Plans to modernise one of London’s busiest intercity stations are set to be decided by the Planning Inspectorate amid local concerns over the future of a historic square and the impact of demolitions.

Since 2015, proposals to regenerate Euston station and its surrounding neighbourhoods under the Euston Area Plan (EAP) have undergone various changes and delays, as the government has paused HS2 works and planners were forced to abandon “unfeasible” designs for the interchange.

Camden Council claims the completed scheme will deliver 2,000 new homes and 17,000 jobs, as well as cementing the area’s importance to London’s Knowledge Quarter. But after submitting an updated plan in January, the council has altered proposals after objections from at least 40 local people, along with Historic England.

Although the local authority has tried to calm residents’ fears about the negative impact of the sweeping proposals, many remain sceptical of the “desecration” of green spaces, emissions and disruption to people’s everyday lives.

Alice Brown, an architect and former Green Party candidate, told councillors the EAP would worsen the climate emergency due to heavy greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from building works.

At the Town Hall cabinet meeting on Tuesday 8 September, she claimed the council was only pursuing the scheme to boost “inward investment” which she deemed unnecessary because Euston had already received £1bn in recent years as a result of HS2 and “doesn’t need more”.

The local authority has added new safeguards that retrofitting will be favoured over demolition, and adjusted plans for a 75-metre building to be capped at 53 metres. But Brown said the council was indulging in “fantasy” by claiming it could meet its stated aim to convert an office block on Euston Road into a residential tower without knocking the whole building down.

She was joined by Chris Roberts on behalf of Tolmers Square estate residents, who said the redevelopment of 250 Euston Road would involve “years of disruption” from noise and dust.

Roberts argued that the EAP risked upsetting the historic square’s balance of homes, workplaces and green spaces and impacting people’s “everyday quality of life” due to the “likely” impacts of demolition and construction works.

‘A gravy train for building cartels’

Camden’s own report recognises the permanent loss of local parks and green spaces brought about from railway works and construction in recent years, such as the sweeping away of St James’s Gardens.

Dennis McNulty, a lifelong Camden resident and chair of a local tenants and residents association (TRA), warned that the plans would force children to grow up on a “demolition site”.

He claimed the project had become a “gravy train for building cartels for private enterprises taking away our iconic buildings or open green spaces”. McNulty added there was a particular impact on the elderly, who were losing places to “ponder or enjoy the trees, flowers, wildlife that nature brings with a green environment of peace and tranquillity”.

The council insists however that the plan mandates HS2 to deliver replacement green spaces as well as any new open spaces attached to developments under the EAP. A few sites have already been mooted as destinations for a major green public space, including Drummond Street.

Cllr James Slater, cabinet member for planning and a sustainable Camden, said the updated EAP would make “best use of the space” and any demolition would only take place where benefits outweighed the harm.

“We are seeking to provide a framework that delivers development in a sustainable way across the Euston area and conform with planning policies we need to do to unlock Euston’s potential,” he said, adding that opponents would be able to take their concerns to the Planning Inspectorate.

Since the scheme is of national significance, it is now down to the independent Planning Inspectorate to approve or reject it. Public hearings are expected to take place in early 2027.

Camden Council, Cabinet, 8 September 2026: Euston Area Plan update, submission to Planning Inspectorate. Agenda. Webcast.

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