Welcome to the May Newsletter of the Belsize Society.

Last month saw the Society, with Retrofit Kentish Town, organise an event where Camden Council’s planning team presented their new thinking on enabling residential retrofitting. The Newsletter reports on the event and then describes a national scheme that allows residents to visit installations of a heat pump for those unfamiliar with this technology. A recent event organised by the Council on climate action is also featured.

The Newsletter also describes the work of the Heath Hands group, a voluntary body that helps conserve green spaces including Hampstead Heath and its bat population.

April also saw the Society’s local history walk about Belsize in the first half of the 20th century. Averil’s tour was well attended and it was great to see many members were able to attend.

On planning news, the Newsletter has pieces about 100 Avenue Road and the Ye Olde Swiss Cottage pub. The Society has objected to the new plans being proposed at Swiss Cottage. In parallel, the Society’s planning team recently successfully listed the pub as an asset of community value.

In March, we met at our AGM. The Newsletter covers the issues discussed there which also agreed the new committee.

With the Newsletter is your copy of Traders You Can Trust, covering the local tradespeople recommend by members. If you’re reading this online, this is a benefit of being a member of the Society.

We are looking forward to the talk with the Friends of Belsize Library about the Golden Age of Housing in June and there is a piece about how you can help the Friends as well as a note about volunteer roles for the Society.

We hope you enjoy the Newsletter.

BelSoc was invited to join this event held at the Greenwood Centre in Kentish Town on Saturday 26 April.  There were about 75 attendees, a number of council officers and two councillors.

In 2019 Camden declared a climate and ecological emergency. This recognised the threat of climate change and the irreversible damage to our planet it may cause. They held their first Citizen’s Assembly on the climate crisis in 2019. They considered evidence from climate scientists, environmentalists and community energy practitioners, and developed 17 recommendations for how Camden should address the climate crisis.  These formed the basis of their Climate Action Plan 2020-2025.

The Plan is a framework for climate action for everyone living and working in Camden, with the aim of supporting an equitable transition to a zero carbon Camden, while recognising that the Council only has powers or influence over a third of greenhouse gas emissions.  It is a plan for what is known as “climate mitigation” – this means taking action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, in order to prevent further warming and the impacts of climate change from getting worse. 

The Camden Action Plan has the following themes: 

• People: Everyone who lives, works, studies and visits the borough will be well informed and actively contribute to tackling the climate crisis in all aspects of their lives,
• Buildings: Buildings will be energy efficient, comfortable and fit-for-purpose for a zero-carbon future,
• Places: Public spaces will encourage and enable healthy and sustainable travel choices and promote biodiversity,
• Organisations: All organisations in Camden will operate responsibly and embed tackling the climate crisis throughout their operations.

The Plan can be seen in full at this link

Camden has taken bold action to help tackle the climate crisis.  Borough wide carbon dioxide emissions in 2022 (the latest year of data), and with help from the decarbonisation of the national grid, were 48% below 2005 levels.  Across the Council’s own estates and operations, emissions have reduced by 65% since 2010.

In November 2023 Camden published their first Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan, which set out how they will help build a climate resilient Camden. The two-year action plan was designed to build on their understanding of how climate hazards (focusing on flood and heat risk) will affect Camden, whilst devising a set of activities to improve the borough’s resilience to them. 

2025 is the final year for both the Climate Action Plan and the Climate Adaptation and Resilience Plan.  It is now time to refresh the Climate Action Plan to make sure that it still represents Camden communities’ priorities, to add in themes and actions that are missing, and to bring adaptation and resilience into the heart of the plan.

At the event we were divided into eight groups, each with a council facilitator.  Representatives from Climate Reality and the Greater London Authority reminded us of the causes and impacts of climate change and the local risks we face in Camden.  The Council shared what’s been achieved so far through the Climate Action Plan, what they know is still missing and what residents have already told them matters most.  The majority of emissions come from buildings – particularly homes and commercial spaces – making them a key focus for local climate action.

Ahead of this Climate Action Day the Council had been speaking to residents across Camden to find out what matters most to them.  They found that air pollution, heatwaves, flooding and biodiversity loss were their major concerns.  The climate actions which residents considered important were reducing waste, re-use and recycling, home energy efficiency, greening, and active and sustainable travel.

We were then asked to review the 2019 Citizens Assembly recommendations and consider how well they reflect what matters most for the next Climate Action Plan.

A summary of the day’s responses will be made available shortly and will be included in the next Newsletter.  The Council are hoping to consult on the draft 2026 Climate Action Plan in July/August and publish it in early 2026.

We were asked for our reflections on the current Climate Action Plan:

• What would you like to see more of?
• Was there anything you felt was missing?
• What could be improved going forward?

Belsoc has submitted its objections to Camden concerning this major development on our doorstep. There have been 97 responses to Camden: the vast majority being objections. And though the formal period for accepting objections is now ended, you can still object by email. (Please see below.)

To remind you, Regal London, who took over this project from Essential Living, submitted a planning application on 5th March to revise certain elements of the previous scheme, which was already approved in 2016.

The currently approved scheme – which we cannot change – allows for the 24 storey tower block and 6 storey horizontal building to accommodate 184 housing units. The new application pushes up the number of units to 237, squeezing in an additional 2 storeys within the same envelope.

We are very concerned the completed scheme may lead to the loss of the current pedestrian piazza outside the theatre with the farmers’ market and daily stalls being in jeopardy. We also think the red brick cladding on the revised design is a mistake. 

The Belsize Society objections centre around two main issues: the traffic management once the scheme is completed and the revised external appearance. We also objected to the increased number of units and the added pressure it would place on the local area and concerns that the units in the tower are likely to be sold overseas as investments. We do note one improvement in the new scheme: an increase in the number and quality of the “affordable” housing.

Following considerable local pressure at the time of the previous application, most of the construction traffic- lorries, machinery, materials etc – will access the site via the Avenue Road / A41 route, avoiding the Eton Avenue piazza and the local feeding roads.

Once the scheme is finished, the plan is for deliveries and services for the 237 households – contractors, repairs, waste collections etc as well as taxis and other vehicles – to travel through our local streets and enter the site across the Eton Avenue  piazza outside the theatre. The vehicles will then have to swing across the pavement into a narrow cul-de-sac alongside the theatre, shared with pedestrians entering the Swiss Cottage Open Space. There is also a small tunnel under the theatre but with a very low ceiling it can only allow access to cars and two wheeled vehicles, insufficient for most deliveries; supermarket delivery vehicles, Amazon, DPD etc are too tall.

We  are not confident any suggested management measures will be practical, such as timed or coordinated deliveries for the many vehicle movements required each day for the 237 units and shops. We foresee significant danger to pedestrians, especially the many children using the area and this could lead to the loss, to traffic, of the pedestrian piazza – a pleasant and important local amenity with its farmers’ market and well-used daily stalls.

Two of us spent a morning handing out leaflets to customers at the Farmers’ Market and talking to stall holders. Few were aware of the plans and many subsequently sent in objections.

The huge tower was originally a neutral grey colour but now the Regal London propose to clad it in red brick. The developers strangely think this will “fit in” better and somehow “relate” to the local architecture. We feel this will make it even more prominent and over-bearing (check out Cresta House on Finchley Road opposite). We think only a bland light grey or white surface – like the recently re-clad Chalcots Estate on Adelaide Road – will allow it to “fit in”better with the sky and mitigate, to some extent, the horror of this giant structure, which will loom over many local roads like a giant red finger.

All 78 documents relating to the full details of the scheme are on the Camden Planning website. Google “Camden planning applications”, application number 2025/0852/P. We assume this application will be determined at a full committee meeting and will ensure Belsize Society is represented. 

If you are concerned about any of the proposal to comment you can write to: planning@camden.gov.uk and quote reference  2025/0852/P. Our 11 page objection will be reproduced in the new website shortly but can be read on the Camden planning portal.

You may have seen the Society’s campaign on the “Red Finger,” the 100 Avenue Road tower, in the Ham and High this week. As our planning representative, Alan Selwyn explained: the deadline set by Camden for objections to the new planning proposal is Sunday 6 April.

We are concerned that the tranquil pedestrian square by the Hampstead Theatre will become the main route for deliveries.

We say: deliveries to the new buildings should enter via the Avenue Road/ A41 main road. That is what was agreed for the construction traffic.

The original tower was to be a bland grey colour. Now they propose red brick ‘to fit in ’ with the local area. This will make it stick out like an ugly red finger.

We say: it should be made it less rudely obtrusive as it will tower over our local streets.

The Belsize Society will be objecting on these and other grounds (see flyer). To add your comments by April 6th go to the Camden planning portal  OR ANY TIME email: planning@camden.gov.uk  Subject header: 2025/0852/P.

With the surprise closure of the historic Ye Olde Swiss Cottage pub, Belsize Society is involved in the campaign to save the pub site for the community. The pub, which gave its name to the area, ceased trading after nearly 200 years, at two weeks’ notice, on February 1.

Builders have already removed the wrought iron pub name on the roof and all the wooden signs. The interior is now being stripped out. Immediately before the closure, staff said the historic photos of the area that adorned the walls and anything else of value would be put into storage by Sam Smith’s Brewery, which has run the pub since the early 1980s. The Brewery has refused to tell the local and national press, and BBC London News, what will happen to the pub after the sale. 

With the closure, BelSoc is attempting to save the pub as an ACV, short for “an asset of community value.” The Belsize Society is among those applying to Camden Council for the pub to be listed as an ACV.  

As the Ham & High explains in its lead story on February 6, an ACV “is defined as a building or other land whose main use has recently been or is presently used to further the social wellbeing or social interests of the local community and could do so in the future.”

The paper reports that Camden Labour Councillors have also put in an application for ACV status. But Primrose Hill Ward Councillor, Matt Cooper, told the Ham & High that he was not sure whether the Labour group is eligible to apply, and the decision would rest with Camden planning officials. He added: “We wanted to get the application in because the fact that it’s in means nothing should happen and officers know that we’re looking at it.” 

ACV status would give the community the right for 5 years to be informed if the pub is put up for sale and the right to bid to buy the premises – if the money can be raised, within six months. But an ACV doesn’t stop an owner selling the asset or applying for planning permission to change the building.

The Society has noted that the Tavern is not on Camden’s “Local List”’ of notable buildings. It is asking Camden’s Planners to consider this urgently. The pub is not in the Belsize Conservation Area. Unlike the Washington in England’s Lane, it is not Listed by English Heritage and internal changes do not need planning permission. The pub has always been in the “Swiss chalet” style.  But the current Alpine style woodwork dates from the 1960s.

The sudden closure of the Swiss Cottage pub raises wider questions about the protection of other valued local buildings.  Camden’s map of Assets of Community Value shows there are no active protections in Belsize Park. The only ACV, the Steele’s pub on Haverstock Hill, ran out in May 2020.

Belsize Society is currently considering whether there are buildings locally, not just pubs, that have “social interests,” which can include cultural, recreational and sporting interests, where other applications for ACV status could be made.

If you have suggestions, please contact info@belsize.org.uk.

We included a note about EPCs in our August 2023 Newsletter.  An EPC is needed whenever a home is built, sold or rented.  It contains information about a property’s energy use, typical energy costs, and recommendations about how to reduce energy use and save money. It gives a property an energy efficiency rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and is valid for 10 years.  It’s a legal requirement that your property has an EPC rating of E or above before you can rent it out.  Listed buildings don’t need an EPC.  

For some time, there has been criticism of the existing EPC regime on the grounds that for some homeowners its assessment metrics can appear badly aligned with climate change targets.  There are now plans to reform it, with new metrics anticipated to be introduced in the second half of 2026. In December the Government launched a consultation “Reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings regime” that includes an analysis of the shortcomings of the existing regime and the current proposals for reform.  

For homeowners who have been looking into heat pumps and other climate friendly heating options, this is your chance to your views. As the consultation document points out: “… installing a heat pump could reduce the Energy Efficiency Rating due to the higher relative cost of electricity compared to gas, despite heat pumps being an efficient low-carbon heating solution”.  Replacing an old inefficient gas boiler with a new highly efficient electric alternative, fuelled by electricity from 100% renewable sources, can also worsen a property’s EPC rating under the existing regime. 

The Government has confirmed that all rented properties will have to achieve a minimum EPC grade C by 2030.  Currently, unless there is a valid exemption, it’s illegal for landlords to rent out a home with an EPC rating below E.  The new C rating requirement will be challenging for some properties to meet, including flats on higher floors in converted Victorian houses, where retrofitting energy-saving measures can be difficult, while also facing planning restrictions if in a Conservation Area.

While owner-occupiers of existing properties will not be forced to meet the C rating, the market attractiveness and value of a property could in future be affected if it does not.  Details of the reform proposals and the consultation are available at www.gov.uk/government/consultations/reforms-to-the-energy-performance-of-buildings-regime/reforms-to-the-energy-performance-of-buildings-regime.

The Government is proposing that domestic EPCs in future use four headline metrics: fabric performance, heating system, smart readiness, and energy costs, with other metrics provided as secondary information.  The online response survey is at https://consult.communities.gov.uk/energy-performance-of-buildings/consultation-on-reforms-to-epb/.It’s necessary to have read the consultation document in order to complete the survey. Hopefully among the Society’s membership there will be individuals with the necessary professional expertise to ensure that the new EPC regime will be appropriate for the sort of older housing we enjoy in the Belsize Park area.  The deadline for responding to the consultation is 26 February. Stay in touch on retrofit@belsize.org.uk. 

This Borough-wide consultation follows on from a series of local “Strategy Rooms” the Council held last year. One was held in association with the Belsize Society. BelSoc Member Chris Langdon was one of those who took part. Here are his personal impressions:

Should supermarkets be rated for their green policies, or would it be a good idea for private landlords to be obliged to charge “warm rent” (rent plus heating bills) to incentivise landlords to make energy efficiency measures?  These are among the question that we participants were asked at a 90-minute “Strategy Room” convened by Camden at Swiss Cottage Community Centre on November 23. 

The “Strategy Room” is a fancy title for a public consultation. It was facilitated by Nesta, a charity which describes itself as “UK’s innovation agency for social good.”  Eight people from all over Camden, three of whom are from Belsize Park, braved the wet and windy weather. Similar events were also held during the month in Kentish Town and Kilburn. One in Somers Town was dedicated to the views of young people.

At the Swiss Cottage Strategy Room, residents raised the problems of doing retrofit. There was a spontaneous and lively discussion about heat pumps, whether they are noisy, and the vexed problems getting planning permission in a Conservation Area like Belsize Park.   This wasn’t part of the consultation process, which was tightly scripted and briskly moderated. We all were given mini iPads to watch four “films from the future” with actors, and to answer scripted questions.

Participants expressed some concern that the conversation was so tightly proscribed that the issues that really concern residents on climate change weren’t being fully heard. We were assured that all comments were noted on two laptops and will be fed into the consultation process leading into the cross-Camden consultation in April.

On balance, my wife and I thought it was worth taking part. We enjoyed meeting a lively and articulate group of residents and we could have gone on longer. We were all pleasantly surprised that the more we talked together the more we reached agreement.

Alan Selwyn, BelSoc Planning, writes:

This online meeting was organised by Camden with the 100 Avenue Road developers to present revisions to the permitted scheme and answer questions on the proposals. 

After 10 years, only the foundations and basement have been built, with the site now sold to Regal who wish to redesign elements of the scheme. This requires new consent, and they are consulting between now and the end of the year, hoping to start work in early 2025 with a 3 year build time.

They will not change the existing permitted envelope but have managed to squeeze in an additional 52 units by minimising the service ducts and other modifications. There will be 166 units in the tower – now 26 storeys – and 70 in the adjoining lower building – now 8 storeys. The lower building, in addition to affordable housing units, will contain shops and a community space, which will be refined in consultation with The Winch.

The existing two buildings were to be faced in concrete with large amounts of glass. This is no longer considered acceptable in terms of energy requirements so the outside will now be clad in brick with smaller windows and curved corner balconies. This may help reduce the visual intrusion this tower presents though it will not reduce the huge scale.

There were other environmental discussions around the effects on wind, shadowing, glare from the windows, micro-climate and improvements to the landscaping.

Affordable housing will increase from 30% to 35%, now said to be “true affordable”. There are two main types included in this scheme: ‘social affordable rent’ for those on Housing Benefit and ‘intermediate rent’ designed to be achievable for those in salaried work.  A Housing Association will manage these. Camden prefers this to shared ownership schemes for various reasons explained. The way the 35% is calculated has also improved to give better-quality homes by calculating floor space and habitable room area rather than simply number of units (which tends to favour small flats such as studios). 35% also meets the GLA London Plan requirement and Mayor of London Plan. 

It does seem as though the new provision is an improvement on the original scheme in this respect.

Of the remaining 65%, the original scheme focussed more on private rentals, whereas this scheme now targets private sales. The developers said this would favour a more stable population, with more family sized units (though they cannot control buy to lets or overseas sales). 

Access was discussed, during the building work and after, for deliveries, bin collection and so on. We have concerns about vehicle access, which is primarily from Eton Road (and presumably the rather narrow Winchester Road from Swiss Cottage). Small deliveries and disabled parking are planned to be in the basement via the ramp under Hampstead Theatre. Larger deliveries (to the shops), waste collection and any other utilities will be from ground level between the theatre and the tower. Both will create a hazard for pedestrians. More work is needed.

Other than blue badge spaces in the basement there will be no residents’ parking on site and the council will not issue residents’ parking permits, as this will be a ’car-free’ development. 

I was impressed by the level of detail discussed in the 2 hour meeting and attention to answering residents’ questions, also by the commitment by the Council to achieve the best results from the proposed revisions.

More details will be published in the next couple of months with further consultation. Members are encouraged to take part.