Camden Council have recently approved plans to demolish the low-rise 1930s Belgrove House, and replace it with a 5-part 10 storey building, harming the setting of the Grade I-listed St Pancras.
Photo: Mockup of Belgrove House from developers Belgrove and Acorn. Photo Copyright: Belgrove and Acorn.
The Victorian Society has co-signed a letter to the Secretary of State urging him to call in plans, recently approved by Camden Council, to demolish the low-rise 1930s Belgrove House, and replace it with a 5-part 10 storey building. The Victorian Society had objected to the plans on the grounds that the height of the building was completely inappropriate for this highly sensitive site and would harm the setting of heritage assets, including the Grade I-listed St Pancras and King’s Cross Stations.
Joe O’Donnell, The Victorian Society Director said: ‘The proposed building in St Pancras and Kings Cross Conservation Area would dwarf several Grade II Georgian and early Victorian terraces and obscure their significance. However, our greatest concern is the impact on St Pancras and Kings Cross stations, two of the most important Victorian structures in London. Given their significance, it is imperative that any development within their setting is carried out with the utmost sympathy and remains obviously subservient. The proposals totally fail to do this. The Victorian Society has therefore united with other amenity societies to call on the Secretary of State to prevent the unjustifiable harm to some of London’s most important buildings and reject the plans’.
The other signatories of the letter are Bloomsbury Conservation Areas Advisory Committee, The Georgian Group, Camden Railways Heritage Trust, Camden Civic Society, and the King’s Cross Conservation Area Advisory Committee.
