Planning Matters

Posted on 16/8/2020

100 Avenue Road: Pause in Construction

Many will have noticed the removal of cranes from the 100 Avenue Road site. The developers – Essential Living – held a Construction Working Group meeting in July to update local groups and councillors about plans. The phase removing the old building and putting in place foundations has ended and work at the site has been paused.

Essential Living is reviewing next steps for the site alongside their construction plans across a portfolio of properties, in the context of the effects of Covid 19. No decisions had been made about 100 Avenue Road and Essential Living could not outline their options. However, they were in discussions with Transport for London and Camden Council, especially on what would happen should there be a long delay in moving to the next phase constructing the development. Discussions with Transport for London focus on the bus routes and the lanes of the A41 (Finchley Road) used for the development; the Council are being consulted about the effect of any long pause in construction on the Swiss Cottage open space and other nearby areas.

Update on the future of Queen Mary’s House, Heath Street:

As part of the marketing exercise launched in 2018 to gauge potential levels of interest in Queen Mary’s House among buyers and developers, the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust is seeking to confirm the current planning use for the site which is currently used for offices and staff accommodation. As is common with buildings of this age, there is no clear evidence of the lawful planning use of QMH on Camden Council’s records. The trust has therefore submitted an application for a certificate of lawfulness of existing use or development (CLEUD) to the council. Planning Class C2 includes ‘use as a hospital or nursing home’, so the trust has asked them to certify the use of the site as C2 residential institution with ancillary staff accommodation.