THE summer holidays are fast approaching but delays to a flagship building programme in Somers Town could leave children without anywhere to play, parents have warned.

Camden Council allowed a tower of luxurious private flats to be constructed on a rare patch of green space in Somers Town in a deal that helped pay for a rebuild of a primary school and other community facilities.

But it was confirmed this week that the key contractor building the block, Henry Construction Projects, has collapsed owing creditors tens of millions of pounds.

It is the largest construction firm to go under in the UK since 2021.

At the most recent construction group meeting, where residents are updated about the progress of the build, attendees were told the collapse would slow the completion of the tower.

The project, which is run by landowners LBS Properties, is being built over the top of Purchese Street and Polygon Road parks. The remaining open space at the base of the tower is currently fenced off, and will not return to public use until the building project is completed.

The tower deal is part of Camden’s Community Investment Programme and dubbed by council chiefs at the outset as the “North Sea Oil” strategy, as the council would be tapping into the borough’s central London lucrative land and property portfolio to raise investment.

Slaney Devlin, who lives nearby and campaigned against the tower from the outset, said: “Hearing about anybody going into receivership is always bad news, but I think from a community point of view, this project has been going on for a very long time now. We’ve been living with construction work for many years, and it’s on open space – so it just means what’s left of the park is not going to come back into use.”

Before Henry collapsed, residents had been told the developer hoped to see buyers move into their new flats, known as the “Grand Central Apartments”, by the end of July – including an exclusive three-floor penthouse at the top of the block.

Ms Devlin said such a target now appears “optimistic”, adding: “It could well be that there’s a big legal wrangle. And in the meantime, a community that desperately needs open space isn’t able to access or use this open space.”

Other parcels of vital green space in the area are also now off-limits, Ms Devlin said, as the council builds new social homes on the land next to Coopers Lane. Works on the HS2 railways line have also seen open space closed off.

“There’s just not enough space at the moment,” Ms Devlin said. “The fact it’s happening on the west as well as in central Somers Town is quite hard.”
She said access to open space “has a real impact on people’s mental health and wellbeing. There isn’t enough space to walk or just sit quietly or play.”

“Where are the kids going to play this summer?” Ms Devlin asked, adding: “One way of getting through this really difficult patch where we’ve lost so much play space and open space to these different projects… is there might be a bit of funding somewhere that could pay to open up one of the schools.”

A spokesperson for Camden Council said: “We want all Camden children to have active and inspiring summer holidays and there is lots going on in the Somers Town area.

“We have a full programme of free and low-cost outdoor activities in our summer programme and lots of sports courses at our summer university, plus great opportunities and activities at our leisure centres, swimming pools, sports pitches and parks.”

The New Journal contacted LBS this week by phone and email but had not received a reply as we went to press last night