RTPI London - King’s Cross Regeneration Site

London Borough of Camden

Bethany Arbery

Camden

• Well connected • Diverse• Home to 215,000• 3rd highest GDP• Creative and Cultural• Medical & Educational

Camden - The Local Development Framework

Sustainable growth:• c. 35,000 additional people• c. 13,000 additional homes• c. 40,000 additional jobs• Areas of Growth and areas of restraint • Expanded infrastructure • Strong emphasis on sustainability

Growth concentrated in key ‘growth areas’• King’s Cross• Tottenham Court Road• Euston• Holborn• West Hampstead

King’s Cross – The Story so far

• Focus of major Transport Investment. • Channel Tunnel Rail Link 1993 – 2013;• St Pancras Station - Nov 2007; • New Thameslink Station;• LUL Improvements including Northern Ticket Hall – Nov

2009;• Western Concourse and KX Station improvements –

2012/13• KX Central – 67 hectares of former railway lands for re-

development.

King’s Cross Central – The Site

Timeline:• March 2000 - Camden Unitary Development Plan

including Kings Cross Chapter • 2001-2004 - Pre-application discussions on KX

Central site• June 2002 - Kings Cross Camden and Islington

Vision • Jan 2004 - Kings Cross Planning Brief • May 2004 - KX Central applications submitted• Sept 2005 - Revision to KX Central applications

submitted• March 2006 - KX Central considered at LBC DC

Committee• November 2006 - DC Committee final approval

with S106 • May 2007 - Judicial review dismissed • June 2007 - Implementation of KX Central

development

Means of access, siting and landscapingApproved documents include Parameter Plans and Development Speciation which:

• Define Development Zones (labelled A – V) • Uses and maximum floorspace in each zone• Building height, scale, massing and plot layouts• Servicing, roads and junctions • Landscaping and public realm areas

Matters of detailed design and external appearance are outstanding and are approved under each Reserved Matters application

Outline Permission and Reserved Matters

Development Zones

• High density 713,090 sqm of mixed use development

• 1700 homes (750 affordable) plus student accommodation

• 50 new buildings, 20 new streets, 10 new major public spaces, new use for 20 historic buildings, 400 trees

• 40% of site is Public Realm or open space

• 25,000 jobs • School, leisure facilities, parks, health

care provision, community meeting space and a host of other social and community benefits

• S106 with 40 heads of terms secured a range of benefits and community obligations.

King’s Cross Central – A summary

• Employment and training – construction• Employment and training – post

construction• Community enterprise• Small business space• Local Business Support and local

purchasing strategy• Business volunteering• Social and community fund• Community meeting facilities• Community safety• School and Children’s Centre• Supporting local schools• Leisure• Health• Public realm• Improvement to adjacent streets and

open spaces• Public art• Camley Street Natural Park/Pedestrian

bridge

• Canal and water space enhancement• Implementation panels• Access and inclusivity• Environmental sustainability, Energy,

Construction materials, waste, water• Carbon fund• Gas holder guide frames• Code of construction practice• Parking• Green travel initiatives• Bicycle storage facility• Improvement to bus services• Cross River Tram• Maiden Lane station• Nightclubs and casinos• Retail• Nursing home• Housing and Affordable Housing

S106 – Planning Obligations

Processing Reserved Matters

• Pro-active, early engagement, collaborative approach • Design Panel• Access Forum• Planning Performance Agreement – timely and quality decisions• Fortnightly meetings to ensure overview of progress on site• Introducing new officers to the project

50% of site now has Reserved Matters approval:

North of the CanalEastern Goods Yard - new campus for University of the Arts and office/retail spaceT1 – CHP energy centre, multi-storey car park, multi-use games area, private and affordable residential, shopping/food and drink usesJ – Open market and affordable housing, shopping/food and drink usesP1 – Two-form entry school, plus Frank Barnes School for the deaf, market and affordable housing R2 – Office accommodation with flexible shopping/food & drink uses, small office space and/or exploratory centreR4 and R5 – Affordable housing including supported housing/extra care facilities with shopping/food and drink uses at ground floorT6 - Student housingRegeneration House - offices.

South of the canalPrincipal access routes – Goods Way, Station Square, Pancras Square and King’s Boulevard B1, B2, B4, B6 and B3 - Offices including leisure centre, library and access centre within B3 and bike storage facility and police office in B1.E1 - officesGreat Northern Hotel – Refurbishment and re-use as a boutique hotelShared Zone B basement – Communal servicing facilities for the Zone B building

Preliminary pre-application discussions on a number of other sites include Google (Zone A) and Aka Khan (various plots including T5) .

Enabling development

University of the Arts

Residential Development

Office Development

King’s Cross Central – The Future

• Granary Square opened June 2012 • First affordable housing letting opened July 2012 (R4, R5)• Private (J) and Student Housing (T6) to follow in 2013/4• First major office (Zone B) buildings south of canal in 2014 • Estimated completion of new school (P1) and leisure facilities (B3)

from 2014/5• Estimated 1000 homes on KX Central from 2016/17• Estimated final build out of KX Central from 2017/18 onwards• Estimated completion around 2020

• Outline application approach with reserved matters has worked well. Good balance between certainty and flexibility.

• Be prepared to allow minor piecemeal changes (deed of variations) to reflect recession and where insufficient capital (and revenue) programmes to deliver council and stakeholders (e.g. RSL’s, PCT) S106 commitments rather than allowing wholesale change and renegotiation of S106.

• It is good to re-visit elements of scheme where there is scope for improvement, for example T6 was approved as full planning application it being taller than the outline permission.

• On a more practical side we have found the use of PPAs of benefit to both the developer and the Council, ensuring the deliver of timely and quality decisions on reserved matters and approval of details as well as appropriate monitoring of the delivery of S106 obligations.

• Our focus is now moving to the wider King’s Cross area i.e. King’s Cross Place Plan.

Lessons Learnt

King’s Cross - Place Plan

• One of 9 areas of focus for place-shaping in Camden

• Chosen due to significant change and investment underway and planned

• But neighbouring communities among most deprived in Camden and London

• Set overall vision for the wider KX area and a set of strategic and tactical interventions

• Will address a range of issues including: – Major developments and relationship

with existing communities.– Wider opportunities in ‘hinterland’

area (Camley St etc).– Legibility and Pedestrian connectivity

(between communities and through the wider area including across Euston Rd).

– Links with Euston & High Speed 2.– Community Safety.– Business support and employment

Granary Square

For more information: www.camden.gov.uk or www.kingscross.co.uk

Contact me: bethany.arbery@camden.gov.uk