Points about plans for the King’s Cross area

Several Forum members attended the two consultation meetings organised by Camden Council on “Shaping the Future of the King’s Cross Area”. They emphasised that:

• The plan should cover the entire King’s Cross area. Districts to the east and south should be included, and the potential contribution of King’s Cross Central should be used fully.
• The plan should relate to earlier plans and other information fully. The planning consents and occupation schedules for King’s Cross Central are particularly important for this.
• The plan should be realistic. The scope for variations within outline planning consents, the relation with TfL and the budget available from Section 106 are particularly relevant to this.
• The plan should consider the complete context of the King’s Cross area. The area is not just of local and regional importance, but also of national and international importance.
• The plan should be drafted quickly. It is overdue, as there are no obvious plans for transport, retail and other facilities for the forthcoming occupants of King’s Cross Central.

People at the meetings raised local concerns such as:

• The difficulty of crossing the area from east to west. There should be segregated routes for pedestrians and cyclists that could reduce the load on the Regent’s Canal towpath.
• The light industrial zones. These provided opportunities for local employment supplies to local service industries, so they should not be rezoned for housing, despite the evident pressures.
• The state of certain buildings, particularly the Lighthouse. Camden Council should do all it can to get the developers (UK Real Estate) to proceed, now that there is full planning consent.

The report by the independent facilitator of the meetings is here.