North Camden

The North of the borough includes the neighbourhoods of Hampstead, Highgate and Frognal and is characterised by its striking topography, rich heritage, distinct character and unique open spaces. The area is predominantly residential in character, with a mix of large and small homes, often with generous gardens, situated on leafy streets. It is also covered, almost entirely, by a number of designated Conservation Areas, containing hundreds of listed buildings of architectural and historic interest. 

Map 8 - North Area

Hampstead is the main town centre in the North of the borough. It provides a high-quality retail and leisure offer, with a range of independent, boutique and niche shops catering both for local residents and visitors.  The centre also serves a local economic function, providing secondary office accommodation, generally in small to medium premises. The history of the town, its attractive ‘village’ environment, conservation area designation and proximity to Hampstead Heath draw a significant number of tourists to visit the town centre; as a result, there is a strong café and restaurant offer in the town, in addition to a cinema primarily serving the local community. There are also a number of neighbourhood centres in the North of the borough providing a more local shopping role. 

The North of the borough has the lowest levels of public transport accessibility in Camden and is mainly served by a number of local bus routes, with the main rail and underground services being Hampstead Heath Overground Station and Hampstead Underground Station, with Gospel Oak Overground Station and Tufnell Park Underground Station located nearby.  

A key feature of the North Area is Hampstead Heath, the largest open space in the borough, providing nearly half of Camden’s total area of open space and many of our sporting facilities. Hampstead Heath is protected by a number of designations and contains the only Ancient Woodland and Ancient Monument in the borough. The Heath’s elevated position above most of Greater London affords expansive views across the city, with four protected viewing corridors originating in this area. Other notable open spaces in the North of the borough include Highgate Cemetery and Waterlow Park. However, despite the abundance of open space in this area, the areas of Dartmouth Park and Frognal remain comparatively less well served by public open space. 

In terms of community provision, the North of the borough is served by two libraries in Highgate and Hampstead (the Keats community library); and several community centres.  Hampstead also has a very high concentration of schools where significant issues exist concerning the ‘school run’. Any further applications for schools in this area will be determined in accordance with Policy SC2 (Social and Community Infrastructure). 

The North of the borough is covered by four adopted Neighbourhood Plans: the Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan, Highgate Neighbourhood Plan, Redington and Frognal Neighbourhood Plan and the Dartmouth Park Neighbourhood Plan, which set out the community’s aspirations and planning policies for their area. These Neighbourhood Plans are part of the Council’s statutory development plan and are considered, alongside our own policies, when making decisions on planning applications in that area. 

Given the established historic character of the area and lack of development sites, opportunities to deliver new homes, jobs and infrastructure in the north of the borough to support Camden’s communities are limited. The policy below sets out the Council’s strategy for the North of the borough to guide the future development of this area.  

Policy N1 – North Camden  

 A. Development coming forward in the North of the borough will be expected to preserve and where appropriate enhance the historic character of the area, in addition to delivering benefits to residents to meet the needs of Camden’s communities in accordance with this Local Plan and the Hampstead, Highgate, Redington and Frognal and Dartmouth Park Neighbourhood Plans.  

New homes 

B. Sites have been allocated in the North of the borough to deliver new homes over the Plan period to 2041. The Council will expect sites to be delivered in accordance with the site allocations set out below. 

C. Where windfall sites come forward for housing development in this area, these will be determined in accordance with the policies in the Plan.  

Employment and the Economy 

D. The Council will manage and protect the stock of offices in the North of the borough. Proposals for small scale office provision will be supported in Hampstead town centre and neighbourhood centres in this area where this is of a commensurate scale for its location, in line with Policy IE2 (Offices).  

Retail and Town Centres 

E. The Council will continue to support and protect Hampstead Town Centre and the Neighbourhood Centres in the North of the borough, to ensure they remain successful and vibrant centres that meet the needs of residents, workers and visitors in line with the policies set out in the Plan, with any additional retail provision to be provided in accordance with Policy IE6 (Supporting town centres and high streets).  

Infrastructure 

F. To support the delivery of development in this area the Council will seek the provision of, and contributions to, the delivery of infrastructure, from appropriate development. The Council will work with relevant providers to secure the infrastructure needed to support development and provide the facilities needed for the area’s communities. Key priorities for the North of the borough include: 

1. The roll-out of the Council’s neighbourhood-based Safe and Healthy Streets schemes across this area, delivering through-traffic reduction and other Healthy Streets measures; 
2. Extensions to the Camden cycle network; 
3. The delivery of an Integrated Care Hub;
4. Open space, greening and biodiversity enhancements; and 
5. The delivery of flood mitigation measures in Hampstead Heath and South End Green. 

Information on key infrastructure programmes and projects in the North of the borough are set out in Appendix 1.