Learning from Hampstead

Camden and other Councils seem to find it difficult to undertake good community engagement and consultation. At the end of the 3rd September public meeting the two Highgate (Camden) ward councillors graciously accepted that that the summer co-design engagement had fallen short. Cllr Camron Aref-Adib acknowledged that “this has been a lesson in terms of how we do our engagement on such schemes.” Cllr Anna Wright agreed that Camden “has not managed to communicate well enough or handled the engagement well enough,” and that improvements are necessary. 

Local residents associations and groups simply know their communities better. An interesting example of community involvement is “Hampstead Streets for People” https://www.hampsteadtransport.com/ which extends across two wards in Hampstead. As the website says this is a community led initiative to understand local concerns about traffic and transport and identify practical solutions that do not merely move problems from one street to another. Interestingly the earlier plans for just the real Dartmouth Park were based on this approach. But, now with the expansion of the so-called Dartmouth Park Healthy Neighbourhood into Highgate, Kentish Town and Archway the community led dimension has been lost. It should be recovered.