King's Cross Central

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King's Cross Redevelopment Area with east cost mainline in foreground, looking west towards Camden

King's Cross Central (KXC) is a multi-billion pound mixed-use property development in central London. The site consists of approximately 65 acres (25 hectares), mostly land to the north of King's Cross and St Pancras mainline railway stations. The site is largely determined by three boundaries: the existing East Coast Main Line railway leading out of King's Cross; York Way, a road marking the division between Camden and Islington; and the new railway line, High Speed 1 (HS1), formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which will curve around the site to the north and west. A small section of the project, known as the "Triangle Site", falls within the boundaries of Islington. Camden Council granted outline planning permission for the main part of the site in early 2006. This has now been approved by the national government and the Mayor of London, although separate planning permission for the Triangle Site is still required from Islington Council.

The majority of the land at King's Cross Central is being used for HS1 construction purposes until autumn 2007, when Eurostar will transfer its London operations from Waterloo to St Pancras. Comprehensive redevelopment of King's Cross Central depends, therefore, on the timely delivery of the HS1 project. In that context, the last few months have seen major progress on the HS1 project and the associated regeneration of the King's Cross area.

In April 2001, London and Continental Railways (LCR), the Government and Railtrack signed an agreement confirming the financing arrangements for Section 2 of HS1, which will take the new high-speed line from North Kent into a new international station at St Pancras. Major engineering work associated with Section 2 began in July 2001, and is on course to reach completion by 14th November 2007. This means that the developer, Argent Group PLC, can now begin to plan the redevelopment of land at King's Cross Central (formerly referred to as the King's Cross Railway Lands), with certainty and confidence. With outline planning permission, GLA and GOL approval, initial development work at King's Cross Central should begin in 2007, as HS1 construction works come to a close.

[edit] Organisations within or immediately adjacent to the area

Many organisations are affected by the decisions that will be taken by the developers. A partial list includes:

[edit] Key Facts

The majority of the land at Kings Cross Central is controlled by London and Continental Railways (LCR) and Exel.
In 1989 the London Regeneration Consortium (LRC) submitted proposals to develop the railway lands. The London Borough of Camden was "minded to grant" planning proposals for these proposals in 1994; however, the proposals were subsequently withdrawn.
The LRC proposals addressed over 100 acres of land, on the assumption that the CTRL would come into King's Cross station underground.
The London terminus of HS1 will now be above ground, at a redeveloped St Pancras station. Consequently, the area of railway land available for redevelopment is now much smaller.
In the short and medium term, the majority of this land is being used for HS1 construction purposes.
HS1 is being constructed in two phased sections. Section 1 runs from the Channel Tunnel to Fawkham Junction in north Kent and was opened on 16th September 2003, with Eurostar services commencing 12 days later. It has significantly reduced the existing journey time from Waterloo International station to the Channel Tunnel. Section 2 will extend the high-speed line into a new international terminus at London St Pancras. It also includes new stations at Stratford, east London and Kent Thameside, north Kent. Engineering work on Section 2 commenced in July 2001 and will continue until autumn 2007.
Early in 2000, LCR and Exel selected Argent St George to be the developer for King's Cross Central, after an extensive selection process.
The majority of the site falls within two conservation areas. There are a number of buildings and structures of heritage value, some of which "listed".
King's Cross is already served by 6 Underground lines - the Northern, Piccadilly, Victoria, Circle, Metropolitan and Hammersmith and City - as well as by Thameslink and other mainline rail services. Post-HS1, it will also be served by Eurostar, high speed links to Kent and improved Thameslink services. These services, and the ability to access each of the four main airports in the South East (Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton Airport), will make King's Cross the most accessible transport interchange in London.
There are HS1-related works to the London Underground system, in particular works to construct a new Northern Ticket Hall, which is due to open in early 2010. A new Western Ticket Hall was opened to the public on 28th May 2006.
Network Rail is formulating plans to redevelop King's Cross Station. It aims to relocate the ticket hall and other functions from the 'temporary' structure fronting the Euston Road.
KXC has been identified in national, regional and local policies as a high density development which should seek to optimise the full potential of this brownfield development opportunity benefiting from an excellent and improving public transport network in the heart of central London.
Density will average 3:1 across the site.
Buildings will range in height across the site from one storey to up to 19 storeys.
Protected views of St Paul's from Parliament Hill and Kenwood House will not be affected.
At least a third of the site (25 acres) will be dedicated to new public routes and open spaces.
Argent proposes to create 20 new major routes and 10 new public spaces. 5 of these public spaces are major new squares - Granary Square, Station Square, Pancras Square, Cubitt Square and North Square, which together total 8 acres.
In addition, the proposals include 6.5 acres of new public realm along the Regent's Canal (the Gas Holders Zone and Coal Drop Yard) and within a new 'Cubitt Park'.
Argent plans to invest in improvements to the Regent's Canal corridor on lighting and access to the canal, especially from Granary Square. The towpath connects the site to local attractions such as Regent's Park, London Zoo and the shops along Upper Street.
Camley Street Natural Park and areas of Camden to the west will be connected to the site via a footbridge crossing over the canal, one of three new crossings over the Regent's Canal.
In March 2006, London Borough of Camden granted outline planning permission to the framework scheme as submitted by Argent and amended in 2005.