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The revised Hampstead Neighbourhood Plan has passed examination and will now go to Camden to be put into force.
Alex Nicoll, chair of the Hampstead Neighbourhood Forum, told the annual general meeting on 11 March 2025 that the independent examiner had made very few changes to the draft submitted to Camden in July 2024. The minor alterations that she mandated were mostly those that the Forum itself had offered in response to comments from Camden and other bodies.
The Forum revised the Plan that had taken effect in 2018 so as to include stronger policies to promote retrofitting and sustainable design, as well as to enhance biodiversity. Like the first Plan, the revision was carried out with the widest possible consultation with local residents.
The examiner, Jill Kingaby, noted that the Forum was one of the first in the country to review and revise a Neighbourhood Plan. She wrote: “I commend the Forum for thinking ahead and seeking to achieve a new, up-to-date Plan for Hampstead….The plan-makers have clearly put in much time and effort to review all aspects…of the Plan, to understand their effectiveness since 2018, and identify where change is needed….I congratulate the Forum… and appreciate all the work that has been put into [it].”
Read the examiner’s report here.
Ms Kingaby had previously ruled that the Plan did not need to be put to a public referendum. This was because the changes from the existing Plan, while significant, were not so radical as to alter its fundamental nature.
The mandated changes will now be incorporated into the Plan, which will be passed back to Camden and will, it is hoped, be ‘made’ - enacted as a statutory document - by Camden Council in a few months’ time.
During the formal AGM, members adopted a new constitution. The Forum made small changes to the original document to be more explicit about its commitment to inclusiveness in the Forum’s activities, meeting Camden’s policies in this regard. Also, eligibility for membership was broadened to include people who live very close to the Plan area, or who have a particular interest in Hampstead. View the constitution here.
A new committee was elected and the accounts accepted. Read the AGM minutes here. View the committee here and the accounts here.
Following the formal AGM, there was a discussion with the theme “What does the Neighbourhood Plan do for Hampstead? What more could be done?”
View the slides for the AGM and the following discussion here.
Janine Griffis, a committee member and the Forum’s founding chair, went through some of the new features of the new Neighbourhood Plan. It placed additional emphasis on sustainable design, encouraging retrofitting, use of sustainable materials and water efficiency.
It expanded the previous Plan’s creation of ‘biodiversity corridors’ into a network and supported a greener public realm. It added new policies to encourage considerate construction. Longer projects must be registered with the Considerate Constructors Scheme.
Susannah Hagan, an adviser to the Forum and Emeritus Professor of Architecture at the University of Westminster, spoke about the balance between sustainability and conservation, beginning with a photograph of the roof of Chester Cathedral covered by solar panels. The use of methods and materials that reduce the environmental impact is not contradictory with conserving our heritage, even in Hampstead’s conservation areas, she said.
How should we approach retrofitting? First, by focusing on the fabric of the building by improving its insulation and airtightness. A more fundamental approach is ‘deep retrofit’, involving technologies such as heat exchange systems, heat pumps and solar panels. This is more expensive, at least initially, but also more productive. If we succeeded in making the transition from a carbon-based to a renewables-based economy, then ‘solar panels can come off the roof of Chester cathedral as we settle into a new world of squeaky-clean energy.’ Read Susannah Hagan’s talk here.
Red Szell, an adviser to the Forum, spoke about the challenges of accessibility in Hampstead. He is the author of The Blind Man of Hoy, a book written after he became the first blind man to climb the Old Man of Hoy, a sea stack in Orkney.
Szell said street clutter tended to spread ‘like Japanese knotweed’ on Hampstead’s streets. Pavements were increasingly cluttered with retail accoutrements. Cafés should keep tables and chairs inside the marked areas that were allowed. A-boards outside shops and cafés were a particular hazard. They were banned in the City of London, and some boroughs were also introducing restrictions. Research showed that A-boards they did not expand the business of the outlets that used them.
Following discussions with Camden, there had recently been enforcement efforts in Hampstead, but Camden still needed to do better. Overall, this was about enlightening people so that they understood the hazards to blind and disabled people. Tracey Hogan, a Camden official with whom Szell had been working, attended the meeting and spoke about the borough’s enforcement efforts.
Marc Hutchinson, chair of the Heath & Hampstead Society, bemoaned the lack of real sanction, such as fines imposed by magistrates, on establishments that did not adhere to the regulations. Forum members spoke about further obstacles, such as cyclists riding on pavements, children walking in line abreast, maintenance of paving stones, Lime bikes and scooters, and overgrown hedges.