King's Cross Central (''KXC'') is a multi-billion pound mixed-use development in the north-east of

central London Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...

. The site is owned and controlled by th
King's Cross Central Limited Partnership
It consists of approximately of former railway lands 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 The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

railway leading out of King's Cross;

York Way York Way (part of the A5200) is a major road in the London Borough of Islington, running north for one mile from the junction of Pentonville Road and Euston Road, adjacent to King's Cross railway station towards Kentish Town and Holloway. At ...

, a road marking the division between Camden and

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ar ...

boroughs; and the new railway line, High Speed 1 (HS1), formerly known as the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, which curves around the site to the north and west. The master planners for the development are

Allies and Morrison Allies and Morrison LLP is an architecture and urban planning practice based in London and Cambridge. Founded in 1984, the practice is now one of Britain's largest architectural firms. The practice's work ranges from architecture and interio ...

Demetri Porphyrios Demetri Porphyrios ( el, Δημήτρης Πορφυρίου; born 1949) is a Greece, Greek architect and author who practices architecture in London as principal of the firm Porphyrios Associates. In addition to his architectural practice and ...

, and

Townshend Landscape Architects Townshend Landscape Architects are a London-based Landscape Architecture practice established in 1988 by Robert Townshend. The practice specialises in landscape architecture, public realm masterplanning and urban design in the UK, Europe, Middle E ...

. The overall developer i
Argent LLP
Construction work is ongoing.

History

Background

The area of what is today Kings Cross was farmland, intersected by

heading north leading to a bridge which crossed the

River Fleet The River Fleet is the largest of London's subterranean rivers, all of which today contain foul water for treatment. Its headwaters are two streams on Hampstead Heath, each of which was dammed into a series of ponds—the Hampstead Ponds an ...

at Battlebridge. This name led to a tradition that this was the site of a major battle between the

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

and the

Iceni The Iceni ( , ) or Eceni were a Brittonic tribe of eastern Britain during the Iron Age and early Roman era. Their territory included present-day Norfolk and parts of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, and bordered the area of the Corieltauvi to the we ...

tribe led by

Boudica Boudica or Boudicca (, known in Latin chronicles as Boadicea or Boudicea, and in Welsh as ()), was a queen of the ancient British Iceni tribe, who led a failed uprising against the conquering forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61. She ...

(also known as Boudicea), support by writings from the ancient Roman historian

Publius Cornelius Tacitus Publius Cornelius Tacitus, known simply as Tacitus ( , ; – ), was a Roman historian and politician. Tacitus is widely regarded as one of the greatest Roman historians by modern scholars. The surviving portions of his two major works—the ...

1820: Regents Canal

It was not until the development of New Road in 1765 (later to become

Euston Road Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...

), that the development of Kings Cross began. Initially developed as

terraced housing In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...

, with the opening of the Regents Canal in 1820 the area became industrialised. In 1824 the Imperial Gas Light and Coke Company developed a

gas works A gasworks or gas house is an industrial plant for the production of flammable gas. Many of these have been made redundant in the developed world by the use of natural gas, though they are still used for storage space. Early gasworks Coal ...

south of the canal, which drew a number of other highly-polluting industries into the area.

1835: Kings Cross

Around 1835 a high monument topped by an statue of King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

was built at the junction of

Gray's Inn Road Gray's Inn Road (or Grays Inn Road) is an important road in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, in the London Borough of Camden. The road begins at the City of London boundary, where it bisects High Holborn, and ends at King's Cross and ...

Pentonville Road Pentonville Road is a road in Central London that runs west to east from Kings Cross to City Road at The Angel, Islington. The road is part of the London Inner Ring Road and part of the boundary of the London congestion charge zone. The roa ...

and New Road, which later became

. Designed by architect

Stephen Geary Stephen Geary (1797 – 28 August 1854) was a British architect, inventor, entrepreneur, and, from 1850, Temperance activist. Early life Geary was born in Dean's Yard, Westminster, London, on 31 August 1797. At the age of 13 he was apprentic ...

, the statue was constructed of bricks and mortar, and finished in a manner that gave it the appearance of stone "at least to the eyes of common spectators", quoting ''The Architectural Magazine'' allowing it to cost no more than £25. Described by

George Walter Thornbury George Walter Thornbury (13 November 1828 – 11 June 1876) was an English author. He was the first biographer of J. M. W. Turner. Early life George Thornbury was born on 13 November 1828, the son of a London solicitor, reared by his aunt and e ...

as "a ridiculous octagonal structure crowned by an absurd statue", the upper storey was used as a

camera obscura A camera obscura (; ) is a darkened room with a aperture, small hole or lens at one side through which an image is 3D projection, projected onto a wall or table opposite the hole. ''Camera obscura'' can also refer to analogous constructions su ...

while the base in turn housed a police station and a public house. The unpopular building was demolished in 1845, though the area kept the name of Kings Cross. A structure in the form of a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid, for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Lighthouses mar ...

was built on top of a building almost on the site about 30 years later. Known locally as the "Lighthouse Building", the popular theory that the structure was an advertisement for Netten's Oyster Bar on the ground floor seems not to be true. It is a grade II listed building.

Railway stations

1850-2: Great Northern Railway's King's Cross

In 1849, the Great Northern Railway (GNR) began development of their

and station in the area. Purchasing land north of the canal for their goods yard and engine depot, they purchased land south of the canal for their King's Cross railway station. However, with the oncoming

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

, they decided to open a small temporary two-platform station within the goods area named

Maiden Lane railway station There have been two railway stations named Maiden Lane in the present London Borough of Camden, in north London, England. The stations, named after the nearby road (now York Way), were close to each other, but on different lines. Great North ...

. In 1852 the line was completed over the canal and Kings Cross station, designed by architect

Lewis Cubitt Lewis Cubitt (29 September 1799 – 9 June 1883) was an English civil engineer and architect. Life He was a younger brother of Thomas Cubitt, the leading master builder in London in the second quarter of the 19th century, and he designed many ...

, opened.

1856: Midland Railway's St Pancras

Before the 1860s, the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had its headquarters. It am ...

had a network of routes in the Midlands and in south and west Yorkshire and Lancashire, but no route of its own to the capital. Up to 1857 the company had no line into London, and used the lines of the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...

for trains into the capital; after 1857 the company's Leicester and Hitchin Railway gave access to London via the GNR. However, traffic for the second

International Exhibition A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in 1862 suffered great delays over both lines, and so the decision was taken to develop its own London terminus from

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

. Surveying for a long line began in October 1862. Designed by

William Henry Barlow William Henry Barlow FRS FRSE FICE MIMechE (10 May 1812 – 12 November 1902) was an English civil engineer of the 19th century, particularly associated with railway engineering projects. Barlow was involved in many engineering ent ...

, as the approaching line to the station crossed the Regent's Canal at height, the result was that the line at

St Pancras railway station St Pancras railway station (), also known as London St Pancras or St Pancras International and officially since 2007 as London St Pancras International, is a central London railway terminus on Euston Road in the London Borough of Camden. It is ...

was to be above the ground level. Initially planned to be filled with spoil from the tunnels north of the railway lands, instead the void was used for dry freight, in particular beer from the

Brewers of Burton Burton upon Trent has a long history of brewing, at one time exporting beer throughout the world and accounting for a quarter of UK beer production; emulation of Burton water in brewing is called Burtonisation. Much of the town was given over ...

. Beer traffic was handled in the centre of the station between platforms 4 and 5. A central third track ended in a wagon hoist lowering wagons below rail level; beer storage ended in 1967. The contract for the construction of the station substructure and connecting lines was given to Messrs. Waring, with Barlow's assistant Campion as supervisor. To avoid the foundations of the roof interfering with the space beneath, and to simplify the design and minimise cost, it was decided to construct a single span roof, with cross ties for the arch at the station level. Constructed by the

Butterley Company The Butterley Company was an English manufacturing firm founded as Benjamin Outram and Company in 1790. Its subsidiaries existed until 2009. Origins This area of Derbyshire had been known for its outcrops of iron ore which had been exploited ...

, the span width, from wall to wall was , with one of 24 ribs every . The resultant single-span roof was long, wide, and high at the apex above the tracks, and was the largest such structure in the world at the time of its completion. Construction of a hotel fronting the station, the

Midland Grand Hotel Midland may refer to: Places Australia * Midland, Western Australia Canada * Midland, Albert County, New Brunswick * Midland, Kings County, New Brunswick * Midland, Newfoundland and Labrador * Midland, Ontario India * Midland Ward, Kohima, Naga ...

, began in 1868, and it opened in 1873; the design of the hotel and station buildings was by

George Gilbert Scott Sir George Gilbert Scott (13 July 1811 – 27 March 1878), known as Sir Gilbert Scott, was a prolific English Gothic Revival architect, chiefly associated with the design, building and renovation of churches and cathedrals, although he started ...

, selected by competition in 1865. The building is primarily brick, but

polychromatic Polychrome is the "practice of decorating architectural elements, sculpture, etc., in a variety of colors." The term is used to refer to certain styles of architecture, pottery or sculpture in multiple colors. Ancient Egypt Colossal statue ...

, in a style derived from the Italian gothic, and with numerous other architectural influences.

The railway lands

Both railway companies had land north of the canal, which due to their previous industrial and now commercial use became known as the "railway lands". However, the passenger stations on

far outweighed in public attention the economically more important goods traffic to the north. The first development was the reuse of the former temporary GNR station as a potato goods shed, part of the larger local wholesale potato market. The company also added the Eastern coal drops (1851), and the later Western coal drops (1860), allowing coal shipments from the Northeast and the Midlands to be distributed around London by the canal network, and later by road. The gas works also continued to expand, covering by the early 1900s.

Post 1945: Decline

After World War II the area declined from being a poor but busy industrial and distribution services district to a partially abandoned post-industrial district. By the 1980s it was notorious for prostitution and drug abuse. This reputation impeded attempts to revive the area utilising the large amount of land available following the decline of the railway goods yard to the north of the station and the many other vacant premises in the area.

Redevelopment

Background

In the 1990s the government established the King's Cross Partnership to fund regeneration projects. The result was the sale of the former Midland Railway goods depot to the west of St Pancras to the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

. Since 1997 the main collection has been housed in this single new building, designed specially for the purpose by the architect

Colin St John Wilson Sir Colin Alexander St John ("Sandy") Wilson, FRIBA, RA, (14 March 1922 – 14 May 2007) was an English architect, lecturer and author. He spent over 30 years progressing the project to build a new British Library in London, originally planned t ...

. Facing Euston Road is a large piazza that includes pieces of

public art Public art is art in any Media (arts), media whose form, function and meaning are created for the general public through a public process. It is a specific art genre with its own professional and critical discourse. Public art is visually and phy ...

, such as the large sculpture of ''

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

'' by

Eduardo Paolozzi Sir Eduardo Luigi Paolozzi (, ; 7 March 1924 – 22 April 2005) was a Scottish artist, known for his sculpture and graphic works. He is widely considered to be one of the pioneers of pop art. Early years Eduardo Paolozzi was born on 7 March 1 ...

(a bronze statue based on

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

's study of

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton (25 December 1642 – 20 March 1726/27) was an English mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author (described in his time as a "natural philosopher"), widely recognised as one of the grea ...

) and work by

Antony Gormley Sir Antony Mark David Gormley (born 30 August 1950) is a British sculptor. His works include the ''Angel of the North'', a public sculpture in Gateshead in the north of England, commissioned in 1994 and erected in February 1998; ''Another Pla ...

. It is the largest public building constructed in the United Kingdom in the 20th century. In the piazza, there is also a tree which was planted in remembrance of

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

. 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. The proposals were subsequently withdrawn. 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 The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

, although separate planning permission for the Triangle Site is still required from Islington Council. Islington Council initially refused planning permission. There was a public Inquiry in April 2008, where local residents from the King's Cross Railway Lands Group the Cally Rail group gave evidence against the proposed development. In July, the inquiry, the found in favour of the development. The commencement of work on

High Speed 1 High Speed 1 (HS1), legally the Channel Tunnel Rail Link (CTRL), is a high-speed railway linking London with the Channel Tunnel. It is part of a line carrying international passenger traffic between the United Kingdom and mainland Europe; ...

in 2000 provided a major impetus for wider redevelopment. The London terminus of the

Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...

international rail service moved to St Pancras station in November 2007 with the station's redevelopment leading to the demolition of several buildings, including the Gasworks. Following the reopening of the station, redevelopment of the land between the two major stations and the old Kings Cross railway lands to the rear commenced, focussing on a major renovation and extension of Kings Cross station itself to bring it up to the same standard as newly restored St Pancras. Meanwhile, outline planning permission was granted for the whole site which will see new housing and office developments, as well as an

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (British English) or amphitheater (American English; both ) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ...

made from one of the old gasometers. The majority of the land at King's Cross Central was used for HS1 construction purposes from July 2001 until autumn 2007. Following the opening of HS1 on 14 November 2007, and with outline planning permission, GLA (

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

) and GOL approval, the developer

Argent Group PLC In heraldry, argent () is the tincture of silver, and belongs to the class of light tinctures called "metals". It is very frequently depicted as white and usually considered interchangeable with it. In engravings and line drawings, regions to ...

is now at work. Several buildings are under construction, and

Central Saint Martins Central Saint Martins is a public tertiary art school in London, England. It is a constituent college of the University of the Arts London. It offers full-time courses at foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels, and a variety of shor ...

of the

University of the Arts London University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

has become the first occupant of new premises and one of the listed buildings. Detailed planning applications for each part of the site are being made on a rolling programme basis. Following completion of the

London 2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

site, King's Cross Central is one of the largest construction projects in Greater London in the first quarter of the 21st century.

Conservation area

The majority of the site falls within two conservation areas. There are several buildings and structures of heritage value, some of which are "

listed Listed may refer to: * Listed, Bornholm, a fishing village on the Danish island of Bornholm * Listed (MMM program), a television show on MuchMoreMusic * Endangered species in biology * Listed building, in architecture, designation of a historicall ...

Current and future organisations in the area

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

Camley Street Natural Park Camley Street Natural Park is an urban nature reserve in St Pancras in central London and within the London Borough of Camden. It is a local nature reserve. The park was closed to the public for reconstruction in December 2017 and reopened in ...

, The Cross

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

, and St Pancras Cruising Club. It was reported in January 2013 that

Google Google LLC () is an American multinational technology company focusing on search engine technology, online advertising, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, artificial intelligence, and consumer electronics. ...

would be acquiring a million square feet within King's Cross Central. It was also reported in September 2014 that Havas, the Global communications group, will consolidate its existing twenty-four London offices into one new building at Three Pancras Square at Kings Cross Central. A separate development,

Kings Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the for ...

, lies across the road on the East side of

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

and ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper are based there. It also includes two art galleries and concert halls.

Proposed development

King's Cross Central (KXC) has been identified in national, regional, and local policies as a high density development. It is a

brownfield In urban planning, brownfield land is any previously developed land that is not currently in use. It may be potentially contaminated, but this is not required for the area to be considered brownfield. The term is also used to describe land prev ...

site (i.e. had past industrial use) with excellent public transport links. Buildings under construction at KXC range from one storey to 19 storeys. Protected views of St Paul's from

Parliament Hill Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...

and

Kenwood House Kenwood House (also known as the Iveagh Bequest) is a former stately home in Hampstead, London, on the northern boundary of Hampstead Heath. The house was originally constructed in the 17th century and served as a residence for the Earls of Mans ...

will not be affected. At least a third of the site (25 acres/10 hectares) will be dedicated to new public routes and open spaces. Argent proposes to create 20 new major routes and 10 new

privately owned public space Privately owned public space (POPS), or alternatively, privately owned public open spaces (POPOS), are terms used to describe a type of public space that, although privately owned, is legally required to be open to the public under a city's zoni ...

s. Five of these are major new squares -

Granary Square Granary Square is a large open space in the London Borough of Camden. Comparable in size to Trafalgar Square, it is part of the larger King's Cross Central development. It has been cited as an example of a privately owned public space in London. ...

Station Square Station Square is a indoor and outdoor shopping and entertainment complex located in the South Shore neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States across the Monongahela River from the Golden Triangle of downtown Pittsburgh. Station S ...

Pancras Square Pancras may refer to: * Saint Pancras of Taormina * Saint Pancras of Rome, saint martyred c.304 AD * St Pancras (disambiguation) See also * Pancrase Pancrase Inc. is a mixed martial arts promotion company founded in Japan in 1993 by profess ...

, Cubitt Square, and

North Square ''North Square'' is a British television drama series written and created by Peter Moffat, and broadcast by Channel 4 from 18 October to 20 December 2000. Starring an ensemble cast, including Phil Davis, Rupert Penry-Jones, Helen McCrory and ...

- which together total . In addition, the proposals include of new public realm along the

Regent's Canal Regent's Canal is a canal across an area just north of central London, England. It provides a link from the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal, north-west of Paddington Basin in the west, to the Limehouse Basin and the River Thames in eas ...

(the

Gas Holders A gas holder or gasholder, also known as a gasometer, is a large container in which natural gas or town gas is stored near atmospheric pressure at ambient temperatures. The volume of the container follows the quantity of stored gas, with pressu ...

Zone and

Coal Drops Yard Coal Drops Yard is a shopping complex and privately owned public space that forms part of the King's Cross Central development scheme in London, England. The development was designed by Thomas Heatherwick and opened in October 2018. History The t ...

and within a new " Cubitt Park". Argent has invested in improvements to the canal corridor, notably lighting and access from Granary Square. About a mile along the towpath to the west is

Camden Market The Camden markets are a number of adjoining large retail markets, often collectively referred to as Camden Market or Camden Lock, located in the historic former Pickfords stables, in Camden Town, London. It is situated north of the Hampstead R ...

, and beyond that

Regent's Park Regent's Park (officially The Regent's Park) is one of the Royal Parks of London. It occupies of high ground in north-west Inner London, administratively split between the City of Westminster and the Borough of Camden (and historically betwee ...

and

London Zoo London Zoo, also known as ZSL London Zoo or London Zoological Gardens is the world's oldest scientific zoo. It was opened in London on 27 April 1828, and was originally intended to be used as a collection for science, scientific study. In 1831 o ...

; to the east is the

Islington Tunnel The Islington Tunnel takes the Regents Canal, Regent's Canal under Angel, London, Angel, Islington, as the longest such tunnel in London. The way for short boats and barges only opened in 1818; the pavements above are waymarked so the otherwis ...

and then

Upper Street Upper Street is the main street of the Islington district of inner north London, and carries the A1 road. It begins at the junction of the A1 and Liverpool Road, continuing on from Islington High Street which runs from the crossroads at Penton ...

, a busy retail and entertainment area.

Old St. Pancras Church St Pancras Old Church is a Church of England parish church in Somers Town, London, Somers Town, Central London. It is dedicated to the Roman martyr Pancras of Rome, Saint Pancras, and is believed by many to be one of the History of Christianity ...

, and Somers Town are now connected to KXC by a footbridge, one of three new crossings over the Regent's Canal.

Social housing commitments and controversy

Argent have partnered with

One Housing Group One Housing Group is a housing association based in London and the south east of the United Kingdom. They manage 16,000 homes and provide support to residents who needs special help, through their social care arm, One Support. As of 2015-16, they h ...

to provide rented and joint ownership housing units. A 2012 investigation by

the Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

and

Corporate Watch Corporate Watch (The Corporate Watch Co-Operative Ltd.) is a research group based in the UK. It describes itself as a "research group that helps people stand up against corporations and capitalism." And as a "not-for-profit co-operative providing c ...

into the initial allocations found that "people with a history of mental health problems are being excluded from the social housing built there while the developers and local council have also set quotas for the number of homeless and unemployed people" at King's Cross Central's 500 social housing units. Argent's planning permission agreement with Camden Borough council included a commitment to provide 750 affordable units in the 1,946 constructed. This is intended to include lower and middle range rents and joint ownership properties. Argent have however asked to reduce the commitment by 21 social homes and 96 mid-level rented homes in order to sell 100 extra luxury flats.

Facial recognition system controversy

In 2019 Madhumita Murgia reported in the

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

that Argent was using

facial recognition software A facial recognition system is a technology capable of matching a human face from a digital image or a video frame against a database of faces. Such a system is typically employed to authenticate users through ID verification services, and wo ...

in the King's Cross Central area of London. The development around London's King's Cross mainline station includes shops, offices, Google's UK HQ and part of St Martin's College. Murgia told the BBC Argent had refused to give any detailed information about how the system was used and what kind of watch list was involved. The ICO said: "Scanning people's faces as they lawfully go about their daily lives, in order to identify them, is a potential threat to privacy that should concern us all." Elizabeth Denham, the UK Information Commissioner launched an investigation into the use of the King's Cross facial recognition system. "This is inherently a surveillance tool that bends towards authoritarianism," said Silkie Carlo of Big Brother Watch. Facial recognition software has also been used at

Meadowhall shopping centre Meadowhall is an indoor shopping centre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. It lies north-east of Sheffield city centre, and from Rotherham town centre. It is the largest shopping centre in Yorkshire, and currently the eleventh-largest i ...

in Sheffield, the

World Museum World Museum is a large museum in Liverpool, England which has extensive collections covering archaeology, ethnology and the natural and physical sciences. Special attractions include the Natural History Centre and a planetarium. Entry to the ...

in Liverpool and Millennium Point complex in Birmingham.

Transport links

King's Cross/St Pancras is already served by six

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

lines (the Northern,

Piccadilly Piccadilly () is a road in the City of Westminster, London, to the south of Mayfair, between Hyde Park Corner in the west and Piccadilly Circus in the east. It is part of the A4 road that connects central London to Hammersmith, Earl's Court, ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Circle A circle is a shape consisting of all points in a plane that are at a given distance from a given point, the centre. Equivalently, it is the curve traced out by a point that moves in a plane so that its distance from a given point is const ...

, Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City), by

Thameslink Thameslink is a 24-hour main-line route in the British railway system, running from , , , and via central London to Sutton, , , Rainham, , , , and . The network opened as a through service in 1988, with severe overcrowding by 1998, carrying m ...

Midland Main Line The Midland Main Line is a major railway line in England from London to Nottingham and Sheffield in the Midlands. It comprises the lines from London's St Pancras station via Leicester, Derby/Nottingham and Chesterfield in the East Midlands ...

, and

. These services, coupled with the ability to access each of the four main airports in the South East (

Heathrow Heathrow Airport (), called ''London Airport'' until 1966 and now known as London Heathrow , is a major international airport in London, England. It is the largest of the six international airports in the London airport system (the others bei ...

Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after H ...

Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acro ...

and

Luton Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...

airports), make King's Cross the most accessible transport interchange in London. There have been HS1-related works to the

system, in particular works to construct a new Northern Ticket Hall, which opened in 2009. A new Western Ticket Hall was opened to the public on 28 May 2006.

has redeveloped King's Cross station, relocating the ticket hall and other functions from the former temporary structure which fronted the

References

External links

DeveloperKing's Cross Development Forum, a group providing the community response to developmentsLocal newsletterKing's Cross Railway Lands Group
(Webarchive, group closed in 2013)
Local directory
*
About the project of King's Cross Central redevelopment in 2013
' {{Coord, 51.53605, N, 0.12513, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Redevelopment projects in London Districts of the London Borough of Camden Districts of the London Borough of Islington Privately owned public spaces New Classical architecture

History

Background

1820: Regents Canal

1835: Kings Cross

Railway stations

1850-2: Great Northern Railway's King's Cross

1856: Midland Railway's St Pancras

The railway lands

Post 1945: Decline

Redevelopment

Background

Conservation area

Current and future organisations in the area

Proposed development

Social housing commitments and controversy

Facial recognition system controversy

Transport links

See also

References

Further reading

External links