For almost two years, we have engaged with Camden Council about the enforcement of construction management in the Borough, especially in residential areas like ours. Construction management is about how developers implement their planning permission.
The productive dialogue has involved discussions about the practices in other London Boroughs, a presentation to the Council’s Planning Committee policy meeting, and keeping the Council informed about the recent experience of residents. We have worked with other resident bodies, such as the RedFrog Forum.
As we emerge from lockdown, we have restarted the dialogue with Camden. A recent focus has been the use in other Boroughs of Codes of Construction Practice. These encourage developers to use best practice in the construction phase of the more complex projects, such as basement developments. In other Boroughs, such as Islington and Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, developers commit to the code as part of the planning permission. There may also be inspections of sites, to catch issues such as noise, pollution and traffic, which encourages the adoption of best practice, e.g. pointing out where a contractor might use quieter machinery.
Next steps with Camden involve us updating the Councillor in charge of this policy area about our experiences over the last two years and what we have learnt from other parts of London.