Belsize Society will once again be hoping to increase the festive cheer of the neighbourhood by organizing community Carol singing in Belsize Terrace (Belsize Village, outside the pharmacy) at 4.30 pm on Saturday 21 December.
We shall be led by Mathew Watts and we are inviting the Primrose Hill Community Choir to come along to sing with and to us as well. Songsheets with the words will be available. Do come and bring your friends and family: everyone, and especially children, very welcome.
BELSIZE COMMUNITY LIBRARY AND BELSIZE SOCIETY: JOINT EVENT
Organised by the Friends of the Belsize Community Library with BelSoc support, Lester Hillman’s talk “… A Hard Rain’s a Gonna Fall” described weather events over the last centuries. His presentation opened with the 1975 evening in Belsize/Hampstead when up to 200 millimetres of rain fell in an hour representing one third of a whole year’s rainfall. Memories of that evening were shared, with both the presenter and audience members remembering the 14 August evening.
Rain was combined with hailstones, immense in size. Lester told us about the Wyldes Farm – the grade II* farmhouse still a feature of North End – that became inundated as run-off flowed through the house down to Golders Green. Its power crushed parked cars. There were numerous flooded areas in and around Belsize Park.
The talk also highlighted that rainfall was localised other parts of London did not have unusual rainfall. In fact, almost all the rainfall was in a very small area centred on Whitestone Pond. Distant from the formal measurement stations, it was only because the Hampstead Scientific Society had placed a weather station and observatory near the pond, operating since 1905, that data would be collected about this event.
How freakish was this? The rest of the talk then did contextualise the event. We were introduced to the 1091 tornado that flatted 600 houses on St Mary Le Bow mentioned in the Chronicles; and to more recent storms including one that flattened a tree in 2011 in Aspen Grove. Rarity confirmed, the talk concluded, we left the library into a calm evening.
Upcoming Belsize Library Talks
The Friends of the Belsize Library have organised an exciting set of speakers over the winter. Talks will be at Belsize Community Library, Antrim Road, NW3 4XN, starting at 7.30pm. Suggested donation £5
Thursday 21st November, 7.30pm: The Extraordinary Life of Elizabeth Blackwell. An illustrated talk by Pamela Holmes on the famous 18th century botanical illustrator who eloped from Scotland to London and later rescued her husband from the notorious Marshalsea debtors prison.
Thursday 12th December, 7.30pm: Working With Music and Paint. An illustrated talk with live piano music by musician and painter Ruth Waterman.
Thursday 16th January, 7.30pm: Survivors of the Holocaust. A talk by Dr Bea Lewkowicz. As we approach the 80th anniversary of the Liberation of Auschwitz. Dr Bea Lewkowicz chairs a discussion with survivors about their experiences during and after the war.
Thursday 20th February, 7.30pm: Belsize House and other Local Country Estates. An illustrated talk by local historian Averil Nottage.
Alan Selwyn, BelSoc Planning, writes:
This online meeting was organised by Camden with the 100 Avenue Road developers to present revisions to the permitted scheme and answer questions on the proposals.
After 10 years, only the foundations and basement have been built, with the site now sold to Regal who wish to redesign elements of the scheme. This requires new consent, and they are consulting between now and the end of the year, hoping to start work in early 2025 with a 3 year build time.
They will not change the existing permitted envelope but have managed to squeeze in an additional 52 units by minimising the service ducts and other modifications. There will be 166 units in the tower – now 26 storeys – and 70 in the adjoining lower building – now 8 storeys. The lower building, in addition to affordable housing units, will contain shops and a community space, which will be refined in consultation with The Winch.
The existing two buildings were to be faced in concrete with large amounts of glass. This is no longer considered acceptable in terms of energy requirements so the outside will now be clad in brick with smaller windows and curved corner balconies. This may help reduce the visual intrusion this tower presents though it will not reduce the huge scale.
There were other environmental discussions around the effects on wind, shadowing, glare from the windows, micro-climate and improvements to the landscaping.
Affordable housing will increase from 30% to 35%, now said to be “true affordable”. There are two main types included in this scheme: ‘social affordable rent’ for those on Housing Benefit and ‘intermediate rent’ designed to be achievable for those in salaried work. A Housing Association will manage these. Camden prefers this to shared ownership schemes for various reasons explained. The way the 35% is calculated has also improved to give better-quality homes by calculating floor space and habitable room area rather than simply number of units (which tends to favour small flats such as studios). 35% also meets the GLA London Plan requirement and Mayor of London Plan.
It does seem as though the new provision is an improvement on the original scheme in this respect.
Of the remaining 65%, the original scheme focussed more on private rentals, whereas this scheme now targets private sales. The developers said this would favour a more stable population, with more family sized units (though they cannot control buy to lets or overseas sales).
Access was discussed, during the building work and after, for deliveries, bin collection and so on. We have concerns about vehicle access, which is primarily from Eton Road (and presumably the rather narrow Winchester Road from Swiss Cottage). Small deliveries and disabled parking are planned to be in the basement via the ramp under Hampstead Theatre. Larger deliveries (to the shops), waste collection and any other utilities will be from ground level between the theatre and the tower. Both will create a hazard for pedestrians. More work is needed.
Other than blue badge spaces in the basement there will be no residents’ parking on site and the council will not issue residents’ parking permits, as this will be a ’car-free’ development.
I was impressed by the level of detail discussed in the 2 hour meeting and attention to answering residents’ questions, also by the commitment by the Council to achieve the best results from the proposed revisions.
More details will be published in the next couple of months with further consultation. Members are encouraged to take part.
The Society’s carol singing will take place in Belsize Village on Saturday 21 December, 4.30pm. Please join us for the event, to enjoy the sing-along and a mince pie or two. Donations will be colle
cted for a local charity. (The Marie Curie Hospice – which we have supported in the past – is currently closed for major works.)
As in previous years, Matthew Watts will lead our singing and we’re again hoping that the Primrose Hill Community Choir members might join us. Members may like to note that the Concert for the Homeless (which Matthew is involved with) is on 24 November, 7pm. Tickets are £25 with proceeds to Crisis and St Mary’s Primrose Hill.
Volunteering for the BelSoc
If you have a few days to spare, or more time, then please do consider helping the Society. We’re always on the look out for those that can help run the organisation, so if you would like join the committee and take on a role, then get in touch. This could mean helping with the Newsletter, or working on membership, or organising the Society events. We’re also about to revitalise the website and looking for help as we do this.
Beyond committee roles, there are plenty of ways to help us in individual activities.
If this interests you, then please do get in touch emailing membership@belsize.or.uk.
BelSoc’s annual membership fees
For the 2025 subscription year, the BelSoc annual membership fee will rise from £10 to £20, following the resolution at the AGM. The Society is a not-for-profit and non-political Charitable Incorporated Organisation, led by volunteers, but costs for activities have risen since we last raised fees over a decade ago. Membership fees support all our activities, and you will continue to see the Society engage with the concerns of residents on planning matters and local issues, organise events about the heritage of the Belsize area, and publish the Newsletter and TYCT.
We would be grateful if members that pay by standing order can adjust these to £20 ahead of next year’s payment due next January. Over the coming months, we will be refreshing Society publications, such as the forms to join, alongside updating the website which will enable new and old members to support us. Contact us using membership@belsize.org.uk with any questions.
Camden’s sustainability team asks Belsize residents to apply to participate and writes:
Step into the Swiss Cottage Strategy Room, to help inform Camden’s next Climate Action Plan. Taking place at Swiss Cottage Community Centre on 23 November, please apply for one of the twelve spaces.
In the space of 90 minutes, you will discuss what makes a better future on food and energy. You’ll discuss different options with your fellow participants and vote.
Camden Council’s Sustainability Team is looking for 12 participants aged 18 and over to participate. Each participant will receive a £20 voucher for their time.
You don’t need any special skills or knowledge to take part, all you need to bring is yourself!
APPLY TO TAKE PART:
Please note: there are only 12 spots available – the Council will be in touch ahead of the session to confirm places
About the strategy room
The Strategy Room is Nesta’s award-winning experience that combines facilitated deliberation, interactive polling and collective intelligence to bring people on our journey to reducing emissions. In the Strategy Room, a facilitator will be there to guide you through the session.
The main purpose of this is for the Council to test how different climate policies would work for residents in the Belsize Park area, and help identify what policies and actions we will want to include as part of the Councils next Climate Action Plan from 2026 onwards (the link to the current climate strategy is here.
Welcome to the August Newsletter of the Belsize Society.
This Newsletter also advertises the next Society local history walk, led by Averil Nottage.
Averil has also written an article about the Victorians that shaped Belsize, the topic for her walk, and exploring how much of Belsize looks as it does today because of decisions made in Victorian times. On the walk and in her articles, we’re introduced to three builders, each favouring different styles. You’ll also find out about the Vicar who contributed substantially to the cost of St Peter’s Church and preached powerful and passionate sermons there until he was 92. Do book your place now on eventbrite.
Last Newsletter, we described how the Society honoured David Percy, local historian, for his considerable work featuring the area. In this Newsletter, we interview him and he describes both his career and the background to his latest book.
The architectural heritage of the area was celebrated at the Isokon’s 90 birthday event. This iconic building is one of only two Grade 1 listed apartment blocks in the country and we have an article about the celebrations as it ends its ninth decade.
The Newsletter includes some updates about Society business. We are also updating the website and plans for this are described. At the last AGM, we decided to raise membership fees and the next steps on this are outlined. We would really appreciate members taking a few minutes to update their standing orders with the Society for next year. There is also an update from Camden Council about their residential air quality monitoring initiatives.
Enjoy this Newsletter.
BOOK YOUR PLACE!
To book your place for Averil’ Nottage’s walk “Victorians who shaped Belsize as we know it today” register on Eventbrite or through contacting us (back page).
For 11am, 29 Sept: https://belsize-society-local-walk2024-1.eventbrite.co.uk
For 2.30pm, on the same day, the link is: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/belsize-society-local-history-walk-tickets-951863408077
Camden Council’s Clean Air team writes:
Would you like to know what the air quality is like in your home? We now spend 80-90% of our time indoors and certain indoor environments can be even more polluted than outside. Because of this, it is becoming increasingly important to understand our indoor air quality and to take simple steps to breathe cleaner air indoors. We are offering residents the opportunity to borrow a free indoor air quality monitor for 4 weeks that measures and displays some of the common types of air pollution.
If you are interested, please email AirQuality@Camden.gov.uk or speak to a member of the team by calling 020 7974 8896.
WISH Plus is a Camden Council referral service covering Warmth, Income, Safety and Health. You can refer yourself or someone else to get access to a range of services. You don’t need to know all the services available through WISH Plus to refer, just that the person you are referring might need some support to improve their health and wellbeing.
WISH Plus puts people in touch with the services they need after discussing these with them first. They are not emergency call out services and some services do have eligibility criteria so they are not available to all.
Services include a well and warm home energy efficiency improvements visit; a telephone energy advice service; home security check and free provision and installation of measures such as door locks, spy holes and window restrictors; a free fire safety visit, including installation and the provision of a smoke detector; free provision and installation of stair gates for those with a child aged four and under; and carers’ support.
Find out more about what is offered by going to www.camden.gov.uk/wish-plus#eojt or phoning 020 7974 3012.