On Thursday evening at the Town Hall local residents and conservationists scored a stunning victory over plans to build a pair of modern 7-bedroom town houses in the heart of the Belsize Conservation Area. Following an energetic campaign by Belsize residents, Camden’s planning committee threw out the plans by a unanimous vote.

The location, at 2c and 2d Belsize Park Gardens, is currently taken up by a pair of single-storey glass and steel houses built by the architects Spence & Webster in 1979. They were specifically designed to blend into the existing historical context. Previously the location had been a garden and these low buildings retained the green sense of the area. You can see pictures and read more on the website of ‘Save Belsize‘, the residents group set up to resist the proposals.

Lib Dem Cllr Tom Simon, who helped residents organise their campaign and spoke against the application at the hearing said “Stopping this development is a great victory for Belsize and a great relief to many people. I was delighted with the result and very happy to have been able to help. What a wonderful example of community power in action!”

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