North London’s £1,000,000,000 Film Quarter approved – but at what cost to the environment?

Camden councillors approve plans for “world-class” production studios by a slim majority as critics opposed its “disastrous and extreme” environmental impact, height and fire safety risks

A £1 billion regeneration project to turn an industrial site in North London into “landmark” film and television studio site has been given the green light.

On Monday (June 15) the Labour-run Camden Council voted by a wafer-thin majority to approve plans for Camden Film Quarter which will build 11 sound stages, education spaces and hundreds of new residences on brownfield land in Kentish Town, almost a decade after the local authority earmarked the area for redevelopment.

At the first meeting of Camden’s Planning Committee since the local elections, members voted 6 to 5 in favour of the project. Since Labour’s majority on the council was slashed to 30 seats in May as the Greens and Liberal Democrats made gains, the number of opposition councillors on this committee has doubled – eroding Labour’s grip on the borough’s planning decisions.

Developer Yoo Capital, the firm behind the Olympia Exhibition Centre and Sky Garden projects among others, has promised the “world-class” film and TV studios will deliver both commercial and public benefits by building 485 new homes, 243 of which are classed as affordable.

The scheme will also include new cycle lanes, pedestrian routes, new public parks, and on-site education for over 500 students at the National Film and Television School and the London Screen Academy. The developer says it will also create 1,365 construction and operations jobs.

Planning officers said it was “very rare” for any development to offer this level of housing provision. But the project was opposed by 441 residents and local groups who were unhappy with several aspects of the plans, including the scale of the complex proposed to stand up to 159m tall, the loss of trees and open spaces, and the impact on local schools and infrastructure.

During the meeting, Alice Brown, who is standing for the Green Party at the upcoming Regent’s Park by-election, called the scheme “disastrous” and “extreme” due to the greenhouse gas emissions and diesel lorries involved in construction, including for digging the “obscenely large” basements.

“The planners know this is a very damaging scheme but are under political pressure,” she said. Cllr Tim Simon (Liberal Democrats) echoed fears around the “substantial upfront CO2 impact” of construction.

Cllr Lorna Jane Russell, Leader of the Opposition, called the building a “monstrosity” that would overshadow protected views and opposed the placement of flats directly above a waste facility.

Objectors had argued this posed a fire safety risk, citing the recent recycling centre fire in Bermondsey on June 8 and the frequency of lithium-ion battery fires in waste streams.

Residents from the Kentish Town Neighbourhood Forum argued that building the project posed a danger to children because lorries would be passing nearby primary schools.

Local group Queen’s Crescent Neighbourhood Forum had claimed it was “almost certain” the proposed development would change use since Yoo Capital had “stated they intend to sell the film studios when built”.

Camden Film Quarter denied this. Yoo Capital has publicly positioned the Film Quarter as a long-term opportunity for global capital investment, though as a “purpose-built, urban city-centre film and TV production campus”.

Defending the scheme, Yoo Capital’s Lloyd Lee said the Film Quarter would bring together “community and industry”. The project’s Camden-based architect, Trevor Morris, said he understood the scepticism but deemed the Film Quarter a “once in a lifetime opportunity to offer meaningful regeneration” and said the structure would remain “firmly rooted in its local context”.

To allay fire safety concerns, the project’s fire consultant said they would look at including automatic checking machines to detect batteries that might end up in waste compactors. Officers also said further regulators would need to sign off on the safety of the building’s design.

Officers admitted the environmental impact would be “significant” and greenhouse gas emissions exceeded council benchmarks, but argued the development’s energy efficiency would reduce carbon emissions by 63%, and that benchmarks “were not targets we need to meet”.

The production facilities will be run by Oxygen Studios, which was behind Longcross, Arborfield and Fairbanks Studios.

Stay in the loop with the latest North London news. Sign up to our MyNorthLondon newsletter HERE for daily updates and more.