Tolmers Village residents face fresh uncertainty as Euston plan update raises redevelopment fears

Last December, residents of Tolmers Village near Euston Station learned that an updated planning framework could pave the way for the redevelopment of the mirrored office block at 250 Euston Road, along with its adjoining pub and café, bordering one side of their estate.

For a community that has already endured years of disruption from HS2 construction, the prospect of further change under emerging Euston redevelopment plans has deepened concerns about housing security and consultation. The Euston Area Plan, which guides long-term development around the station, was revised to include a possible site allocation covering the building opposite University College Hospital. The updated draft framework is currently out for consultation and can be viewed on the official Euston Area Plan website published by Camden Council.

Tolmers Square council estate sits behind 250 Euston Road, shielded from the heavy traffic of Euston Road and, until now, partially insulated from HS2 works. Residents say that sense of protection may now be under threat.

Camden Council, like other London authorities, faces pressure to deliver new homes, including affordable housing. Regeneration schemes are often used to meet those targets. Around Euston, plans have shifted repeatedly alongside delays and revisions to HS2, leaving residents uncertain about what the next decade will bring.

“They’ve knocked down half of this community,” said Lorraine Hayward, who lives on the estate and works locally in the NHS. She has attended community meetings for three decades as successive governments have altered plans for the area.

“Keir Starmer, this is his constituency and I’ve never seen him walk round here, never seen him come down here and see the plight of people who are actually trying to live and work in central London.”

The site has been contested before. In the 1970s, Tolmers Square was a horseshoe-shaped terrace of Victorian houses surrounding a small green. Developers proposed replacing it with offices and retail space. Nick Wates, then a planning student at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London, was among those who opposed the plans.

“In our final year we did a project on Tolmers Square. We’d heard it was threatened by redevelopment by the same people who have since built the Euston Tower,” he said. “We decided to squat it. There were about 80 of us at one point. The fight was really about keeping a civilised urban environment.”

The occupation lasted six years before the final squatters were evicted in 1979. The Victorian terrace was demolished and replaced with the present council estate, with 250 Euston Road constructed along one side. Mr Wates believes nearby streets, including North Gower Street and Drummond Street, would look very different without that campaign. “How is London supposed to keep going if no one is living in it?” he said.

Dennis McNulty, chairman of the local tenants and residents association, has lived in social housing in Camden for most of his life. He describes estate life as “fantastic”.

“Everyone knows everyone. You can go outside, you can speak to the kids, you can talk to anyone you want. It’s very neighbourly. It’s a nice environment to be in,” he said. He fears redevelopment would prioritise commercial uses over homes. “We need houses not businesses or new hotels. That’s why the local residents are up in arms about this.”

Xiao-yue Chen, who has lived on the estate for 13 years with her 17-year-old son, said HS2 disruption has been constant. “HS2 was supposed to be finished in two years. Since we moved here, 13 years now it is still ongoing. If this plan comes into being, we don’t know when it’s going to be finished.”

Architect Alice Brown, who attended a Camden Council planning meeting in December, said she did not believe residents had been adequately consulted. She plans to stand for the Green Party in the next local election.

“What Camden does with a planning framework like this is it makes site allocations, which are a way of telling developers that they think this site can be redeveloped,” she said. “Once it is enshrined in a site allocation, a developer can bring this allocation to a planning committee and it will be passed. It is a very alarming prospect.”

A Camden Council spokesperson said the Euston Area Plan is intended to ensure local communities benefit from future development.

“There are no detailed plans known about for this site at the moment, but if the owners were to bring proposals forward, then the site allocation in the plan would help the council obtain new, much-needed homes at this location, and potentially a contribution towards an enabling step-free access into and out of Euston Square station.”

A consultation on the updated draft Euston Area Plan closes on 3rd March.

This article is based on reporting by BBC London.

As Euston redevelopment plans evolve, how should London balance housing targets with the stability of long-established communities? Follow EyeOnLondon for independent reporting on planning and policy across the capital.

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