Argyle Square Area Safe and Healthy Streets Consultation

Overview

To answer the consultation questions click the link at the bottom of this page where you will also find details of online and in person information events.

We want our streets to have more safe space for everyone to walk and cycle, for children to get to and from school safely and healthily, for businesses to be able to flourish, to reduce carbon emissions from vehicles and for you to be breathing cleaner air.

We want our streets to provide a lasting legacy of greener, safer, healthier travel.

As 69% of households in Camden do not own a car and public transport use remains much lower than before the pandemic, we know that safe and easy walking, cycling and scooting routes are more important than ever. Supporting and encouraging those who are able to walk and cycle, by creating safer streets will ensure that there is more space available on public transport and on our roads for those who need it the most.

We want to improve the streets around the new development at Belgrove House to make it easier, safer and more enjoyable for people walking, wheeling and cycling to travel in the area.

We’ve received funding linked to the new development which allows us the chance to offers to tackle local challenges and make changes to support the Wellbeing Walk which we engaged on with residents, busiensses and stakeholders between November 2024 to February 2025. The Wellbeing Walk will be a safer, less polluted and calmer route for people walking  from/to Euston Station and King’s Cross and St Pancras Stations south of Euston Road.

We would like to make changes that:

• Improve the poor air quality. Although the air quality has improved in the last ten years, harmful NO2 levels are above the World Health Organisation guideline level.
• Improve the look and feel of the streets in the area, and making it more attractive for people who live, work, study and spend time here.
• Improve the biodiversity of the area by introducing more planting on the street.

Our proposals for the streets around Belgrove House are as follows:

• St Chad’s Street (between Belgrove Street and Argyle Street) and Argyle Square (betwee  Belgrove Street and Crestfield Street) would be closed to motor vehicles and become cycle and pedestrian only – vehicle access would be maintained for the garages. This space would have seating, planting and play features for children including colourful markings on the streets showing scooting routes, boulders, stepping stones or timbers to balance on
• Adding outdoor space outside St Chad’s Street outside the southern side of Belgrove House, which could be used as space for a café or events.
• Widening any parts of the pavement on Argyle Street, Argyle Square, Belgrove Street, Crestfield Street or St Chad’s Street that are less than 2m wide. This would create more space for people walking and wheeling.
• Adding planting spaces across the area including on Argyle Street, Argyle Square, Belgrove Street, Crestfield Street and St Chad’s Street. You can see the locations on the proposal plans at the end of this page.  This would improve the look and feel of the area, contribute to improvements in air quality and improve biodiversity.
• Adding raised crossings (where the pavement and road are at the same level) to make it easier for people to cross the roads on the west, east and south sides of Argyle Square and Argyle Street.
• Adding parallel Zebra Crossings (where pedestrians and people cycling can cross together) to make it easier for people walking, wheeling and cycling to cross the road across:
  • the north side of the junction of Belgrove Street, Argyle Square and St Chad's Street
  • the north side of the junction of Crestfield Street, ARgyle Square and St Chad's Street
• Keeping two way cycling routes across the area on one way streets wherever possible to make it easier and more efficient for people who cycle to travel around the area,
• Adding more cycle parking stands to Euston Road to increase cycling facilities locally
• Relocating some Santander bike stands from Belgrove Street to Crestfield Street to spread these bikes out and make them easier to access.

Parking changes

Making the above changes would require the removal of a total of 39 resident bays, leaving 60 resident bays with 54 Active Resident Permits. In addThis is considered sufficient to cater to the number of active permits in the area. In addition 9 existing pay-by-phone bays would need to be removed.

Paid for parking would be kept nearby at:

• the western end of St Chad's Street, close to the junction of Gray's Inn Road
• Argyle Street between the junctions with Birkenhead Street and Gray's Inn Road

6 Car Club bays, 5 solo motorcycle bays (down from 6 solo motorbike bays currently), and 1 loading bay are porposed to be relocated from their existing locations on Belgrove Street, Crestfield Street, St Chad's Street (west) and Argyle Square (north) to Argyle Square (east and west) and Argyle Street.

2 of the Car Club bays and the 5 solo motorcycle bays are proposed to be relocated to sections of single yellow line, which does not reduce existing parking bay numbers.

Current parking facilities 

Changes for drivers and people cycling

All driving routes would stay the same except St Chad’s Street and Argyle Square on the northern side which would be closed to motor vehicles and become cycle and pedestrian only (as shown with red arrows in the image below) vehicle access will be maintained for the garages.

To view the plans click on the links in the Related Section at the bottom of this page.

After the consultation, a decision report will be produced and published online via our website. Local residents and stakeholders will be notified of the outcome. The report will consider a broad range of information including officer observations, consultation responses, relevant policies, and other data/information.

For information on how we will use data collected from this consultation read our privacy statement: Data protection, privacy and cookies - Camden Council

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