Camden New Journal Property News
New plans to build 50 homes by Regent's Canal have been unveiled this week by social housing group One Housing.
The site, on the corner of Georgina Street, is known as Bangor Wharf and has been used an electricity company's depot and service area.
Now One Housing has commissioned TM architects to design a project for a mix of offices, affordable homes and private houses for sale. Plans revealed so far propose a three-storey building and a seven-storey building and a landscaped courtyard.
It was originally a refuse store used by St Pancras parish council in the 1800s and included stables. By the 1930s, it had become a wharf for a plaster of paris manufacturer called Stringfield and Blyth. In recent times French electric company EDF used the site as a depot.
A spokesman for the group said the plans were at an early stage and they were hosting exhibitions this week on the half-acre site to gauge reactions to the project. They added they hoped to submit a planning application to Camden Council in the coming weeks.
The spokesman said the group would look to have as many affordable homes on the site as they could but no plans were confirmed, nor had they decided the size of each property in terms of bedrooms. They added: "This site is identified within Camden Council's Local Development Framework and is in need of regeneration. We hope to provide urgently needed affordable homes for Camden, funded by private homes and space for businesses."
But Ian Shacklock, chairman of conservation group the Friends of Regent's Canal, has urged the developers to consider a scheme with greater flexibility to allow the site to be used for canal freight as well as housing. He said: "This is a prime site that could act as a waterways and road interchange and if the buildings are used exclusively for housing then this would drive a massive nail into the coffin of environmentally friendly transport.
"I have yet to see any of the details of this proposal but at this early stage I am urging the council to consider the opportunities for exploiting this waterside location for the benefit of the canal. It would be a terrible shame if the ground floor of this highly practical site were to be sacrificed for unimaginative housing or retail purposes."
To comment on the scheme, go to www.onehousingbangorwharf.co.uk