Camden Market Threatened By HS2 Development, Report Warns | HuffPost

Could HS2 Be The Death Of Camden Market?

Jessica Elgot— The Huffington Post UK

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Every Saturday morning, it's the scene of hundreds of shy goth teens, holding hands in striped neon hoodies, of foreign students with backpacks poring over cannabis-leaf-shaped paraphernalia, of raucous buskers playing heavy metal and hipsters browsing flower-prints.

For many visitors to London, coming to Camden is the antidote to the tourist trail of Big Ben and Trafalgar Square, a place to eat brick-sized burritos, marvel at the musical history of those who played here, like Pink Floyd, Amy Winehouse and Pulp, and stare slack-jawed at how that punk could possibly fit any more metal in his face.

Camden Town shops on the iconic high street near the market

But the iconic market is reportedly under threat, from the HS2 work which will soon be underway to bring the high-speed rail system through the heart of Camden.

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A 200m stretch of the north London line is set to be widened for the train to pass through the area into its terminus at Euston,a report has claimed. The iconic Camden Lock bridge would be demolished.

The railway bridge at Camden Lock

According to a report from BOP, the whole of Hawley Market will fall within the construction area, and 90% of Camden Lock market falls within 30 meters of site, as does 95% of Stables market.

BOP Consulting warns the disruption could mean losses of more than £600m for local traders, bars, shops and stall-holders, and could cost up to 9,000 jobs, as tourists abandon the market during the disruption.

Street performers entertain the crowds at Camden Canal Market in north London

HS2 Ltd told the Guardian the report was "nothing more than scaremongering" and said that HS2 would mean thousands of new jobs and hundreds of homes for Camden residents, and a plan would be put in place to cause as little disruption to the market as possible.

Simon Pitkeathley, chief executive of Camden Town Unlimited, told HuffPost UK most businesses were in favour of HS2 but were deeply concerned about the particular disruption in Camden.

Shopper exploring the newly reopened Camden Canal Market

"Walking through the markets on a Saturday; marvelling at the unique stalls and things for sale, sitting by the lock in the summertime with a cold beer; dancing in the clubs as a teenager: everyone has a Camden story," he wrote in a blog for HuffPost UK.

Camden Through The Years

Camden Through The Years(01 of29)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 23: A general view of shopping at Camden Market ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 23, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(02 of29)

England, London, Camden Lock Market, Looking down on early evening Christmas shoppers. (credit:PA)

Camden Through The Years(03 of29)

File photo dated 08/08/09 of the Regent's Canal, Camden Lock, London as the area famous for its markets could suffer 9,000 job losses and more than £600 million in lost revenue if plans for the HS2 high-speed rail project are not changed, according to a report. As planned, HS2 will cut through Camden in north London when its first London to Birmingham stage is completed in 2026. (credit:PA)

Camden Through The Years(04 of29)

England, London, Camden Lock, Outside view at Camden Lock. (credit:PA)

Camden Through The Years(05 of29)

England, London, Camden Lock, Retro World at The Market Stables in Camden Lock. (credit:PA)

Camden Through The Years(06 of29)

England, London, Camden Lock, Entrance to The Market Stables at Camden Lock. (credit:PA)

Camden Through The Years(07 of29)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 23: A general view of Camden ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games near the Camden Market on July 23, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(08 of29)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 23: A general view of Camden ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games near the Camden Market on July 23, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(09 of29)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 23: People gather to eat at Camden Market ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 23, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(10 of29)

LONDON, ENGLAND - JULY 23: A general view of Camden ahead of the London 2012 Olympic Games near the Camden Market on July 23, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(11 of29)

Camden Through The Years(12 of29)

Camden Through The Years(13 of29)

Camden Through The Years(14 of29)

Camden Through The Years(15 of29)

Camden Through The Years(16 of29)

Wash drawing by John Cooke Bourne (1814-1896), taken from a collection of views of the construction of the London & Birmingham Railway. Under the guidance of chief engineer Robert Stephenson (1803-1859), the 112 mile line running from Curzon Street station in Birmingham to Euston station in London, took 20,000 men almost five years to complete. The railway was finally completed on 17 September 1838, becoming the first railway into London. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(17 of29)

UNITED KINGDOM - MAY 24: Wash drawing by John Cooke Bourne, from a collection of views of the construction of the London & Birmingham Railway (LBR). In 1833, Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) was appointed chief engineer of the LBR, the first railway into London. Beginning at Curzon Street Station, Birmingham, and finishing at Euston Station, London, the 112 mile long line took 20,000 men nearly five years to build, at a cost of five and a half million pounds. The tremendous scale of the works necessary to link Camden Town, originally intended to be the site of the railway?s London terminus, to Euston is well captured by Bourne's drawing. The LBR opened on 17 September 1838. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(18 of29)

UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 26: ?Building Retaining Wall, near Park Street, Camden Town?, 1836. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(19 of29)

Building Stationary Engine House, Camden Town, London, 1837.

Camden Through The Years(20 of29)

Charles Dickens - 37 Little College Street (now College Place), Camden Town, London, UK. Dickens lived here 1824-1825 with his family at Mrs Roylance. 7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(21 of29)

Charles Dickens ' - Charles Dickens ' - house in Bayham Street, Camden Town, London, UK. Where the British novelist lived 1823-1824. 7 February 1812 - 9 June 1870. (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(22 of29)

UNITED KINGDOM - JULY 26: Coloured lithograph (proof copy) drawn and lithographed by G Hawkins. The Britannia Tubular Bridge was designed by Robert Stephenson (1803-1859) and was completed in 1850. It was constructed to provide trains of the Chester and Holyhead Railway with a passageway across the Menai Straits from mainland Wales to Anglesey. The railway terminated at Holyhead, which became a major port for travellers to Ireland. Printed by Day & Son, Lithographers to the Queen and published by G Hawkins, 116 Camden Road Villas, Camden Town, and Ackermann & Co, Strand, London. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(23 of29)

Canal Bridge, Camden Town?, London, 19th century.

Camden Through The Years(24 of29)

Camden Town Fixed Engine Station, London, 19th century.

Camden Through The Years(25 of29)

ENGLAND - MAY 28: Plate taken from the ?Illustrated London News?. The new railway from Fenchurch Street Station passed through a tunnel on the existing Blackwall Railway, through the docks to Stepney, Tower Hamlets, Hackney and Pentonville. A train is shown at the crossing of the Great Northern Railway using the Camden Town viaduct, a tubular structure similar in design to the Menai Straits bridge. (Photo by SSPL/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(26 of29)

A party of German editors examining 6226 'Duchess of Norfolk', a streamlined Coronation Class locomotive of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS), during a visit to the LMS depot in Camden town, London, 10th November 1938. The Coronation Class locomotives were developed for use on the LMS Coronation Scot express service between London and Glasgow. (Photo by H. F. Davis/Topical Press Agency/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(27 of29)

30th August 1949: The Old Bedford Music Hall in Camden Town, London. (Photo by Topical Press Agency/Getty Images)

Camden Through The Years(28 of29)

Assembled Irish after a Sunday lunchtime session in the Oxford Arms, Camden Town, London, 1963

Camden Through The Years(29 of29)

LONDON, ENGLAND, UK, JUNE 11TH 2011. Mother Louise Irwin-Ryan with her daughter Georgia (11, wearing a pink Lolita dress) and son Kiefer (8, wearing a red Liverpool Football Club kit) spending a day out together in Camden Town, North London. Having bought an inexpensive item each from their favourite shop 'Cyber Dog' the family walk back through the market to catch the bus home. Louise is on various benefits to help support her family income, and housing, although recent government changed to benefits may affect her family drastically, possibly meaning they may have to move out of London. Louise Ryan was born on the Wirral peninsula in 1970. She moved to London with her family in 1980. Having lived in both Manchester and Ireland, she now lives permanently in North London with her husband and two children. Through the years Louise has battled to recover from a serious motorcycle accident in 1992 and has recently been diagnosed with Bipolar Affective Disorder. (Photo by Mike Kemp/For The

"The current proposal for this would mean a link that cuts directly through the heart of Camden Town: a proposed route that would cause a decade of destruction, and could ultimately mean the death of one of the UK's most vibrant and creative communities.

The Food Market in Camden Town, north London

"The traders that work in these markets can't take this kind of financial penalty. They are not huge multinational firms with millions in reserve - they are small businesses and sole traders that rely on the footfall of Camden's bustling markets to make a living.

"And when they're gone, the Camden we know and love; the Camden that attracts firms like ASOS, MAC and MTV; the Camden that inspired musicians from Kirsty MacColl and Prince to Madonna and Amy Winehouse; will be forever changed."

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