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Plot twists, local battles & the bigger picture

Plot twists, local battles & the bigger picture

A new twist in the NW5 cinema saga + a tiny new restaurant is opening

Tom Kihl
October 18, 2024 • Estimated Reading Time: 16 minutes

🍿 Grab the popcorn, because Season 13 (or whatever) of the Kentish Town cinema saga ended on a real cliffhanger last week.

The plot twist was the Council Planning Committee unanimously approving a change of use class for the historic North London Polytechnic assembly hall, which had previously been strictly reserved for a cinema as a condition of the redevelopment of the building into high-end flats.

As the building’s owners, the locally-based developer Vabel stated, nobody has really ‘won’, as they were (I believe genuinely) as keen as the local community to fill the site with a picture palace, but the harsh realities of the rapidly changing cultural and commercial marketplace did for everyone’s rose-tinted dreams of a silver screen.

Our poll results last week (see below) garnered a few of the usual comments about greedy developers going back on promises, but the truth, as always in these exhaustingly polarised times, is much more nuanced than simple goodies versus baddies.

Whatever now fills the ‘cinema’ space will do so because it is a commercially viable use for a prime high street unit. The reason it has sat empty for so many years is because a single screen cinema simply isn’t that. Therefore, the planning decision is ultimately a good thing that will see this iconic corner come back to life, finally.

I get that community groups naturally distrust profit-driven property companies, and the flipping of the Poly site from one bust developer to another has not leant this project much local confidence over the years. But change of use doesn’t mean an evil plan to stick a huge shady American candy store in there will automatically be unleashed. A use with a strong community element can still very much be created in the space - if the numbers add up.

Our Camdenist proposals for a CIL-funded cultural venue are still in the mix, and we await feedback from Councillors, with the situation becoming more pressing with this latest development. Surely it’s the ideal way to involve locals in media and culture production right here, right now, as the neighbourhood prepares for the Camden Film Quarter rising up just a stone’s throw away in the years to come?

The emotional draw of a new cinema in NW5 has a nostalgic quality about it, which is lovely, and has been achieved occasionally elsewhere with the right generous backers, but it is sadly just not the solution to revitalising high streets in a digital age. The challenge, if we are to get something better/fit for purpose in place at the old Poly, is to now refocus all the energy and anger built up over the years of disappointment. Only that way might the final plot twist in the saga be the unexpected happy ending. So, 3,2,1… 🎬 action!

PARTNERSHIP

🍷 Luncheon launch lunches at a boozy bookshop on Cally Rd

The Yellow Bittern

Lovely culture, fashion and food mag, Luncheon, really are living the indie publisher dream, as they open their very own tiny restaurant-cum-bookshop-cum-editorial office, serving (naturally enough) lunches only.

With room for only 17 seats and weekday sittings at midday or 2pm, The Yellow Bittern is already sounding like autumn’s hot ticket, so combine that with a telephone-only bookings policy and cash-only payments, “so no one will know where you are or have been", and the place is promising to be a rather magical, refreshingly retro dining experience.

They open from this Monday (21st Oct) and enthusiastically encourage patrons seeking boozy lunches, good books and stimulating conversation, all of which promises a real antidote to the mad scrum that characterises many restaurants nearby in King’s Cross. Securing a table may yet prove to be the only hurdle…

MORE FOOD NEWS

🐙 Following the rapid demise of Camden Town’s branch of The Good Egg, (as mentioned last week’s newsletter), their North Yard unit has been quickly snapped up by an ambitious Romanian fish empire success story. Pescobar will be bringing the first and only octopus kebab to London, plus a tank full of live king crabs when they open on the site later this month.

🥕 Soho’s 36-year-old vegetarian trailblazer, Mildreds, has undertaken a thorough refurb of it’s original Victorian townhouse location on Lexington Street. They reopened this week, and for the next few days are hiding ‘golden tickets’ offering money off and free dishes to 10 lucky customers per day.

🍻 Malden Road’s popular Gipsy Queen pub had a relaunch party last night, and they have plenty of exciting food and drink related announcements to come over the weeks ahead. To get you in the mood, Camdenist readers can get a complimentary beer or spicy margarita cocktail with every restaurant booking in October. Email [email protected] and quote “Camdenist” to claim the offer.

1-CLICK POLL

📊 This week's big question

Would you chip in to help bring a viable cultural venue to the area?

THINGS TO DO

Kiosk brings print back into focus

News & Coffee at King’s Cross

We’re already big fans of quality latte and magazine vendors News & Coffee, so were somewhat dismayed when their Chalk Farm Rd location didn’t work out. Thankfully, the saga has a happy ending, as they were subsequently offered the Heatherwick-designed kiosk in the plumb foot traffic location of Granary Square, which has just opened.

“We’re so pleased with how it's turned out,” N&C’s James Laffar tells Camdenist. “It’s definitely the perfect spot for us, being by UAL and the area in general. This newsstand is one of the newest plots in London, so alongside our Holborn location being one of the oldest, it's really nice - the design also seems to reflect this with the modern take.”

In some of their other European city locations, News & Coffee also host and stream live DJ sets live from the kiosks, something that looks possible now they’ve moved in to this new King’s Cross location, too.

“I actually used to work from the warehouse just across the square, which is now Waitrose, years ago,” says James “as that was where Time Out magazine used to be delivered for distribution. It was so dodgy, all the drivers would wait in their vans with the doors locked - things are very different here now!”

🏅 That impressive total reimagining of King’s Cross was up for the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize 2024 earlier this week, at a glittering ceremony held over at the Roundhouse. The KX masterplan was eventually pipped to the top prize by the sweeping subterranean beauty of the Elizabeth Line. But for locals, I imagine both projects induce similar levels of excitement and pride at having the best of modern day London design so close at hand as part of our local daily lives, so basically, everyone’s a winner.

🥳 The mighty Bloomsbury Festival kicks off today, offering 10-days of cultural programming in the heart of the borough. Check out the Big Night Out tonight at Conway Hall, with loads of free live music in multiple rooms. Then Saturday 19th Oct sees the Cromer Street & Bramber Green Family Day with plenty to do, eat, watch and join in with, plus a live music stage featuring local acts from The Spud Peelers (with icon Whisky Mick on mandolin) to dubby chilled beats maestros Kinobe, who all met in and around Gospel Oak.

🏳️‍🌈 Ahead of its long-anticipated reopening as an important and historic LGBTQ+ venue at the heart of Camden High Street, The Black Cap supporters are calling on anyone who’d like to have a say in the future of the pub as a fun, safe and inclusive spot to complete a quick survey. Closing date for submissions is Nov. 3rd.

👂Camden video podcast of the week

Swapping our usual video recommendation for audio this week, with AgeUK Camden’s recently launched Stone Soup podcast. Each episode is a heartfelt conversation that captures the wisdom, strength, and contributions of Camden’s residents – and how we’re ultimately all better off when we work together. Check out the episode below, where Dublin Castle publican Henry Conlon talks about his family’s long rock ‘n roll history in the area.

MUSIC

🎼 From D&B to sound baths - gigs for all moods this week across Camden

Ant TC1 plays Metalheadz 30 at KOKO

🐺 Head under the Randolph Street arches to Werewolf Beer’s tap room tonight (Fri 18th Oct) for London Metal Coalition hosting a very special acoustic metal night featuring four of their top acts ‘unplugged’ (plus plenty of fresh beer close at hand), all from 5pm.

🔊 Charismatic drum ‘n bass supremo Goldie throws the final party in a series celebrating 30 years of his ever-innovative label with Metalheadz 30 - the finale at KOKO on Saturday 18th Oct. It will be a classic session with the extended crew of Ant TC1 (pictured above), Benny L, DJ Storm, Doc Scott, Loxy and Quartz playing straight DJ sets with the booth level with the crowd.

🎶 Serene Sounds is a harmonious union of soothing sound bath vibrations and the timeless elegance of classical music, combining voice and piano with traditional instruments used for sound healing meditation will transport audiences to a place of relaxed focus at Lauderdale House this Saturday, 19th Oct. You will lie down in a beautifully lit space close to classical Soprano Eleanor Penfold and concert pianist and chamber musician, Elena Toponogova.

🎷 Award winning saxophonist and composer Josephine Davies brings her dynamic ensemble Satori to The Parakeet on Monday 21st Oct, playing music inspired by her Nordic roots in the Shetland Islands, which weaves together the band’s contemporary jazz background with a hauntingly evocative folk influence.

🎤 One of Australia most prolific Indie Electronic bands, Tora, touch down at King’s Cross venue The Scala on Thursday 24th Oct for the big UK date of their current globe-trotting tour.

STAGE

🎭 New plays, dance and cabaret to go see this week

Fairy Tales at The Place

🩰 Exploring the intersection of femininity, identity and self-discovery through contemporary dance and physical theatre, Fairy Tales aims to connect us to our past by revisiting childhood experiences, offering fantasies that reimagine how we see our happy ending. It’s on at Euston’s The Place this Tuesday 22nd and Wednesday 23rd October as part of the ongoing Dance Umbrella festival.

👩🏿 With pertinent timing, which could see Kemi Badenoch elected/defeated as new leader of the opposition during the play’s run, Why A Black Woman Never Be Prime Minister fuses satire, spoken word, and narrative in Zakiyyah Deen’s fiery debut. It’s on Oct 22nd- Nov 9th at Camden People’s Theatre.

🤣 Long running comedy and performance night Camden Cabaret has resurfaced in the more central location of off-Leicester Square spot Zoo Bar, with the line-up of Supergirly, Kiki Noir, Ana Amado, Anna Hale and Candy Heals all on hand to entertain you this Saturday, 19th Oct.

📈 We’re now 7,249 subscribers

and counting…

🏅77 new signups in the last month
🤝 Camden’s most engaged, fastest-growing readership

📊 LAST WEEK'S POLL RESULT

QUESTION: Does the granting of wider potential uses for NW5's long-promised cinema mean the community has been shafted?

Yes! The whole thing has been one massive drawn-out disappointment
🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️ 35%

No! The Camdenist cultural hub proposals are now more vital than ever!
🟨🟨🟨🟨⬜️⬜️ 27%

Maybe! At least the space might come back to life after all these years...but as what?
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩 38%

Some of your comments:

“I personally invested many hours working with the architects to come up with a design which was supported by the community and Councillors. Despite opposition from planning officers at the Council the scheme to build extra flats was conditional on a cinema being built. The current developer has broken that agreement which was approved by Councillors last night. Sold down the river comes to mind. ”

“A cultural hub that involves local people, rather than just screening films, is potentially more exciting.”

“I spoke at the Planning Committee hearing. One good thing happened – although the committee voted for Change of Use to Class E, the councillors asked for C to be deleted (Financial and professional services). This means that no estate agents, betting shops, etc. will be permitted. This leaves Class E with many good things.”

“Disappointment is palpable!! We should have known better than to hope but it seemed like such a sensible and welcome use for the building. Kentish Town so badly needs a face lift and this would have gone a long way to revitalise a sorry high street.”

“The council and locals have been shafted by the developer. They said the cinema was not ‘commercially viable’ and yet they got huge commercial benefit from building the extra two storeys by ‘promising’ the cinema. The council has teeth but is afraid to bite. What is the point of planning conditions if they're not observed?”

“TBH, the cinema was always completely unlikely, especially since the Curzon in Camden Market opened, but it's been a shame to see the building where I spent some of the best nights of my childhood closed over the past 10 years or so. Hopefully now they can actually change it into something that the community can use, although my fear is that it will become yet another lobby for completely unaffordable apartments.”

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