Enquiries: info@belsize.org.uk
Enquiries: info@belsize.org.uk
In March 2019, members of the Belsize Residents Association (BRA) voted to become a Charitable Incorporated Society (CIO). This was the culmination of work done to improve how the Association undertook its activities which, in turn, followed its 2018 AGM when the membership asked the BRA Committee to set up a CIO as The Belsize Society.
Past editions of the newsletter, annual Reports and Accounts, AGM minutes and Committee Meeting minutes (from January 2014 to March 2019) can all be found here in the ‘BRA Archive’.
The Belsize Residents Association was a group of over 500 households who sought to preserve the character of the area by keeping a close eye on planning and environment issues. We worked with local public bodies to improve the quality of local services and we promoted a greater sense of community by providing information about local issues and holding social events. We published a quarterly Newsletter and an annual booklet of recommendations for local ‘Traders You Can Trust’.
The Belsize Residents Association was a non-profit and non-political organisation. Our members were drawn mainly from the area between Lyndhurst and Adelaide Roads from north to south, and between Fitzjohns Avenue and the approaches to Fleet Road from west to east.
Whilst the BRA acted as a channel of communication, where possible, between our members and those who provided our public services, we did not lobby or act directly on behalf of individual members, nor could we provide legal or planning advice.
Checking all local planning and tree applications; commenting or objecting where appropriate. Seeking to influence planning policy. The BRA response to all applications is listed in the minutes of monthly committee meetings.
Raising concerns about and responding to consultations on local public services, traffic, parking and transport. Meeting regularly with councillors to discuss local issues.
Providing information about local issues and activities through quarterly newsletters, two noticeboards (in Belsize Village and on Haverstock Hill), and this website. Publishing an annual booklet listing tradespersons recommended by members.
Organising a programme of social events.
The Belsize Residents Association grew out of a campaign in the late 1960s and early 1970s to stop the area being split in two by a motorway. The proposed “London Motorway Box” would have cut through Belsize Square towards Chalk Farm. Local residents organised a vigorous campaign which helped to get the scheme dropped. In 1971 they set up the Three Roads Association which combined with other local groups to become the Belsize Residents Association.
During the 1970s BRA initiated several local campaigns. We opposed a road network scheme to create a maze of no-go streets to channel traffic down a few residential roads. Instead we proposed environmental improvements to Belsize village without road closures. These proposals were mainly accepted.
In the mid 1970s BRA helped to set up the Belpark Housing Co-operative to provide affordable housing for local people in need. Through Belpark, BRA worked with squatters occupying 104 -110 Haverstock Hill to stop these houses being demolished and restore them as housing for single people.
In the late 1980s and 90s some significant local buildings were at risk. The Association was very active in the successful campaign to restore the Town Hall for community use and had supported the St Stephen’s Church Trust in its restoration project.
Pressure on parking and road congestion kept traffic issues high on the agenda. Having surveyed local residents’ views, BRA supported the introduction of parking controls, a 20 mph speed limit and improved pedestrian crossing on the main roads. BRA proposals in 2003, that the school run should be addressed by requiring all schools to produce green travel plans, were largely accepted by Camden.
A long-running BRA campaign to eliminate estate agent boards from the Belsize Conservation Area finally resulted in a ban in 2006 and in 2010, our campaign for the introduction of Article 4 directions, to help preserve the distinctive character of the conservation area, succeeded.
The BRA campaigned successfully to keep the Belsize Library open in 1987, 1988, 1991 and 2000. When Camden Council decided to stop funding the Library the BRA supported the Winch when it took over in 2012 and continued working closely with them and the Friends of Belsize Library to maintain it as a local amenity.
Despite the best efforts of BRA, post offices in Haverstock Hill, Belsize Village and England’s Lane all closed, but there was good news in 2010 when a new sub post office opened in Thornton’s Budgens. The Association also campaigned, if unsuccessfully, to save the local police station and continued to keep in contact with the local safer neighbourhood team.
You can find more detail in the BRA 40th Anniversary History Supplement here (PDF).
