Development Forum set to meet – community gains from N1C on agenda

Posted on January 30, 2014 by Sophie Talbot

N1CKing’s Cross Development Forum was set up in 2002 by Camden Council in association with Islington Council to be a key means by which our local community can give our views on the massive King’s Cross Central development taking place immediately north of King’s Cross station. The Forum is now fully independent of the council and is run voluntarily by members of our community. The Forum will meet on 12 February at Committee Room One of Camden Town Hall at 7pm.

At the meeting the Forum will hear from Argent, the development company for King’s Cross Central, about the plans for the German Gymnasium between the rear of St Pancras and King’s Cross stations. King’s Cross Central is privately owned by the King’s Cross Central Limited Partnership. The meeting will also be updated on the next steps for development as a whole and on the Section 106 Agreement (community gains).

Community gains

Section 106 of the Town and Country Planning Act is used to specify what community gains the planning authority (in this case Camden Council) requires of a property developer. S106 is used to make an otherwise unacceptable planning application acceptable to a planning authority.

The S106 agreement for the King’s Cross Central development has been controversial.  Such agreements tend to be site specific, mitigating against the inconvenience faced by local communities during large scale building works. In this case the closest community is majorly in Islington not Camden, yet Camden is receiving the lion’s share of the King’s Cross Central S106 gains.

The S106 agreement for King’s Cross Central requires Argent to fund a host of elements either fully or partially, including:

  • Bicycle storage
  • Camley Street Natural Park (a London Wildlife Trust oasis of green behind St Pancras station)
  • Community meeting facilities
  • King’s Cross Construction Training Centre (on York Way at the far north of the King’s Cross Central site)
  • An indoor sports hall
  • A leisure facility
  • A police office
  • A health care walk in centre
  • Skills and recruitment centre
  • A children’s centre
  • A primary school
  • A credit Union/community development finance initiative
  • King’s Cross Business Forum
  • An academy for public realm management
  • Camley Street paving and lighting
  • Better connections between Camley Street and Agar Grove
  • Streetscape improvements to Vale Royal, Bingfield New Quarter and the Bemerton Action Area
  • Safe routes to school for Copenhagen Primary School and Blessed Sacrament Primary School
  • Wharfdale Road enhancements
  • Improvements to Purchase Street green spaces
  • Step free access from Camley Street to St Pancras Gardens
  • Public art
  • Water features
  • Environmental Health Officer costs for Camden Council

More details about King’s Cross Development Forum, including how to join, and about the meeting are available on their website.

Posted in Architecture, Big developments, Community groups, Community stuff, Kings Cross N1C, railwayslands, Local issues, New, Planning, Licensing and Regulation | 5 Comments

Oasis in Kings Cross – Supersonic 20 years on

Posted on January 24, 2014 by William Perrin

Readers of a certain age might remember (through a haze) the excitement of the Britpop era and Oasis.  It was 20 years ago that they filmed the video for Supersonic on the rooftop of what is now the self storage warehouse on Crestfield and Belgrove Streets off the Euston Road.  there’s a great ‘then and now’ video from 2012

And here’s the original.  There’s also a funny compilation of Noel Gallacher’s DVD video commentaries, including Supersonic where he generally slags off music videos.

For readers of an even older disposition, who maybe like their guitars less harsh try Bob Marley filming ‘Is This Love?’ on Kings Cross’s Gifford Street in 1978 (a 7 year old Naomi Campbell is allegedly in the video at the Keskidee Centre, now sadly burned down).

Thanks to @podnosh Nick Booth for tipping me off, though not for making me feel old – 20 years, for heaven’s sake……

Posted in Arts and Entertainment, Music | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Whatever happened to that proposed Whitbread Hotel on York Way? planning update

Posted on January 23, 2014 by William Perrin

62-68 york way - proposed view of siteThe application for the hotel on the American Carwash site was due to go to the planning committee last week, but was pulled.  I asked Cllr Convery what had happened – there were technical problems:

Planning officers failed to recognise that the application included a change of use from “B1” (offices). That’s because the owners (Opticrealm) had obtained a planning permission for B1 use previously and had begun to implement it. They began some nominal works (a short trench was dug) but more significantly, Opticrealm had made an “on commencement” S106 payment to the Council. This was done seemingly to avoid an existing 3 year permission expiring because that would have taken Opticrealm back to scratch.

The reason this is significant is because change of use requires a better deal compared with permission merely to build. Many planning applications require two permissions – to change the established use and to erect whatever the applicant has designed. Without change of use permission being required the threshold required by a developer is a little lower than if they they are just erecting a building.

Everyone makes mistakes etc but this is frustrating.  It does give the council a bit more leverage though.  Will hopefully come back to the committee in the next few weeks.

Posted in Planning, Licensing and Regulation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Local charity run street tree maintenance day

Posted on January 22, 2014 by Sophie Talbot

King's Cross Community Projects street tree maintenance day January 2014Environment and arts charity King’s Cross Community Projects ran their first street tree maintenance day on Sunday 19 January where they were joined by volunteers from the local community. They covered the north east quarter of King’s Cross.

The staff at locally based international asset management company E C Harris were thanked for their donation part of which was used to buy tools for the day.

It was a hugely successful day and they were surprised at how much work they were able to do – many hands made light work. Sophie Talbot, voluntary manager of the charity said,

“It was a great team atmosphere, I don’t think any of us will look at street trees the same way again.”

Plans are afoot for a spring tree pit planting day and the group will once again work closely with the award winning tree team at Islington Council who they thanked in a short film they’ve produced about the day. We’ll report on volunteering opportunities with King’s Cross Community Projects shortly, updates are also available on their Facebook page and via their Twitter account.

Below is a short film telling the story of the day (if you can’t see the film below, click this link to see it on YouTube).

Posted in Community groups, Community stuff, Green spaces, Wildlife and Nature | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Kings Cross Square – map of who is responsible for what

Posted on January 21, 2014 by William Perrin

kings cross square diagramKings Cross Square sits at the intersection of several bits of public and private land, each with their own set of governance and care arrangements.  Long experience of working with local public bodies to keep public space in good order suggests that it’s important to know where boundaries are so that issues can be raised with the right people.  I asked Camden Council who is in charge of what last October. They have finally got back to me with a reply via What Do They Know which is mainly helpful and the diagram above.

Which is the best single point of contact for members of the public for issues that arise on the square?

The point of contact for issues arising on King’s Cross Square is Network Rail’s Tom Caine, the King’s Cross Station Manager. The station can be contacted online or by telephone on 08457 114141.

Where is the demarcation between property owned by Camden, TfL and Network Rail?

Network Rail own the square and the demarcation between it and the surrounding public highway is as per the steel drainage channels (Euston Road and York Way sides) and the line of steel bollards (Pancras Road side). The London Borough of Camden is the Highway Authority for Pancras Road to the west of the square and for York Way to the east. Transport for London is the Highway Authority for Euston Road to the south. The boundaries between the three organisations are shown on the attached indicative sketch plan.

Who is responsible for policing and public order on the Square? British Transport Police, Network Rail security guards, the Met Police. Where are the boundaries?

The British Transport Police are responsible for policing the square. Please see plan attached for the boundaries.

Who is responsible for litter and cleaning? Where are the boundaries?

Each of the three organisations is responsible for maintenance and cleansing of the areas with its control. Please see plan attached for the boundaries.

What licenses exist for the square – such as alcohol and public entertainment and who holds them?

No licences issued by Camden for the Kings Cross Square.

If Sean is reading this he will want to check which zone his bins fall in.

 

Posted in Anti Social Behaviour, Crime etc, Broken Stuff on the Street, How to get things done locally, Kings Cross Station Refurbishment, Planning, Licensing and Regulation | Tagged | 2 Comments

Aaaannnnd we’re back

Posted on January 21, 2014 by William Perrin

We took a bit of a break before and after Xmas – life just got too busy with work, winter colds, family etc – but we are back now in 2014.  Happy New Year.

Posted in Weblogs | 2 Comments

London’s coolest chain gang?

Posted on January 20, 2014 by Daniel Z. Zylbersztajn-Lewandowski

A Kings Cross resident and dad, together with dads from Primrose Hill, Kentish Town and Bloomsbury has started what might become one of London’s coolest chain gangs, fitted not only with a tool-set as much as with nappy bags and school books.

20131010_101543_5The group by the name of Cicleparents functions like any other ordinary cycle club, but with the subtle difference that all members are mums and dads from Islington and Camden.   There are also activities for young children and family meetups as far as Brighton planned for this year (one parent cycles there the rest of the family takes the train).

“We all experienced the Sure Start Groups in the past, so we learned how valuable regular interaction between parents are.  You’d exchange deliberations on anything relating to children and hear about challenges of other parents,” says one of the cycling dad’s.   He adds: “But here we all get fit in the process – we all gained a few pounds or more, when we became parents – and we do this at times the kids are either still sleeping or when the other parent or carer can look after them.”

Cicleparents meet for regular spins in Regents Park as early as 05:45, which means cars are still off the road there, but also already took the little ones for fun rounds around the Kings Cross Granary Square on the odd afternoon.

They are open to mums and dads from Camden and Islington and beyond.

Whilst they say a good road or touring bike is highly recommended, if you wish to take part in all activities, they do have a slower bi-monthly day that suits most types of bikes and riders.

This is about more than just me, says another parent.  “I passionately believe in cycling as the future for London,” says one mum, who has only recently bought a hand built Condor road bike through the London cycle schema.

Cicleparents webpage  cicleparents.wordpress.com

Email: cicleparents@gmail.com

Regular Meeting: Every Tuesday, 05.40 Gloucester Gate, Regents Park.  Simple “just turn-up” policy. A 05.30 pre-meet at Kings Cross can be arranged for newbies and those less confident cycling in the dark.

Posted in Community groups, Community Health and Welfare, King's Cross People, New | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Islington Cyclists Action Group on proposed changes to The Cally

Posted on November 25, 2013 by Sophie Talbot

Islington Council are currently consulting on changing the south end of The Cally from one way to two way traffic. We welcomed the proposal. Islington Cyclists Action Group, whilst recognising that a return to two way working is a positive thing, say that the current proposal needs to go much further to incorporate safe cycling routes and improve street experience for all. Tom Harrison of ICAG explains why:

“Few residents, workers, or commuters can enjoy entering the Kings Cross area from Caledonian Rd. The three lanes of one way traffic fill up the road like a blocked drain squeezing and wheezing into the inevitable congestion of the Euston Rd. With its air and noise pollution, it’s a place, I suspect, that people would rather go through than linger in.

“So like many, Islington Cyclists Action Group were enthusiastic when we heard Islington Council are employing Atkins in the hope of improving the area for all users, making it a more pleasant area to be in and to travel through. Not unsurprisingly, we responded to the consultation on behalf of people who currently cycle and those that might take it up in the future.

“The full response is a bit long, but can be found on the ICAG website. But here’s a short summary of what we said.

“NB. The consultation period has been extended to November 29th so there’s still time to send in a response.

ICA

“I’m sure I don’t need to remind you of the benefits of encouraging cycling over other forms of transport: the numerous health benefits from reduced noise and air pollution and reduced obesity don’t need repeating. Nor do I need to point out just how much cheaper and affordable cycling is than any other public or private transport.

“The question should be how to make routes safer and more attractive for cycling to people currently using other modes. In short, how to make cycling a thing everyone can do, even the most risk averse and unfit, from 8 to 80 years old.

“With this aim in mind, Islington Cycling Action Group considers there to be three key means of improving cycling in this area and making it a viable transport option.

  1. Enable cyclists to travel between Mornington Crescent, Goods Way (or the #GoogleBridge) and Angel/ Farringdon Area (i.e. the area east and south east of the roads being discussed)
  2. Enable cyclists to travel between Kings Cross Square and Angel / Farringdon Area
  3. Enable cyclists to travel north south along Caledonian Rd to Elephant and Castle (as planned by TfL)

“Removing the gyratory would appear an easy win here: helping travel (of bikes and cars) in both directions, and reducing the scariness of a three lane route.

“But in reality, the proposals would do nothing to make cycling safer or easier in the area. Below, I’ve briefly set out the main points where we think Atkins could improve on their current plans:

Going from west to east, the options are Pentonville Rd, Northdown St, and Killick St.

“None of these roads would be accessible for cyclists. Pentonville Rd is simply too big and scary, while poor junction designs prevent turning off Caledonian Rd into Northdown St or Killick St. Even coming from Wharfdale Rd, crossing Caledonian Rd would still be tricky with a tiny space for bikes to perch in the middle of the road.

Going from east to west, cyclists need to use Wharfdale Rd, Balfe St, or Caledonia St or Kings Cross Bridge/Grays Inn Rd/York Way.

“Once again, none of these roads are accessible. Kings Cross Bridge/Grays Inn Rd is terrifying, involving crossing 4 lanes of traffic. Meanwhile, Caledonia St and Wharfdale rd are both one-way west east so blocked off for bikes wanting to go east to west.

“In response to these concerns, there are some basic solutions available. In particular, cycling could enabled in the area be by making Caledonia St and Wharfdale Rd two way for cyclists, and redesigning the junctions of Caledonian Rd with Northdown St and Killick St to ensure they are accessible by bike.

“But even more than these cycling related concerns, I wonder if we couldn’t make the area a whole lot nicer for all simply by removing a lane of motor traffic altogether. The more I look at it, the more I question the need for three lanes of traffic at all on this stretch of the Cally Rd. There could either be two lanes of two way or two lanes of one-way southbound traffic with northbound vehicles continuing to use York Way-Wharfdale Rd.

“Indeed, wouldn’t a more pleasant, safer solution be to make the entire third lane of traffic a cycle only lane from Pentonville Rd to Wharfdale Rd? This would also help to reduce pollution, and act as a buffer between pedestrians and traffic, making Caledonian Rd a nicer place to shop, work, and live.”

Many thanks to Islington Cyclists Action Group for this article.

Posted in Bad Gyrations KX Campaign, Planning, Licensing and Regulation, Road Safety in Kings Cross | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments