Camden Council to rebuild estate rendered ‘virtually uninhabitable’ by paused HS2 terminal

But by 2022, the council report explains that “it was apparent that the lives of residents living in [Coniston, Cartmel and Langdale] were being severely affected by the noise and disruption to the extent that the homes were deemed to be virtually uninhabitable”.

Camden Council then entered an agreement with HS2 Ltd in January 2023 that allowed it to offer residents the opportunity to move to suitable alternative accommodation on a voluntary basis, either by transferring tenants or buying back leasehold property, for which HS2 Ltd would provide the funding.

As part of the deal, the council agreed to undertake an appraisal of Stanhope Parade and the children’s centre on the estate, given their inclusion in the 2023 Euston Area Plan Review.

Since the 2023 agreement, there have been a number of moves for tenants and agreed purchases with leaseholders.

Of the original 116 secure tenants, currently only 13 remain. Ten of the original 37 leaseholders remain.

Adam Harrison, cabinet member for planning and a sustainable Camden, explained the council had “successfully campaigned for government funding to help tenants move out of blocks heavily affected by the noise and nuisance of the HS2 works”.

He added: “Since then, we’ve been looking into the best long-term future of these buildings and the nearby area.

“As part of the wider rejuvenation of Euston after these years of blight, we want to build thousands of new homes in the area, including much-needed affordable housing to address the housing crisis and help people move off our housing waiting list.

“Demolishing and redeveloping the blocks we have identified... would help do this. It also would improve local travel routes and deliver a brand-new children’s centre to support local families.

“This is all in line with the wider Euston masterplan to benefit the local area and residents. Despite a slowdown in building new homes across London, in Camden we have hundreds of homes currently under construction with many more shovel-ready projects waiting to go.

“We want to make sure this continues for Euston in the near future.”

The then-Conservative government paused the HS2 station at Euston in March 2023 “due to inflationary pressure and the need to find a more affordable design”.

Camden Council’s report notes that the new Labour government “has demonstrated its support [for delivering] homes and [driving] economic growth here by setting up a Euston housing delivery group”.