Camden’s planning committee has now given a resolution to grant planning permission for the West Kentish Town Estate redevelopment, a major milestone for a scheme set to deliver more than 850 new homes, including at least 326 new council homes, alongside a redesigned estate layout and upgraded public spaces.
This is not just another planning announcement. It is a decision that will shape how a neighbourhood functions, who can afford to remain there and how estate regeneration is judged across London over the coming decades.
At the centre of the announcement is Councillor Nasrine Djemai, Camden’s Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment, whose comments focus firmly on lived conditions rather than abstract housing targets. She highlighted that around a third of families currently living on the estate are in overcrowded homes, framing the redevelopment as a response to long-standing pressure rather than an exercise in renewal for its own sake. Her emphasis on safer, larger, energy-efficient and family-sized homes reflects a clear attempt to address issues that residents themselves have raised repeatedly over many years.
This is not just another planning announcement. It is a decision that will shape how a neighbourhood functions, who can afford to remain there and how estate regeneration is judged across London over the coming decades.
At the centre of the announcement is Councillor Nasrine Djemai, Camden’s Cabinet Member for New Homes and Community Investment, whose comments focus firmly on lived conditions rather than abstract housing targets. She highlighted that around a third of families currently living on the estate are in overcrowded homes, framing the redevelopment as a response to long-standing pressure rather than an exercise in renewal for its own sake. Her emphasis on safer, larger, energy-efficient and family-sized homes reflects a clear attempt to address issues that residents themselves have raised repeatedly over many years.
The council’s own figures underline the weight of responsibility that comes with this approval. In a 2020 residents’ ballot, 93 per cent voted in favour of full regeneration, with a turnout of almost 85 per cent. That level of support provides a strong mandate, but it also raises expectations. When residents vote so clearly for change, they are voting for improved daily life, not prolonged disruption or uncertain outcomes.
The phasing of the scheme offers an early indication of how that promise might be honoured. The first phase is set to deliver 52 new homes, including 48 affordable council homes for returning council residents and four homes for returning leaseholders. The repeated emphasis on “returning” is significant, signalling that continuity of community is intended to sit alongside physical transformation.
West Kentish Town is also described as the largest project within Camden’s Community Investment Programme, the council’s flagship housebuilding initiative aiming to deliver 4,850 homes across the borough, including 1,800 affordable council homes. In that context, this scheme carries weight beyond its own boundaries. How it is delivered will influence confidence in the wider programme and in Camden’s ability to combine scale with sensitivity.
One of the more quietly important aspects of the project is the inclusion of three community members on the procurement panel that will select the contractor. This moves resident involvement beyond consultation and into decision-making, where choices around build quality, site management and long-term stewardship will have real consequences for everyday life on the estate.
Councillor Djemai’s remarks deserve support precisely because they avoid grand language and instead return repeatedly to practical realities: overcrowding, access, repairs and the lack of outdoor space for families. If that focus carries through into procurement, construction and phasing, West Kentish Town has the potential to become an example of regeneration that genuinely allows existing communities to stay and thrive.
Planning permission is only the beginning. The success of this scheme will ultimately be judged not by the number of homes approved, but by whether families feel safer, less cramped and more secure in the years after the final phase is completed. On that measure, Camden has set itself a high bar and residents will rightly expect it to be met.