‘Does the necessity of smoothing the passage of freight trains around the country, or creating more ‘capacity’ for passengers travelling to and from Birmingham, really justify this sorry mess?’

THE HS2 misery in Camden was supposed to be over in two years’ time.

That’s what residents were told back in 2015 when the project was being waved through by MPs in parliament after a shocking consultative process that did little more than expose the total inadequacies of our allegedly democratic system.

Since then thousands of people’s lives have been upended by round-the-clock demolition works and hundreds of lorries thundering in and out of the area each week.

Homes have been demolished and Regent’s Park estate communities broken up. Historic buildings have been knocked down. A secondary school decanted. Thousands of graves unearthed. St James Gardens reduced to rubble. Mature trees cut down. There has been a huge rise in asthma cases reported by GPs.

Senior politicians have said they have been misled about costs. The National Audit Office and Public Accounts Committee have been writing hugely damaging reports for more than a decade. No one in power has ever paid a blind bit of notice to the watchdogs, giving the impression to all that the government does whatever the hell it likes.

And all for what?

Does the necessity of smoothing the passage of freight trains around the country, or creating more “capacity” for passengers travelling to and from Birmingham, really justify this sorry mess?

There are still some people – mainly train enthusiasts – left arguing this. But few, if any, people living in Camden are looking forward to the railway and Euston terminus actually being built. Because if they do ever get round to bringing HS2 to Camden, after spending more than £100billion of public money, there will be nothing to inspire future generations.

What a difference it would make if instead of imposing glass towers and dystopian plazas of chain shops on land governed by dubious public-private sector partnership, there was a lushly green public park for people to enjoy in the heart of pollution-clogged Euston. What huge health and environmental benefits that would bring, along with a trail of forest leading out west.

If the HS2 station in Euston had been half as inspiring as the plans proposed this week by the experts at the Architectural Association, this most recent chapter in Camden’s history might have been a whole lot different.

We don’t know if the plans could ever see the light of day, but we present them to you today in the hope that future major projects in our borough will have a sense of decency and aim to serve the people rather than land-owners and big business.