PRESS RELEASE (10TH April 2001)

RKT PLEDGES NEW CAMPAIGN AFTER SHOW ATTRACTS RAVE RESPONSE

More than 1,000 people are estimated to have visited the exhibition about a new future for Kentish Town put together by the independent community group ReNew Kentish Town.

Hundreds of people took part in interactive exhibits, enrolled in the Planning for Real Session or signed the visitors' book over the nine days of the show. Many of those who left comments said they were delighted that there was a real hope of change for the better, and urged ReNew Kentish Town to continue the campaign.

Tom Young, RKT founder and co-ordinator of the exhibition, said: "I was delighted and humbled by the number of people who took the time the view our show and leave their own comments. "It proves what RKT always knew - that there is a vast array of talent and original thought in Kentish Town. People want to see changes and want to take part in that process."

The exhibition attracted visits from councillors, including the leader of Camden Council Jane Roberts, and officers from Camden and the Greater London Authority. The idea won early support from local figures, including Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow.

The key focus of the show was how the old railway lands in the heart of the area should be redeveloped as and when they came onto the market.

RKT will produce a report based on the content of the show and on contributions by visitors. This will be passed to all relevant bodies and should provide the platform for the next stage.

The future for the campaign could include:

:: a new status for ReNew Kentish Town;

:: mass meetings open to all in Kentish Town;

:: long-term campaign for positive redevelopment of the railway land; and

:: short-term action to produce small-scale improvements;
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PRESS RELEASE (5th April 2001)

GLENDA TO DESIGN IDEAL MODEL FOR KENTISH TOWN

Glenda Jackson will this week take part in an exercise unique for Camden that will allow residents, workers and visitors in one part of the borough to take on the role of the council and redesign their area using a 3-D scale model.

The Labour MP for Hampstead and Highgate will be one of scores of Kentish Town people expected to take part in an activity known as Planning for Real. Under the guidance of an expert planner, anyone can use the model to show they would inject life into the old railway lands that lie at the heart of the area.

Michael Parkes, an urban regeneration consultant who was involved with the Kings Cross railway lands, will oversee groups of people who will use cards representing a possible use or a potential route on the model. A record will be kept of the number and type of cards put down and these figures will be analysed afterwards and the figures included in a report.

The event takes place between 12pm and 5pm on Saturday April 7 at 257 Kentish Town Road next to the Bengal Lancer restaurant. It is one part of an exhibition running until April 8 that has been put together by ReNew Kentish Town, an independent community group set up in 1999 to give local people a voice.

The exhibition includes 50 views of the past, present and future of this fascinating corner of north London. It includes a short film of interviews with local people, a silkscreen map of the area from a primary school and a visionary plan for a "green" development.

The venture was received the full support of Jon Snow, the Channel 4 News presenter and Kentish Town resident. At the launch night last week, Mr Snow said: "This is without precedent. As anyone knows who lives here, Kentish Town needs renewing and it is within our power."

Tom Young, RKT founder and co-ordinator of the exhibition, said: "This land is ours and this piece of land is the key to a most wonderful future for Kentish Town. This our only chance and we must ensure that whatever happens to these lands is for the benefit of the area."

PRESS RELEASE (29th March 2001)

POWER TO THE PEOPLE: A UNIQUE CHANCE TO REDESIGN KENTISH TOWN

More than a hundred people, including Camden councillors, planners and local residents, gathered to hear renowned journalist Jon Snow launch the ReNew Kentish Town exhibition.

Guests at the launch party included Jane Roberts, the leader of the council, fellow senior Labour councillors John Dickie and Gerry Harrison as well as representatives from the Greater London Authority.

Mr Snow said the RKT exhibition, which runs until April 8, was "without precedent". "As anyone knows who lives here, Kentish Town needs renewing and it is within our power," he said.

He said RKT - and its supporters in the area - would be "pushing at an open door" in terms of getting support from Camden Council and other bodies. "This is the beginning of something," he added.

RKT was set up in 1999 to pull together local people who were concerned about the state of Kentish Town and, in particular, the industrial land that lies in the heart of the area.

The exhibition focuses on how that land could be developed and includes a -D scale model that visitors can use to show what they would like to see. Tom Young, RKT founder and co-ordinator of the exhibition, said: "This land is ours and this piece of land is the key to a most wonderful future for Kentish Town. This our only chance and we mist sure that whatever happens to these lands is for the benefit of the area."

The exhibition, which is based in the pink shop next to the Bengal Lancer, at 257 Kentish Town Road, opened on Saturday March 31. Since then scores of people had come to see the exhibitions and the model, fill in questionnaires and watch a video of interviews with local people