As a social tenant on the West Kentish Town Estate we were promised certain things to vote yes to the redevelopment and these plans have now been changed meaning that a revote should be done and Camden should revise the planning so that it is in line with what we were promised.

These are the questions asked by the social tenants on the estate during one of the very first meetings and the responses we were given.

Will we have more space in the development?
Yes. All property's will be built inline with current building standards, meaning the rooms will be bigger.

Will we have more storage?
Yes. Camden will aim to largely increase internal spaces.

Will the project take long?
The project could take up to 10 years.

How high will the blocks be?
A little higher than present to allow for more social housing.

Will we be able to stay in our current locations?
Yes. Camden will aim to keep residents as close to their current locations as possible.

Will we all have a personal garden or large outside space such as family balcony? 
Yes. Every property will be built with either a garden or a large family balcony space.

Will we keep the open feel of the estate?
Yes. The redevelopment will keep a lot of green spaces and trees.

So when you look at answers like that then obviously it would make sense to vote yes given that we are living on a dilapidated estate which has been neglected by Camden for decades.
Brand new, bigger buildings built in their current locations offering all tenants a better modern standard of housing with the advantage of personal spaces, who could say no?

WITHOUT RESIDENTS NOTICING THEY WERE BEING BACKED INTO A CORNER TO EITHER SAY YES TO THE DEVELOPMENT OR REMAIN IN THEIR DELAPIDATED HOMES

Take a close look at the ballot papers, the only option that solves the issues we face was to vote yes on the redevelopment.https://residentsofwestkentishtownestate.co.uk/ballot-paper

 

 

ALSO NOTE THAT IN THE BALLOT PAPER CAMDEN DID NOT INCLUDE    ANY PICTURES OF ANY BLOCKS OVER 5 STOREYS HIGH

 

WHAT CAMDEN HAVE DONE GOES AGAINST THOSE PRINCIPLES WE VOTED ON

During a video meeting held by Camden about the development we were told that all residents would be rehoused as close to their current locations as possible - https://camdenplanning.councilsuk.live/westkentishtownestatedmf

This is a blatant lie as the planning picture below indicates

All current residents are being pushed to the centre of the estate off the prime outside land which has been ringfenced for private sales.

This is a clear indication of estate wide gentrification for financial motivation

Camden did not mention in any of the ballot papers that they would be moving a high number of current residents into a 14 storey tower block in the middle of the estate.

 

Camden has failed to deliver the large outside spaces we were promised showing plans of a balcony the same width as a door

Camden have not stated if residents who currently have pets will be rehoused on the new development.

 

 

 

We were told that the estate would keep a high number of existing trees and the open feel of of the estate. Camden are being very deceptive with their information for both.

Camden have stated that we currently have 145 trees on the estate and the new development will have a "PROPOSED" 133.

However the small print states that only 76 of the 133 trees will be existing trees meaning they are cutting down 69 trees.

Camden are trying to deceive all residents about the open space feel also as they state that there is currently 9840sqm of current open space on the estate and on the new development there will be 10914sqm.

But once again the small print indicates that when Camden did the current space survey it excluded the grass areas around EVERY block and also the large open garage spaces.

Had they included these open spaces then it would be quite clear that we are losing the open feel of the estate.

 

 

 

WHY SIGN THIS PETITION

We as social tenants cannot just sit back and let Camden get away with not delivering on the promises that were made to us. The whole project was suppose to be done to offer us all better living conditions as Camden have taken our money and neglected the estate for a number of years putting us in this position.

A revote ballot should be done with all the plans in place so that we can see where we will be living and the plan for the estate BEFORE we say yes or no

WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE

Blocks built in their current locations but extended out to the fenced grass boundaries making the properties larger.

 

 

 

The social blocks should be no higher than 5 storeys to have less impact on lighting for the estate and also the surrounding property's.

This plan would save our current vintage trees which have been part of the estate since the 1970s, It would also keep the larger green spaces and the current open feel on the estate.

Bigger properties should offer us more space, better storage and the large family outside spaces we were promised.

There should be more social housing for families in need rather than it being 70% private housing.

The green spaces we currently have could be relandscaped to provide nice seating areas, Gardens, Allotments and Children's play areas.

Nothing is being done for the easy living of the elderly of disabled people currently living on the estate which is something very important that needs to be corrected. 

You can checkout more information at

residentsofwestkentishtownestate.co.uk

Together we can make a change.

Please Sign & Share This Petition And Help Us Fight This Gentrification