Residents from Gospel Oak, Queen’s Crescent and Kentish Town spoke out against Mount Anvil’s proposed Bacton Towers development at a series of local meetings, voicing their strong opposition to the current plans and their concern for the future of the local area.
“[The plans] are out of proportion with the area. [Mount] Anvil are developers. Of course they wish to make as much profit as can be squeezed out of any project. It is in their interest to ignore any opposition to their inflated plans” said actor and local resident Donald Sumpter. “Creating new homes at the expense of existing residents by building high rise blocks flies in the face of all research into their undesirability as homes for families […] Why [has Camden council] passed responsibility for consultation over to the developer? Of course [Mount Anvil] are going to be biased. It looks like the council is being led by the nose by [Mount] Anvil. A most unhealthy situation.”
Dee Searle, Vice-Chair of the Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum added “many of Camden’s neighbourhoods are under extreme pressure from overly dense development. We understand that there is an urgent need for more housing but this can’t come at the cost of undermining the wellbeing of current and future residents.”
Those in attendance also heard from Isabel Molina, from the Queen’s Crescent Neighbourhood Forum:
These thoughts are shared by many in the community, as supported by results from Bacton Towers Action’s recent local survey, in which:
- 100% of respondents cited the height of the towers as a key area of concern.
- 92% were concerned about the impact on the local area, such as the loss of light and green spaces, increasing rents and house prices, and increased traffic and pressure on local infrastructure.
- 89% were concerned about the increased pressure on local infrastructure and the way that Camden Council and Mount Anvil have been ‘engaging’ with local residents.
- 84% also expressed concern over the ratio of private to council homes.
Further comments included:
“Gospel Oak and nearby areas are nature-poor areas that need more and better accessible nature-rich spaces to enhance well-being. The new Bacton Towers development will reduce nature through overshading and enclosing of green space and creating barriers to wildlife movement.”
– Jeff Waage, Camden Nature Corridor
“As a representative of South End Close Residents Association (SECRA), I have worked with Camden Council for 24 years to improve the quality of life within the Gospel Oak area. Camden has partnered with our residents in improving our estate and helping build a stronger community. As a ‘model’ estate (small but self contained allowing early deployment trials), we were invited to join the Gospel Oak neighbourhood assembly a few years ago. All resident voices who contributed to this large-scale consultation clearly marked the building of a sense of community as a number 1 priority for the area. Camden supported these themes and committed to making the Gospel Oak area (around Queens Crescent) a similar ‘model’ for community values. This will not be possible if the area is flooded with new high-rises and hundreds of new residents. Camden policy and planning is based upon serving the community. It requires large scale private developers to show sensitivity to the area and its communities. This application rejects this approach and contradicts existing Camden policy. As such, we join with the Bacton Towers Action group, knowing the impact of the proposed development will not just be on the immediate area but also rippling out into the wider Gospel Oak, Kentish Town, Chalk Farm and Hampstead areas.”
– Billy Byatt, South End Close Residents Association
“Local hospitals (e.g., doctors, etc.) are already struggling to cope with the population. [This is a] very high crime area. Traffic is a nightmare due to recent road closures. It would be far worse if these buildings go up.”
– Rosemary Burrows, Local Resident
“The plans do not seem to have any sensitivity to the surrounding area… the local people, appropriate green spaces and the height of the proposed blocks would be monstrous and far too high. The only agenda seems to be making money and squashing far too many flats into the space.”
– Antonia Brown, Local Resident
“The change of plans would personally result in ruining my home, I live almost directly opposite and the change in height will not only block out pretty much all sunshine to my flat for the majority of the day, but will also make my flat incredibly overlooked. My personal situation aside, the absolute lack of consultation and engagement with residents is really disappointing. Mount Anvil states on their website they are people who are “hungry and humble with no brilliant divas”… why then have they decided they don’t need to engage residents – they are not following their own values.”
– Anonymous, Local Resident
“After declaring a climate emergency in 2020, the council changed its constitution so that any new development would be scrutinised with regards to its carbon emissions. In September 2022, the council decided to go down the private developer route in Bacton, with no public consultation, which will result in 50,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, double the amount for the previous scheme. New homes should be built using low carbon materials, which would be possible by simplifying the development and building lower. The carbon footprint is not being taken into consideration by Camden council, which is in violation of its constitution.”
– Alice Brown, Local Resident
Bacton Towers Action 