Assembly Speaker, 13 June
Our Camley Street - Young People's Steering Group
This week’s assembly was from a team which is part of the Community Investment Programme which is using government money to increase affordable housing and work spaces.
The Camley Street consultation team consisted of three speakers: Rozita working in Consultant and management, Zohra as a developing manager and Sara, an Architect.
Camden is planning to build new homes and businesses on Camley Street and is keen on informing the people in the local area and listening to our input as young people at the heart of the decisions. Rozita emphasised that as Camden is home to a primarily young population, our feedback as a school would be vital to co-design the development of Camley Street by highlighting the main concerns of the people.
We were given a chance during the assembly to fill out a survey to categorise the eight main ideas for development: affordable homes, creating jobs for local people, safe routes for cyclists and pedestrians, high-quality and inclusive play spaces for children and young people, open and green spaces, safety, security and a sense of community and achieving sustainability to the highest standard. A few categories of importance were briefly gone over by Zohra. New homes are aiming to be affordable and sustainable for the community. Additionally, a large variety of jobs should be available, and green spaces both for leisure and community-led businesses for the residents to enjoy and businesses to thrive.
They also provided an opportunity for working in the Young People’s Steering group, where we could work hand-in-hand with the architects and the project teams on possible ideas for design, as well as ensuring it complements the main aims of the development. This process occurs across 3, 1 hour and 30-minute meetings spanning 2022, starting on the 23 of August.
During questioning, the speakers went into more detail about the role of their jobs and the challenges associated with them. Sara informed us that as an architect, for every area of buildings constructed, another area of green space is needed. She also emphasised how the biodiversity of animals and plants within green spaces is necessary to sustain the species within the green areas. Other topics, such as legislation impact on housing, were discussed by Zohra, explaining that laws passed down such as Right to Buy decreased the number of affordable housing available due to previous renters of council housing buying the house/flat off the market at a discount.
It was a very informative talk and, from the interest expressed in it, some students will undoubtedly be thinking about joining the Young People’s Steering Group.
Samsam
Senior Prefect