Primrose Hill boundary change email

Below is an email received by some residents about the proposed changes to the boundaries which would affect which ward Primrose Hill sits in. The email is from our local councillors who are against the proposal and go onto explain why.

LGBC is recommending that Primrose Hill be removed from the existing Camden Town with Primrose Hill ward and amalgamated with parts of the existing Belsize and Swiss Cottage wards to form a new ‘Adelaide and Primrose Hill’ ward

Email as follows:

EMAIL BEGINS

Dear Friend,

The Local Government Boundary Commission (LGBC) is recommending changes to Camden’s ward boundaries in order to deal with the fact that significant population growth in the Kings Cross area means that the St Pancras & Somers Town ward is substantially oversized and that has knock on effects for every other ward in the borough.

However, the LGBC is recommending that Primrose Hill be removed from the existing Camden Town with Primrose Hill ward and amalgamated with parts of the existing Belsize and Swiss Cottage wards to form a new ‘Adelaide and Primrose Hill’ ward with three councillors. The Camden Town end of the ward would form a new ‘Camden Town’ ward with two councillors. Click on the link below to see a map of the proposals.

http://www.lgbce.org.uk/all-reviews/greater-london/greater-london/camden

All three of your ward councillors oppose this proposal for the following reasons:

  • Primrose Hill has historically been linked with Camden Town or parts of Camden Town;
  • From 1900 to 1965 Primrose Hill was part of Ward 4 of the Metropolitan Borough of St Pancras in which it was linked with those parts of Camden Town west of Chalk Farm Road.
  • From 1965-2002 Primrose Hill was part of the Chalk Farm ward of Camden in which it was linked with those parts of Camden town west of the High Street and Chalk Farm Road.
  • From 2002 to date Primrose Hill has formed approximately half of the Camden Town with Primrose Hill ward;
  • The proposed new ward crosses the West Coast Main Line railway, which is a natural boundary separating Primrose Hill from the communities to its north;
  • Public transport links Primrose Hill with Camden Town (274 bus route) – there are no public transport links between Primrose Hill and Swiss Cottage and the nearest other link is the 31 bus which is on the other side of the West Coast railway line;
  • Road transport links are also with Camden Town notably Prince Albert Road, Regents Park Road and Gloucester Avenue;
  • The two communities of Camden Town are bound together in opposition to the environmental damage caused by HS2;
  • Primrose Hill Community Library – one of the most successful community libraries in the country was originally Chalk Farm Library. Its future has been assured by the use of Community Investment Levy monies which have largely been generated in Camden Town. These monies might not have been so readily available if Primrose Hill had been situated in the proposed new ward with far fewer developments.
  • Primrose Hill has a number of great restaurants and cafes but Primrose Hill residents use the shopping facilities of Camden Town for their main weekly shop;
  • The nearest cinema is in Parkway, Camden Town, accessed via the 274 bus;
  • Many of the pupils at Primrose Hill School live in Camden Town and similarly, many Primrose Hill school students attend schools in Camden Town notably the Cavendish School and local church schools;
  • Camden Town and Primrose Hill are inextricably linked by ties of history, geography and natural communities.

The Commission is interested in your views and you can write to them at

https://consultation.lgbce.org.uk/node/15477

We hope you will oppose the proposal to split Camden Town from Primrose Hill and please feel free to use the arguments above or other relevant considerations.

Kind regards,

(Cllr) Richard Cotton
(Cllr) Pat Callaghan
(Cllr) Lazzaro Pietragnoli

EMAIL ENDS

Residents Meeting To Discuss

There will be a meeting at the Community Centre on 30 October at 7pm to discuss these changes


Last Updated on 18th October 2019 by Mick Hudspeth