'World class' £1bn Camden Film Quarter approved

Plans for a £1bn "world class" film and television studio site in north London have been approved.

Camden Film Quarter will incorporate 11 sound stages, education spaces and hundreds of new residences. It was given the green light by the Labour-run Camden Council.

The development will be built on brownfield land in Kentish Town, almost a decade after the authority earmarked the area for redevelopment.

The Green Party, the council's opposition, called the scheme a "monstrosity", while 441 residents and local groups objected over its scale, environmental impact and disruption caused during construction.

Developer Yoo Capital, the firm behind the Olympia Exhibition Centre and Sky Garden projects, among others, promised the "world class" film and TV studios would 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, public parks and on-site education for more than 500 students at the National Film and Television School and the London Screen Academy.

The developer says it will create 1,365 construction and operations jobs, and will establish Kentish Town as a "new centre for the creative industries".

Planning officers said it was "very rare" for any development to offer this level of housing provision.

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.

Objectors also raised fire safety concerns about flats above a waste facility, citing the frequency of lithium-ion battery fires in waste sites.

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 admitted the environmental impact of the scheme 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".

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