Kay Reynolds, Joe Thornton and Sara Nagy at the Spencer Rise estate

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THE Town Hall is being warned that building more homes on small strips of Camden’s estates will mean residents lose vital outdoor space.

Housing chiefs are trying to ease the waiting list for by adding 73 new homes on what have been called “small sites” over the next four years. Projects on land at Castle Road, Camden Town, Raglan Street and Highgate Road, Kentish Town, Bernard Shaw Court and Foster Court and the Spencer Rise Estate in Dartmouth Park have already been approved.

Camden says it is a vital way of providing homes to families in desperate need of somewhere to live, but opponents say the council is squeezing too much onto the sites.

Surveyors have measured up garages, sheds, bin areas, forecourts and parking spaces.

Sara Nagy grew up in the 39-home Spencer Rise estate in Dartmouth Park.

She told the New Journal: “I have lived here for 40 years and have seen a number of changes. Unfortunately most of them have been for the worse, but they all pale in comparison to the New Homes scheme. A consultation was completely biased towards the project. They have taken it as if we are signed up to this.

“Residents are very concerned about losing outdoor space and the garages. Is the council intent on packing us in like sardines and making us feel we are undeserving of the space, making us appear selfish to want a little space for ourselves, while people with more than us are asked to give nothing?

“Instead of targeting us, why don’t they put forward more schemes targeting empty residences in Camden, which is the third highest in the country for empty properties?”

Ms Nagy added: “They have said if they build these flats they will do ours up. That is downright bribery. They should do the work we need on our homes anyway, not because we have accepted their plans.”

The tenants say existing problems include black mould, damp and dilapidated walkways while retrofitted insulation is said not to work.

Kay Reynolds has lived in Spencer Rise for 40 years.

She added: “ We don’t have storage in the flats so the garages are important. We fear the new buildings would take away light, privacy would be lost, it will be overcrowding.”

She added that the council had gone for hard sell tactics.

Regeneration chief Councillor Danny Beales

She said: “They try to entice residents, teasing them with the possibility that the new build may be available for their grown-up children. But how will this work? The affordable homes will be allocated on a bidding system.

“We know we need new affordable homes, but they need to find a new way of looking at where they can build. How about going after the landlords who leave homes empty for years?”

The Town Hall said the scheme will bring a number of benefits, giving tenants a wider choice, and offering older people the chance to downsize but stay within their estate.

Town Hall regeneration chief Labour councillor Danny Beales said: “We have over 7,000 people on our housing list, including many families who desperately need bigger homes.

“We’ve gone through a thorough engagement process and had lots of conversations. Some residents were concerned about the potential scale of development, how building works would be managed, and what wider estate improvements would be delivered.”

He added: “We are balancing this feedback with the opportunities to deliver estate wide improvements where schemes go ahead. “We will continue to listen to residents and work with them, so that together we can take action to meet the housing crisis and improve our estates.”

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