Record turnout for fourth annual Camley Street Festival

The sun shone on the Camden community as they turned out to enjoy the Camley Street Festival on Saturday 14^th June.

The annual street takeover is organised and hosted by Camden Council, along with its development partners for the Camley Street site Ballymore and Lateral. Now in its fourth year, attendees at the Festival enjoyed a host of family friendly activities, live music and DJs, crafts and community stalls. 

This year’s event was the biggest yet and people of all ages learnt to hula hoop and skateboard, browsed offers from local stallholders and creative makers and sampled food and drink from the some of the borough’s great caterers. 

Newly appointed Camden Mayor Cllr Eddie Hanson was in attendance, along with several of his council colleagues, enjoying the weather – and the music – and chatting to many of the local people, young and old, who welcomed the opportunity to say hello.

The Festival also offered the community the opportunity to give their views on the latest plans for the redevelopment of Camley Street’s northern end, with members of the design team on hand to answer questions and explain the proposals in more detail. 

Over 650 visitors to the festival also saw the outcomes of some of the ongoing engagement work the project team has been doing with local groups. Students from the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children have been working with deaf architect and campaigner Christopher Laing to enable their views on development to be understood. By creating a “Dream City in a Box” the students showed their preferences for buildings and spaces. Whilst rockets and volcanos are unlikely to be incorporated into the plans, the students provided the team with valuable insight into how the design of places can actively support them.

A team of young people recorded the event as part of the Community Storytelling initiative which has involved upskilling through training in photography, film and interviewing skills and offering paid opportunities to contribute to the ongoing consultation activity. 

Over 650 visitors to the festival also saw the outcomes of some of the ongoing engagement work the project team has been doing with local groups. Students from the Frank Barnes School for Deaf Children have been working with deaf architect and campaigner Christopher Laing to enable their views on development to be understood. By creating a “Dream City in a Box” the students showed their preferences for buildings and spaces. Whilst rockets and volcanos are unlikely to be incorporated into the plans, the students provided the team with valuable insight into how the design of places can actively support them.

A team of young people recorded the event as part of the Community Storytelling initiative which has involved upskilling through training in photography, film and interviewing skills and offering paid opportunities to contribute to the ongoing consultation activity.