citizens of Somers Town (See page 2).
They want the site used for local people. Well designed flats, to match the reborn St Pancras Chambers, along with leisure facilities, should fill out the site.
The politicians may slumber. But the people are beginning to murmur and stir.
There is still hope for this site!

Send your letters to: The Letters Editor, Camden New Journal, 40 Camden Road, London, NW1 9DR or email to letters@camdennewjournal.co.uk. The deadline for letters is midday Tuesday. The editor regrets that anonymous letters cannot be published, although names and addresses can be withheld. Please include a full name, postal address and telephone number. Letters may be edited for reasons of space.

Comment on this article.
(You must supply your full name and email address for your comment to be published)

Name:

Email:

Comment: