Our high streets in Hampstead are all messed up. We’re lucky to have two - central Hampstead Town, and South End Green, on the fringes of the Heath. Both have great character, but neither has been given the opportunity to be fully what they could be.
The biggest positive factor dominating our high streets are residents who give them vibrancy, with local people who want the best to succeed.
A wake up call struck me when a Camden staff member who enjoyed walking for exercise from Kings Cross to visit the sheltered housing units here, said she liked Kentish Town but hated Hampstead - dirty, rat infested, full of rubbish and clutter. She said, “you might love Hampstead, but why would shoppers come here, there’s high streets all over London that are nicer”.
Lamentations are pointless. The pandemic gave everyone a hard time, and landlords continue to think that our high streets are paved with gold but it’s high rents that have driven struggling businesses large and small away, leaving us with voids. Now is the time to really examine what can be done, and how supportive Camden can be.
Theoretically, times could be good for local high streets. Sterile shopping malls are out of fashion, and people long for places where they can gather to socialise, relax, do a bit of shopping in a quality environment, but we suffer creeping urbanisation and congestion.
There appears to be nothing that will encourage the growth of the high street. The traders are disillusioned with each other, one puts out rubbish at all times of the day, another tells me they assiduously wash their part of the pavement but another’s greasy mess ruins their work.
One of my roles is to put more ambition into what can be achieved. Camden wants to promote clean air but the solution is not just to stick in cycle lanes. We need to promote small businesses, but the solution is not just to hive off some space in a road for tables and chairs.
There are residents itching to help with ideas for safer, greener long-term designs but there appears to be little, or very slow, encouragement from Camden.
As we struggle out of the cost-of-living crisis, we need to enter a new era of better forward thinking. Details of projects, driven by Hampstead people, are emerging.
- Linda Chung is councillor for Hampstead ward and chair of resources and corporate performances scrutiny committee at Camden Council.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here